Kiski Area School District offering additional staff, counseling to help young kids deal with pandemic
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In response to students’ growing needs for emotional support, Kiski Area School District has increased its counseling staff.
Behavior specialist Autumn Patterson was hired in December to assist students in grades K-6. She joins fellow specialists T.J. Neal and Chelsey Perriello, both hired in August.
In the wake of the covid pandemic, school leaders across the nation are reporting an increased need for counseling services. Kiski Area Upper Elementary Principal Brian Swartzlander said addressing the mental health, social, emotional and well-being issues for all students is a priority.
“At the beginning of the school year, it quickly became apparent there was a need for additional support at the K-6 level. With Mrs. Patterson added to our team, we are able to provide more students with high-level services,” Swartz- lander said.
Patterson knows what students are facing.
“Some of the students have anxiety, anger and frustration because they were out of school for a year,” she said. “They weren’t able to interact with their peers when they were home.”
Patterson, who grew up in New Kensington, recalls that when she attended Valley High School, there were no counselors at all.
She sees about a dozen elementary students in a day. They have been responsive to the sessions, she said.
“I haven’t had one kid tell me ‘no’ yet,” Patterson said.
Sessions typically are 30 minutes to an hour and are individualized for each student.
Sensory rooms
Patterson’s first project at Kiski Area Upper Elementary is a sensory room.
First developed for students on the autism spectrum or with other special needs, the rooms provide a comfortable setting and relief from overstimulation. They are equipped with swings, weighted blankets, a trampoline, bean bag chairs, fiber-optic sensory-friendly lighting, galaxy projector, rocker seats and more. At Kiski, the room is available to any student with the need for a break.
The items focus on four key sensory therapies: movement, sound, touch and light. Sensory items provide a tactile (using one’s hands) activity; the weighted blankets provide a compression component that can be calming.
Patterson said completion of the room has been delayed because of pandemic shipping and supply issues, but she expects it will be finished by May.
At East Primary, Perriello also has added a sensory room, open to any student.
“Some students who struggle day to day just need time to breathe without 20 other kids staring at them,” Perriello said.
Sensory rooms already are in existence at Kiski Area’s East, North and South Elementary schools.
“We are providing students with life and social skills at the elementary level that will help them build upon when they move to the upper elementary,” Perriello said.
About 200 students have received social and emotional lessons during the current school year.
Kids’ most common struggle
All the specialists agreed a common issue they’re hearing from students concerns readjusting to a return to in-person instruction after a year of learning remotely from home.
“They had to break off and come back and transition back to school. The students are excited to be back in person, but the behavior issues are a variety — a lot of the kids are struggling with emotional stability,” Neal said.
Perriello has more than a decade of experience working with children and adolescents in mental health and public school settings.
She said the addition of Patterson to the team was needed.
“Having three of us really lets us focus on specific buildings,” said Perriello, who works at East and North Primary Elementary schools.
Patterson handles South Primary Elementary and Kiski Area Upper Elementary Schools, while Neal is based at the intermediate and high school.
“I feel the problems and situations are lessening because now the students have someone to come talk to — a resource,” Patterson said.
Neal, who was raised in McKeesport, teaches Social Emotional Learning, a semester-long class for grades 9-12.
“We teach them how to deal with stress, how to manage trauma, forgive, be resilient, have confidence and teach components that will make them a better person,” Neal said.