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Date: 3/23/2022
CHICOPEE – While conditions surrounding the pandemic improve, school districts continue to increase supportive measures to counter the past two years of challenges for students. During the March 16 School Committee meeting, Assistant Superintendent Alvin Morton highlighted the district’s support service efforts.
As Morton describes it, the Student Support Services office serves as a “jack of all trades” in the school district, often assisting in every facet outside of curriculum. The assistant superintendent provided a detailed overview of the district’s current standings in supportive services.
In terms of counseling and social/emotional learning, Morton shared that the district employs a Mental Health Taskforce made up of counselors, school social workers and school adjustment counselors. The taskforce and each school’s counselors work to remove barriers surrounding mental health and provide different counseling initiatives.
Some of the projects include the suicide prevention program Signs of Suicide (SOS), the community safety program SAY SOMETHING and a wellness class entitled Breathe for Change, according to Morton.
The assistant superintendent also discussed the district’s food services. Known as Chicopee FRESH, Morton said the food program provides locally sourced and nutritious meals through a farm-to-school approach, with the organization’s purchases aiding local agriculture centers. Chicopee FRESH collaborates alongside the Chicopee Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club and other community staples to ensure a wide net of students are taken care of, according to Morton.
Morton stressed that Chicopee FRESH took on additional importance as the program provided daily grab-and-go breakfasts, lunches and dinners during the pandemic.
“Those ladies were out there doing grab and go [meals] in any type of weather … During the pandemic, we were serving it to all families and students,” said Morton. The district continues to offer free meals in schools as a part of Chicopee’s USDA Community Eligibility Provision.
The assistant superintendent said the district remains proactive in securing grants for different outlets. During the 2021-2022 school year, Chicopee Public Schools gained $42 million in grant funds from 40 different grants, which Morton said is the most the district has seen in grant money in some time.
After the presentation, School Committee members expressed their support for the efforts achieved in student services. Ward 4 School Committee member Sandra Peret said the schools thoughtfully aid students outside of the standard curriculum performance. “It’s nice to hear that our focus isn’t simply on the student itself, but we have a holistic approach to things,” said Peret.
Ward 2 School Committee member David Barsalou said he is supportive of the district’s reinforcement of emotional well-being but stressed more should be accomplished on behalf of the teachers.
“These people need help. They may not always reach out, but we have to reach out to them. We have to make sure everyone in our schools are physically and mentally taken care of,” said Barsalou.
Morton assured Barsalou that teachers’ well-being remains paramount to the district. “As part of our program, everything I mentioned is geared toward staff also. Our focus has been staff and student well-being,” said Morton.
Superintendent Lynn Clark shared that the district spends $26,000 a year on an employee assistance program that helps provide staff with health resources. “In this past year, we’ve had more staff than we’ve ever had take advantage of those services,” said Clark.
The School Committee will meet again on April 6.