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STUDENT TO COUNSELOR RATIOS Area school districts reported a rising need in mental health services for students, with the COVID-19 pandemic compounding conditions such as anxiety and depression. Districts are hiring more counselors to lower ratios after reporting ratios above the American School Counselor recommendation in 2022-23. Represents 20 students Represents 1 counselor
SCHOOL DISTRICT GRANTS
Bexar County commissioners earlier this year gave 14 San Antonio school districts, including Judson, North Side and North East ISDs, grants funded with American Rescue Plan Act money. Districts are investing in more social workers and counselors as well as peer and parent mental health programming.
Judson ISD
$1.08M
North East ISD
AMERICAN SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATION 1 counselor per 250 students
$2.6M
Northside ISD
$4.5M
TEXAS 2021 22 SCHOOL YEAR 1 counselor per 390 students
NOTE: SCHERTZ CIBOLO UNIVERSAL CITY ISD WAS INELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE BEXAR COUNTY GRANTS BECAUSE THE DISTRICT RESIDES IN GUADALUPE COUNTY, WHERE ARPA FUNDS WERE USED TO DEAL WITH EXPLOSIVE GROWTH. SOURCE: BEXAR COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
JUDSON ISD 1 counselor per 275 students
NISD o cials plan to extend the Social Emotional Education and Development with Students, or SEEDS program, which is made possible through a partnership with nonpro t Communities in Schools, that works to help students graduate. SEEDS was started in 2018, and later received Elementary and Sec- ondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds to support it. The funds are set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 school year, Libby said. The program refers students for up to 8-10 clinical mental health counsel- ing sessions held on campus, she said. “We’re the rst line of mental health counseling on campus,” Libby said. “It really allows us to get the right kid to SEEDS.” Students can also do small group sessions, and parents can also do ses- sions with the counselors, Libby said. The district also has partnerships with area nonpro ts, including the Children’s Bereavement Center, Jew- ish Family Services and Project Hope, to better support students. Increasing crises One of NISD’s partners in provid- ing care is the Clarity Child Guidance Center, a San Antonio-based nonpro t mental health care provider and crisis center speci cally for youth. Clarity CEO and President Jessica Knudsen said prior to the pandemic, school counselors and other health care workers were seeing more chil- dren were needing help. One in ve youth su er from a behavioral issue or a mental illness,
Trejo said. The goals are to increase student connection, provide wrap- around support, and provide noti ca- tion and response services, she said. Questions such as, “How do we decrease those disenfranchised,” and, “When we know kids are in crisis, what systems do we have in place,” help dis- trict sta determine what support to put in place, she said. This summer, a new program, Beyond the Bell, was piloted that o ered counseling services for stu- dents and their families when school was out of session, Trejo said. Participants were surveyed, and 26.3% indicated needing support with healthy coping tactics and emotional regulation, she said. Trejo said NEISD o cials are also expanding a partnership with Texas Child Health Access Through Telemed- icine, which o ers telehealth services to help identify and assess students, and provide access to services. District sta are also working on a youth mental health rst aid program, Trejo said, with 16 people in training to roll it out districtwide. “We know we have to be in this for the long haul and that’s why the sus- tainability of this is so important,” she said. Northside ISD collaborates NISD is the largest district in San Antonio serving over 100,000 students. NISD Director of Counseling Mary Libby said counselors and adminis- trators are seeing the same challenges as other districts and are focused on mental wellness for students.
NORTH EAST ISD 1 counselor per 288 students
NORTHSIDE ISD 1 counselor per 270 students
SCHERTZ CIBOLO UNIVERSAL CITY ISD 1 counselor per 367 students
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
North East ISD adds resources NEISD is hiring two counselors, a district social services provider and support sta , and contracts with nonpro ts and counseling o ces to provide licensed mental health profes- sionals for students, Trejo said. District o cials are also working to reduce the number of students assigned to each counselor, which on average for the 2022-23 school year was one counselor to every 500 to 550 students. For the 2023-24 school year, the goal is to have one counselor to 350 stu- dents at the elementary level and one counselor to 450 students at the secondary level, Trejo said. Programming within the district targets at-risk youth, homelessness, student well-being and mental health. The district also provides the peer-to- peer leadership program Peers Assis- tance Leadership & Service, or PALS, and a program speci cally for parents,
displaying aggression, self-harming or threatening to hurt others, Trejo said. “We’re seeing [more signs] really, really early on,” Trejo said. Fewer students were reporting need- ing help, Trejo said, but the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, with parents losing jobs and students some- times losing family members. “We’re seeing the domino e ect in our community,” she said. “When you’re trying to triage food over men- tal health needs, food is going to come rst.” District data also shows an uptick in the number of “suicidal outcries,” she said. For the 2022-23 school year there were over 1,000 reported incidents. “We know there is a need,” she said. To address mental health, school districts are hiring more counselors, expanding programming and funnel- ing more money into services.
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