The El Dorado School District received its second-ever VIP (Violence Intervention Plan) grant from the SHARE Foundation in January in order to establish a coordinated social-emotional support system for K-12 students.
Implementation of the new system, which will center around on trauma-informed, evidenced-based curriculum that district staff and faculty will be trained in, will begin at the start of the 2022/2023 school year, said Jennifer Lee, director of special programs for the ESD.
District officials in January were set to visit schools that had implemented different social-emotional learning models to make a decision on what curriculum they would introduce in the next school year.
Lee noted the impact COVID-19 has had on many students' well-being when she accepted the district's grant award in January.
"For our students, not only have they experienced learning loss, but they're in a place right now where they need more social-emotional support," she said. "Hopefully, the work we do in the schools will help prevent some of the long-term effects of mental health, substance and drug abuse problems. Hopefully it will help decrease issues in Union County as kids get older."
Counselors within the ESD already work with students to develop healthy, constructive communication skills and the "ability to understand themselves and others," according to the district's website. Students are encouraged to set positive goals, be responsible, solve problems and work hard in school.
For more information about the district's counseling services, visit eldoradopublicschools.org/page/counseling or call the Director of Counseling Services at 870-864-5100.