CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

EdAdvance unveils plans to expand services in Litchfield County

The Register Citizen - 2/23/2023

Feb. 22—LITCHFIELD — EdAdvance's presence in Litchfield County schools soon will include mental health services, thanks to a $8.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant will be used to provide school-based mental health services in 30 schools, grades K-12 in northwest Connecticut over the next five years. This multi-pronged approach aims to increase the number of credentialed, school-based mental health providers and services in small, rural schools in northwestern Connecticut, according to EdAdvance'sAbby Peklo, who wrote the grant application.

"We are the only Connecticut entity to receive this huge, impactful grant in our region," Peklo said.

The $8.7 million federal funding was a "long shot," she said, adding that smaller school districts such as those in northwest Connecticut need support to help children want to be in school, but "we went for it."

Northwest Regional 7 Superintendent Judy Palmer, who is retiring from the district in June after more than 20 years, will become director of social-emotional learning and mental health at EdAdvance; Esther Bobwick, an educational consultant at EdAdvance, will join Palmer in her new position.

EdAdvance Executive Director Jeffrey Kitching was joined this week to announce the grant, and how it would be used, by state Rep. Karen Reddington-Hughes, R-Woodbury, Rep. Cindy Harrison, R-Southbury, and school and EdAdvance officials including Peklo.

"The Northwest Corner is often thought of as forgotten," Peklo said. "But the kids here experienced increased isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, just like others did."

Back to class

Jonathan P. Costa Sr., assistant executive director at EdAdvance, said the pandemic made it more difficult for students to connect to their own school community, a challenge exacerbated by lost school days and an adjustment to remote learning.

Absenteeism, he said, has become such a problem that school districts are training staff to work with families to get children back in the classroom.

"They work with the families, asking how they can help, what can they do," Costa said. "The program is called LEAP, which stands for the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program. Torrington is participating in that program. We've seen good results from it over the last year."

"It's an initiative to help kids know they're part of a bigger school community," Kitching said. "The stronger the mental health of a school community is, the better for the students. ... This opens the door for parents, for children who are chronically absent, to help them improve their attendance, and it helps the students and teachers."

Anxiety about returning to school can keep children at home, Costa said. "Social-emotional learning isn't reactive, but to help students realize their skills and feel better about returning to the classroom," he said. "It helps them stay connected."

CDC study

According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impacts of the pandemic on students, more than one-third, or 37 percent, of high school students included in the study reported they experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, and 44 percent reported they persistently felt sad or hopeless during the past year. The new analyses also described some of the severe challenges youths encountered during the pandemic.

For example, 55 percent reported they experienced emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in the home, including swearing at, insulting or putting down the student, according to the CDC. Eleven percent said they experienced physical abuse by a parent or other adult in the home. And more than 29 percent reported that a parent or other adult in their home had lost a job, according to the CDC.

Before the pandemic, mental health already was worsening among high school students, according to prior CDC data.

"These data echo a cry for help," said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students' mental wellbeing. Our research shows that surrounding youth with the proper support can reverse these trends and help our youth now and in the future."

The CDC's study also raised the importance of being connected.

"Findings also highlight that a sense of being cared for, supported, and belonging at school — called 'school connectedness' — had an important effect on students during a time of severe disruption," according to the 2021 study. "Youth who felt connected to adults and peers at school were significantly less likely than those who did not to report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (35 vs. 53 percent); that they seriously considered attempting suicide (14 vs. 26 percent); or attempted suicide (6 vs. 12 percent). However, fewer than half (47 percent) of youth reported feeling close to people at school during the pandemic."

"School connectedness is a key to addressing youth adversities at all times — especially during times of severe disruptions," said Kathleen A. Ethier, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health. "Students need our support now more than ever, whether by making sure that their schools are inclusive and safe or by providing opportunities to engage in their communities and be mentored by supportive adults."

In response to the growing need for services, EdAdvance is recruiting and hiring 15 credentialed school-based mental health professionals to provide mental health services at schools in 20 communities. Schools participating in the initiative include Barkhamsted Elementary, Bethlehem Elementary, Booth Free, Botelle Elementary, Colebrook Consolidated, Cornwall Consolidated, Explorations Charter School, Goshen Center, Mary P. Hinsdale, Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Kellogg Elementary, Kent Center, Litchfield Center, Litchfield Intermediate, Mitchell Elementary, James Morris, Nonnewaug High School, North Canaan Elementary, Northwestern Regional High School, Northwestern Regional Middle School, Pearson School, Salisbury Central, Sharon Center, Shepaug Valley School, Burnham School, Wamogo Regional High School, Wamogo Regional Middle School, Warren Elementary, Washington Primary and Woodbury Middle School.

Buying properties for growth

The agency last year purchased East School from Torrington and plans to use it for a career pathways program and other educational services. Its Head Start program, now operating at East School, will be moved to the former Sacred Heart church campus on Grove Street, which EdAdvance also purchased in January.

Using the large parking lot across from the church, EdAdvance now is seeking permits to build an 8,000-square-foot building with classrooms for Head Start, an early childhood education program, and plans to renovate the church building for office and program rooms, Kitching said.

"We finalized the purchase of the church and we are working with Planning & Zoning," he said, noting EdAdvance bought the property and buildings for $450,000. The renovation and construction projects, he said, could cost between $5 million and $6.5 million by the time they're completed.

"We are scheduled to give another presentation to the Planning & Zoning Commission in mid-March," Kitching said. "Once we get our permits in place, we'll move on to the construction phase. So we're moving ahead."

Kitching said the education agency looked at a number of properties in Torrington before finding Sacred Heart Church.

"We want to be in Torrington, in a place that will serve as a hub for all the things we do," he said. "We tried to purchase the old UConn Torrington site, but it didn't work out for us. We've also looked at some other churches. But in the end, I think we've found the best place for what we need to do."

The biggest benefit to the Grove Street site, he said, is the big parking lot. "That's just what we needed, to build the new building with classroom space," he said.

Kitching also wanted people to know that Sacred Heart's religious artifacts, from the church and adjacent building, were not lost, destroyed or stolen. "We worked with the church and the diocese, and everything was moved appropriately," he said. "The church has a process for handling those things."

___

(c)2023 The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.

Visit The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn. at www.registercitizen.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.