Gilmer High School’s wraparound program is seeking to identify students’ essential needs and provide assistance.
At last month’s board of education work session, GHS principal Carla Foley, assistant principal Tiffany Boyette and counseling department chair Daniel Marshall provided information about the program and how it has evolved.
Foley noted she started exploring wraparound services about three years ago. She was introduced to then Marietta High principal Leigh Colburn, who advises schools around the country.
“She (Colburn) started a student success center; a place where students could have different needs that might be met around academic, social and economic or family needs,” Foley said. “It was anything that was a barrier to students in regard to them graduating from high school.”
Foley visited Marietta’s campus and toured the center to explore some of the programs in place. She left that meeting impressed and has since tried to replicate some of those services at GHS.
The goal is to help students meet basic needs so they can thrive in an educational setting.
“We were seeing deficits in our student achievement and wanted to talk with kids and find out what are those barriers preventing them from graduating or meeting high academic expectations,” Foley said.
Over the previous three years, a survey cultivated by students has been distributed to those in 10th through 12th grade to identify academic, social, behavioral, emotional and family needs.
Four hundred thirty five students took the survey last November. College application and scholarship assistance was the top academic need for students. Meeting with juniors and seniors yearly, attending college seminars and preparing students for the SAT are just some services in place by GHS counselors.
The top life skill needs for GHS students included driver’s education, financial planning, personal and home safety, healthy relationships and job readiness.
The school holds an “adulting day” where members of the community teach classes to students and cover topics such as resume writing and financial literacy. All seniors must write a resume and research jobs and qualifications prior to graduation.
Job fairs are also open to students. They are provided financial education and able to attend workshops that focus on subjects such as paying for college.
GHS uses a program called High School High Tech. It aids students with disabilities and helps them find career paths and prepare to enter the workforce.
The school also identified a spike in teen pregnancies for the 2020-2021 school year.
“We have been working with our local pregnancy center, and what we have found this year — maybe due to the pandemic — there is a really high rate of teen pregnancies,” Boyette said. “In the five years I’ve been there, those five years added together is how many pregnancies we have this year alone.”
The pregnancy center meets with expecting mothers once per week to teach basic parenting skills.
“In my time as principal, we average one or two students a year. This year, we’re at six that we know of right now,” Foley said. “We think a big part of that was the pandemic and not being in a school with structure.”
Students are incentivised to attend classes at the pregnancy center and receive items such as diapers, formula, car seats and cribs for doing so.
Social and emotional needs singled by students included overall mental health, anxiety, self -steem, depression and anger management. GHS works with a local wellness and recovery center to address those matters.
“We have partnered with Highland Rivers. They’re actually in our school two days per week providing individual counseling, as well as some small group counseling during the lunch block,” Foley said. “They do a basic mental health session where students can show up if they want to. It’s a place kids can go to talk to a licensed therapist if they need any help in those areas.”
Needs of the school’s Hispanic students were also assessed. Students expressed the desire to have English speaking classes for parents, the ability to connect with businesses with a Spanish speaking staff, as well as in-class instruction with a Spanish speaking teacher.
“We have English classes provided to parents through a local church,” Boyette said. “We have math classes that are currently offered to our ESOL students who speak Spanish. She does not solely speak Spanish because we know the importance of them learning English.
“We have an on-site translator we cannot thank enough. About 30 percent of our population is Hispanic. To have someone right there who can call home is amazing.”
Additional service in place includes a clothes closet, food pantry and a mentor program. In the future, GHS plans to partner with CORE for job shadowing, hold a High School High Tech job fair and provide an on-site health clinic.