NORTH VERNON — Changes and additions are in store this year at Jennings County School Corp. schools as the district tries to help children in crisis and enhance educational offerings, the superintendent said.
The district has put an emphasis on helping the whole child after seeing an increase in discipline problems and crisis situations, Superintendent Teresa Brown said.
For example, expulsions at Jennings County High School increased from nine in 2015-16 to 23 in 2016-17 — a 156 percent increase in a single year.
“We took last year to study the situation and the data and now we are implementing our research,” Brown said.
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The three main areas studied by Brown and her staff were:
How to keep kids in school. “How to make our schools a place where kids want to be,” Brown said.
How the school system can provide increased academic growth and a higher level of learning.
How to grow the physical, mental and social health of all students, K through 12, and help the whole child so a positive school environment can lead to academic success.
Crisis situations for a child can be caused by food insecurity, poverty, homelessness, trauma and a home environment filled with drugs, Brown said.
“There isn’t a day without a child in crisis. It is at a level not seen before, and we needed to know what to do,” she said.
“This is not just happening here in Jennings County. It is happening everywhere, across the nation and the situation is escalating,” said Katie Brennan, the school district’s curriculum director.
Part of a new approach to helping students in crisis will be the implementation of the Trauma Informed Care Initiative, through a partnership with the Children’s Bureau. The program is designed to educate teachers and staff in techniques of how to help children in crisis.
With plans already in motion to increase assistance to children in crisis, Brown applied for a grant from the Eli Lily Endowment, Inc. to enable the implementation of additional counseling programs.
In 2016, Lily Endowment offered $12.2 million in grants to Indiana schools for increased counseling programs as an answer to the opioid crisis. Jennings County Schools applied for a grant and was awarded $418,388.
With that grant money, the district has hired a new full-time director of social and emotional learning, who will help students in need receive support.
The district also has started a program called the data dashboard system, which will make it easier to identify problem areas for at-risk students. The program, to be used in all the district’s schools, allows for data to be added to each student’s file at one time.
A new program to help the whole child is the Universal Breakfast Program. It will provide one free breakfast for all children in all grades at all schools every school day.
“Our schools qualified for this program so we are doing it. We want every student to start their day with a good breakfast. We want them to start out on an equal playing field and we want them to be happy to come to school,” Brown said.
Educational offerings
New academic programs for elementary schools will include a fine arts curriculum. Art and music education will be included in elementary classrooms.
All elementary students will have new science books, and all elementary schools will participate in a new Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about STEM in our schools. Thanks to (Cummins), we will have STEM in all of our elementary schools this year,” Brown said.
Cummins is providing both financial and technical assistance for the program, she added.
Other educational changes of note are:
Middle School students will participate in an expanded Advanced Manufacturing Day in October.
All students will received greater instruction in English and writing skills.
Jennings County High School will offer a variety of new online courses.
Jennings High students will have the opportunity to earn a work ethic certification from the Indiana Governor’s Office.
An increase in internship and mentorship programs for students is anticipated, Brown said, and a program to assist seniors with academic help for graduation will continue this year due to a grant from the North Vernon Redevelopment Council.
A new track and football field will be ready when students return to school Tuesday.
“There will be some additions as we go along, but we are all excited about the changes and new things for this year,” Brennen said.
