Mental Health Support .. need of the hour
Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, 2021
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services “Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Needs” report published in December 2021 highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools, and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations.
While acknowledging and supporting all the recommendations, S4, “The Specialized Student Services System” directly addresses Challenge 7, “Lack of Access to Usable Data to Guide Implementation Decisions” by enabling all student service providers to collect data and artifacts in one central repository and using that to collaboratively work as a team with the student and the student’s parents to provide the necessary support for the student, effectively and in a timely manner.
S4 – Centralized Student Services Repository
S4 Superpowers Student Services Providers By:
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Minimizing data entry through ease of use and integration with Student Information Systems, Special Education Systems, S4, maximizes service provider’s time for the student.
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Automating the workflow of care for a student, S4 ensures students receive the care they need in a timely manner and a student’s case is not left in one person’s file folders, forgotten.
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Recording the history of services provided to a student in one central repository, S4 shows a complete picture of student care.
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Displaying current and historical trends of service hot spots and times of demand, S4 enables District Administrators to make equitable staffing decisions.
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Accounting for all the services provided and enabling correlation to Student Growth, S4 allows District Directors to shine a bright, positive light on the value of Student Service Providers.
S4 Enables Schools to Offer Holistic Learning
Holistic Learning is education for the ‘whole’ learner
By facilitating and nurturing students’ intellectual, physical, social, creative and emotional capacities, schools can prepare learners for real life, not just for their next exam. This will enable students to gain the skills and understanding to interact and navigate the uncertainties that life throws at them, become mentally, physically strong as a “whole” person.
Collaboration amongst all service providers of students and parents is improved through S4, enabling schools to offer holistic education for students.