D C Everest Area School District

A student’s mood, performance, concentration, and engagement can be affected by their home environment; academic, athletic, extracurricular and job commitments; personal, professional and familial relationships; familial financial or career pressures; personal or familial health issues; and a plethora of other factors. At D.C. Everest, we are committed to taking care of the whole student — helping individuals cope with factors that can interfere with their learning and overall mental health. To ensure all students — not just at-risk students — have access to mental health services, we became a member of the Marathon County School-based Mental Health Consortium. This program provides all students with a more accessible means of getting the help they need by offering on-site therapy sessions with private practice professionals during school hours. We are also taking part in the United Way Partnership for Youth’s “Tiers of Support” diversion pilot that utilizes community-based services to address challenging behaviors and truancy with supportive — rather than punitive— approaches. We also work to address mental health issues by providing staff with Adverse Childhood Experiences training and by participating in community initiatives and roundtable discussions.