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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2021)
6A | SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS RESPONSE from page 1A “We’re small enough that it doesn’t matter if it’s a middle school, high school or elementary student. It tends to be something that reaches every single build- ing. We look at where our contacts lie and where the ripple is. Then the building teams move into action to take care of more immedi- ate needs.” The administrative teams at the facilities then come into play, incorporating their counseling staff. Middle School Vice Principal Nathan Green said that his building has a designated space, such as the library, for a student to meet one-on-one with a counselor or take time to process. This procedure is in place across the district. Even with COVID-19, there are identified spaces in each fa- cility to allow for these care rooms. At Siuslaw High School, “Prior to COVID, we had a care room that was set Shoppe LOCAL #MyFlorence Shop. Eat. Support. SAVE. SHOP SUPPORT up that we were able to utilize as a single space. Now we’ve identified mul- tiple spaces, and multiple buildings as well, to make sure that space is available,” said Principal Garth Gerot. “The kids can stay dis- tanced and still receive the support they need.” It often falls on the teach- ing staff to alert students. They are advised to tell the facts while providing sup- port and quelling rumors. Gerot continued, “We’re trying to get a common message out, trying to re- spect the family and their wishes, so having a sim- ple, factual statement helps those teachers prepare.” The Siuslaw Care Team also keeps the staff mem- bers in mind. “If (the event involves) an older student, I always try to reach out to previ- ous teachers who might be more personally con- nected,” Harklerode said. “We’re also very aware of those events that might trigger a stronger response in some staff and speak to them.” By this point, Grzesko- wiak will be reaching out to neighboring school dis- tricts. He works with Ma- pleton Superintendent Jodi O’Mara to give correct in- formation and provide sup- port to her students. This is important due to the closeness of the two school districts and the many con- nections between students and families in western Lane County. Through it all, staff is working to identify trau- matic responses. “We really want to keep an eye out for not just stu- dents that are directly in- volved, but also other in- dividuals who have been impacted by trauma and events that happened in their lives,” Gerot said. “We want to be hyper vigilant to be making contact with the counselors, and admin- istration as we get them in contact with resources.” The district’s counseling staff will also be in place by this point, establishing care rooms and preparing to reach out to specific stu- dents. Counselor Parma Roe said, “We talk about that circle of impact, moving outward from the victim, to family to best friends, peers, and then we identify students in our own build- ings who might need our support. We connect with them and offer that sup- port.” The counselors are also in touch with the family, with one designated staff member as the contact be- tween the district and the family involved in an inci- dent. “We’re just making those connections and making sure that families and stu- dents know we’re here, we’re available and we’re ready to help them,” Roe said. The Siuslaw School Dis- trict is making every effort to respond to needs of fam- ilies affected by tragedy. “These situations are very difficult for the fami- ly,” Grzeskowiak said. “We don’t overstep and issue a message outside or beyond what the family is comfort- able with. In some instanc- es, people have requested that we say nothing public- ly other than, ‘If you’re go- ing to address students, just tell them this.’” In terms of this week’s incident, the district liaison remains in contact with the family. “We know where they’re at right now and what’s happening. Right now, we’re giving them a little space,” Osbon said. The district will be ready to move forward with next steps once the family is. In the past, that involved a grief open house or a me- morial, such as planting a tree or rhododendron, or honoring the life lost with- in the district facilities. Later this month, Siu- slaw’s counseling team is adding another element to their training through a workshop with Roger Bru- baker, MPH, Sr. Commu- nity Health Analyst with Prevention Lane. The Applied Suicide In- tervention Skills Training (ASIST) will take place locally on April 21 and 22 and includes Mapleton School District. According to Counselor Laura Osbon, “Brubaker assists with all Lane Coun- ty Schools on these kinds of issues. … I’m very glad to have that resource because, as we all know being in Florence, we are kind of at the end of services in Lane County.” She said that Prevention Lane also gets in contact with families affected by tragedies. During the days after a traumatic event in the dis- trict, the counselors con- tinue to work with staff and students and maintain the care rooms. They use the same format when they are called to be a “flight team” for another school district. These teams of counselors and school staff provide