To strengthen the social-emotional learning among students
Goshen Community Schools (GCS) has signed a contract with the Oaklawn Psychiatric Center to provide mental health services. This partnership will provide school-based services and support for GCS students across all grade levels. According to the contract, the collaborative partnership between GCS and Oaklawn has been designed to strengthen the social-emotional learning interventions offered to GCS students.
Under this contract, expert managers with mental health knowledge will serve all schools within the Goshen school system. Also, the integration of mental health expertise and services into the school environment will improve the school’s ability to address the social-emotional needs of students as well as enhance student’s educational/academic performance and overall functioning.
Partnership for the student’s health and wellness program
Oaklawn provides mental health and addiction treatment for children, adolescents and adults in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. So, administrators and staff from both GCS and Oaklawn will develop a plan to evaluate and measure student progress. In such cases, where the social or emotional needs of students are beyond the typical classroom and assessments, consultations could be made available to school staff to consider additional mental health services and resources in the interest of maintaining the student in the classroom and in their home school.
Various services fall under this contract that includes working with school counselors in the identification of students in need of other social services, youth development activities, health care, prevention or other informal supports that would impact the stability of the youth and their families and link them with those services. Also, to provide risk assessments for emergency services and arrange for psychiatric hospitalization when needed. Moreover, drug and alcohol prevention and dealing with depression that could be combined into health and wellness classes.
