Gateway Family Services of Potomac will be bringing their counselors to District 118’s North Ridge Middle School. A $104,500 investment was approved by the District 118 Board Wednesday night, and Gateway Family Services’ Michael Remole says the after effects of the pandemic are still being felt.
AUDIO: We know that COVID has had a great impact on all of us in a variety of different ways. And one of those things is, how do we address the prolonged stress that we’ve all been exposed to? Our services would work to come in, support the student in the classroom with a variety of different ways and strategies; while also supporting the parents and the teachers, to help give them the tools that they can help their students not just in the classroom but out in the community.
Gateway Family Services is currently working in other school systems, Rantoul and Armstrong-Potomac as two examples. Remole says going to North Ridge in Danville, which has all of District 118’s seventh and eighth graders, matches their objectives well.
AUDIO: How do we tolerate stress? How to we learn effective communication strategies? How do we develop our leadership, or enhance our leadership skills?
Remole also mentions that what Gateway Family Services will be doing at North Ridge will be during the regular school day, on campus. And will not be conflicting with students’ regular class time. Students will be recommended for the program by teachers and school administration.
AUDIO: We want to come into the school, provide those mental health services; so they can go back to the classroom and be successful, and then they can still have the evening to do their extracurriculars and be with their family. So we’ve been working with administration to figure out when are we going to meet with them, and that we don’t disrupt their academics.
Gateway Family Services will begin at North Ridge during the fall semester.