outreach and additional support to the other school’s staff. In re- cent years, Siuslaw has sent a team to Reedsport and Mapleton, and both dis- tricts have been available in return. Grzeskowiak said his role is often to be a spokesper- son, which allows the oth- er school’s administration to cope with the incident requiring the flight team. Siuslaw counselors who go end up supporting the other school’s staff where needed, including through operating a trauma room. Counselor Allison Bit- ner said one of the most important aspects of this room is the log people sign when they enter. “If we need to follow up with any students after the fact, if they’re particularly triggered, we can do so,” she said. “We provide contact information for the sui- cide hotline and always put them in contact with other resources, including local resources like the Western Lane Health Network.” The upcoming ASIST workshop will continue to equip Siuslaw staff. The school district received a grant for the training, which help with suicide in- tervention and screenings According to Roe, “When kids manifest risk factors, or there are some red flags, we will be trained in giving them those screening as- sessments. So that grant is going to come in very valu- able to us.” Siuslaw’s counseling team looks for risk factors throughout the school year. Counselor Steve Moser said, “A lot of what we try to do is preventative, pro- active measures to keep things from happening. A lot of times, we tend to be reactionary to an incident, but there are a lot of things we do from the counseling side on the preventative side of it.” This ranges from cov- ering topics like mental health and dating during students’ PRIDE classes to intervention methods. One of those is the Se- curly notification system Siuslaw uses on every dis- trict-issued Chromebook in use during compre- hensive distance learning (CDL). This program scans emails and documents to flag references to self-harm or suicide, access to web- sites pertaining to these topics or particularly dark- themed assignments. “It has been a signifi- cant help to our district,” Roe said. “This system has enabled us to reach out to both students and families of students who are quietly suffering.” Counselors are able to refer students to fur- ther assistance, including the Western Lane Health Network, a collaboration between Mapleton and Siuslaw school districts, PeaceHealth, Lane County Government and counsel- ing services. The team also relies on teachers and aides who work directly with stu- dents. “Teachers do a really great job of keeping us in- formed if there’s an issue, like overhearing something or seeing something in a paper that just triggers an alarm for us,” Moser said. Counselors are also avail- able for one-on-one meet- ings with students who feel they need it. For Siuslaw Special Ser- vices Director Lisa Utz, the district Care Team is part of “it takes a village to raise a child.” “From my perspective, what is evident is we have a system, we have logistics, we have ways to do things, we have all of the different responses and everything. The key piece here is all of these people are human,” she said. “Everybody re- sponding to this crisis is human. So that’s why there is this beauty of a village doing this, and the inter- connectedness of all of us helping each other out at this time. … It is nice to know that we’re all in each other’s hands, and we’re all in good hands.” It helps in the regular school year and has been even more important in the ongoing COVID-19 pan- demic. The Care Team re- sponds even when students aren’t on campus, such as during summer break or when the students are in CDL. Typically, the team re- sponds one to three times a year, both in district and as a flight team. “If someone makes a call and says they need help — you roll out,” Grzeskowiak said. “And sometimes we make that call too. It just happens. “Unfortunately, we’ve had to do this too many times, for too many things.” During Thursday’s meet- ing, the team encouraged people to get help before it got to crisis level. Gerot said, “It’s really important to note, espe- cially going through this year of COVID, there are a lot of people hurting out there. It’s important — for students, parents or anyone with concerns — to bring them to someone that can act on it. The more we talk about those things, we don’t let them go unnoticed or unidentified. It is critical that we’re talking to them that we’re helping to sup- port people in our commu- nity across the board.” District policy is to di- rect students and families towards professional help, Grzeskowiak said, with the district as just one of those options. “If somebody is strug- gling, don’t shrug it off and hear them the right way,” he pleaded. “Steer them to somebody that can help them make that contact and make that report, because if you don’t, the tragedy that ensues from that is going to stick. That’s going to haunt people. And we don’t want that either.” He continued, “In the case of a mental health crisis, it is important for students and adults across the board. And that’s what we’re trying to push peo- ple towards. Go to the suicide hotline, go to your local doctor, even go to the emergency room. 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