April Moore
The Oglethorpe County School System will continue offering virtual mental health seminars for parents and caregivers in the county, helping guide adults through potential challenges their students may face as they grow up.
“It’s being used not only in classrooms, but also to strengthen bonds outside of the classroom,” Superintendent Beverley Levine said.
Levine said paraprofessionals are completing specific training modules and then they can choose three modules based on their interests in classroom or professional development.
In addition to a few live, virtual sessions, which were held in English and Spanish, an online course database is available to parents on the Parent Guidance website.
Last November, the Board of Education approved the seminars hosted by Parent Guidance. Licensed therapists cover various topics, including ADHD, video game addiction and general happiness. Recordings will be sent to those who enrolled in a session but cannot attend.
The program costs the school district $7,200, with $3,500 covered by Oglethorpe County Family Connection. The remaining financing comes from the school safety budget.
Initially, the school system contacted Family Connection to help seek grant opportunities. However, when this process became lengthy, the organization offered to fund the program, as it aligned with their values and goals.
“We really want to help with what is needed in our particular community, and so there are not a lot of, if any, mental health services here in the county,” said April Moore, the coordinator of the Oglethorpe County Family Connection. “We don’t just mindlessly choose programs. We make sure that it definitely is going to go to assisting those and what the people themselves know that they need, not what we think they need.”
There were 344 active users on the website and 390 sessions, with 1,140 pages viewed from Jan. 1 to March 10. The most viewed pages were De-escalating Cycles of Conflict, ABC’s of Substance Use and Vaping and Building Your Child’s Confidence.
Participation was anonymous, but required for those whose students had been identified as at risk for or with a history of truancy, attendance or behavioral issues.
“I don’t anticipate everybody jumping on board. We want to give parents an opportunity to get going with it,” Levine said. “This may not be a need right now, but next week, it is an issue.”
VIRTUAL MENTAL HEALTH SESSIONS
A full schedule of events can be found on the Oglethorpe County Schools website: oglethorpe.k12.ga.us. To register for virtual sessions or access the online database, visit parentguidance.org/mhsindex.