CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia School Superintendent Michelle Blatt says a recently-launched statewide online coaching platform could potentially be a solution to students’ growing behavioral and mental health issues.
She addressed ParentGuidence.org at a recent meeting with the West Virginia Department of Education about tackling the increasing discipline problems educators in the state have been facing with students, particularly on the elementary level.
Part of a three-year contract with the Cook Center for Human Connection, Blatt said the free online resource is meant to provide support for parents and teachers across the state in dealing with students mental health and behavior by offering one-on-one coaching with qualified therapists on a bi-weekly basis.
She said it’s meant to give parents and teachers real mental health support and answers on how to manage it within their students.
“It’s directed to the questions that parent has, the issues they’re facing with their individual children, or with our teachers, it’s directed on what’s happening in their classroom, and how they can provide better support for that,” Blatt said.
Mimi Browning works in WVDE’s Special Education Office and she has now become a big proponent of ParentGuidence.org.
Browning talked about the program during the meeting saying she had first learned about it during another meeting when someone brought it to their attention. She said right away it seemed like something that would be very beneficial to students and families.
“They talked about how this is going to be great for family engagement and from the special education perspective, that’s huge because that is something that we push a lot, always looking for, trying to figure how we can bring better family engagement,” she said.
Browning said upon signing up for the platform, she automatically noticed how simple it was to use. She said she then began talking to a counselor through the one-on-one parent coaching tool the site offers and immediately felt encouraged.
“As we finished I started thinking, wow, this is not directly for the children, but this is for the parents, and there are so many resources, so many things to help them,” she said.
Browning said the coaching offered is also customizable to whatever your situation and relationship is with the child, not only supporting parents but grandparents and caregivers as well.
She said it’s also a prime resource for teachers to use as they deal with the behaviors in the classroom.
“Our teachers, they’re struggling right now,” she said. “I hear all of the time how hard it is out there with the behaviors, with the things that the kiddos are going through, it’s another world, and these resources are going to be gamechangers.”
Through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), the program initially started off in six counties in the state, however, following its success in those counties it was decided to take the platform statewide.
The program not only offers one-on-one parent/ teacher coaching but on-demand parenting sessions and an “Ask a Therapist” tool that features a frequently updated question-and-answer forum.
Browning said when parents and teachers are healthier, they will be able to serve the children better.
“We’re talking about our tiered system of support, when you’re looking at academics and behavior and mental health, when you’re mental health is good that supports your behavior, that supports your academics,” Browning said.
Over 6,000 schools across the country currently utilizes ParentGuidence.org, offering more than 3.3 million families in 46 states access to the services.