As the needs of our students increase each year, so do our responses. As technology has evolved it has also added a new level of stress on us. The ability or inability to consume all the information that is at our fingertips has caused many challenges within our society. Sorting out what is true or false along with the intensity of all that information and social media pressures can be, at times, overwhelming for all of us. These pressures have left many students and adults in our community in need of extra support. These are often challenges that fall upon the school and to be successful we need a wide variety of supports.
A preventative strategy for us is to make sure that all of our students have a strong sense of belonging in the community and that they feel like they are an integral part of our school community. The feeling of being part of the community helps all of our students and staff be comfortable and safe. This also allows the members of our school community to ask for help when it is needed.
When help is needed, our skilled student services department responds quickly. This department is made up of counselors, special education teachers, school social workers, deans of students, and school psychologists. The mission of this group is to have all of our students appropriately challenged academically and to assist our students in developing their social-emotional skills. This group of professionals provides our students with College and Career Planning; Individual Counseling and Group Counseling; Academic Student Support; Mental Health and Behavior Supports; Crisis Response; and IEP/504 Evaluation and Assessment.
We are extremely fortunate that our community provides us the financing to provide these supports. This support allows us to meet our goal to have a safe environment where students feel like they belong and that we continue to support their development of academic and emotional skills so each student can be successful in our society.
David B. Newberry
Proud Principal
Lakes Community High School
