Photos by Ron Burkett.
Second grade students at Magnolia Elementary count and sort food collected during a food drive for T.E.A.M.
The Trussville City Schools system recently created the Family Resource Center to help students and families by connecting them to services and resources. An extension of the P.A.C.E. framework (Positive Attitude Changes Everything) that was already in place, the center is intended to provide information on various topics for supporting students.
“The focus of the Family Resource Center is to provide family support from an exhaustive list,” said Mandi Logan, assistant superintendent of student support for Trussville City Schools. “It just all depends on what the family needs to make that student successful at school or even be able to attend school.”
The three main avenues they’ve targeted are: academics, which includes tutoring and focuses on dropout prevention; resources, which include clothes, food and other student needs; and supportive, which is designed to help students in emotional areas. Logan said if families in their school district have a need, the school system wants to help them access resources or help themselves.
The idea came from Superintendent Patricia Neill, who learned of a similar process when she was working in Tennessee.
Implemented toward the end of the 2017-18 school year, the program was modified over the summer and information was placed on the TCS website and sent out to all families via email. The school counselors and nurses, who are generally the first to find out about issues, will have this information to be able to share with students and parents who come to them with their needs.
“We’ve always taken care of the needs of our families through counselors,” Logan said. “This is an attempt to break down the stigma of asking for help and letting families know we can do these things for them. I hope this program will help families get connected to the services they need.”
TEACH
The teaching portion will keep parents up to date on current trends and provide a list of parenting and family classes that are available to the community, along with academic support services. Logan said they receive many calls about getting academic help for their students, and the school system is in the process of creating a document that lists all the different subjects that teachers can help tutor.
In the future, counselors want to put on presentations for the students on the latest trends they are seeing in schools, and Logan will be adding more information to thissection of the website as time goes on.
“There are some TED Talks we think would be beneficial, along with a lot of other things we are sifting through to put on this page,” she said. “We want this to become a robust resource that parents who are struggling with things can get more education.”
The immediate support section contains links needed in the event of an emergency, such as the Crisis Hotline, Teen Link, Rape Response and Suicide Prevention.
“If it’s something that just can’t wait and someone is in need of help right now, that’s the information we want them to see,” Logan said.
CONNECT
The P.A.C.E. framework that was already in place in the schools is the Character Education Initiative, which teaches students personal skills that will help them with relationships throughout life. Every month, a different characteristic is highlighted through teacher lessons and morning quotes from the counselors. They include wisdom, initiative, contentment, cooperation, compassion, self-control, service, individuality, hope and perseverance.
Believing that a sense of belonging is foundational to learning, another mechanism that has been put into place is the “roster activity.” This is to ensure every student is known personally by at least five adults in the school, not just by face and name.
SUPPORT
Support is provided for non-emergency situations and divided into headings. Being proactive and preventative can improve overall mental health needs. If someone is in need of support, they can review the list and connect with a provider. These services include counseling, therapy, behavioral health, drug abuse, physical abuse and LGBTQ resources.
Logan said this page has gotten a lot of attention, even from organizations outside of the Birmingham area.
“This page must be easy to find, because I have several people contact me from out of state and ask me to add them to our resource page,” she said. “It’s not something I expected, but it has been nice to add more resources.”
Logan said she hopes this Family Resource Center will have an impact on families in the Trussville City School system.
“We know we have needs, how can we better find out and connect people. There are a lot of people that may not take the time to find this information, so we’ve taken that part out of the process. Having it all in one place might make people inclined to take the next step,” Logan said.
As part of the school system’s resources for families, a student support specialist role has been created. A licensed social worker in this role will identify and assist students in need; work with Family Court and agencies for families and mental health; create education and development opportunities; and act as a representative of mental health and social needs during District Safety Team meetings, Logan said.
