Fallon County schools offering specialized training




There will be some specialized training in how to handle mental health crises available to teachers, staff and members of the community Nov. 10 at Longfellow School in Baker. There are two one-hour sessions – at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. – in the Longfellow gym.

“We are allowed to have up to 70 individuals, up to 35 per session,” said Baker Schools Superintendent Aaron Skogen. He noted there were still some seats open late last week. “If there are some community members interested in attending, they can get hold of me at the high school office. I would register them.”

There are member of the Plevna School staff also signed up for the course, the superintendent said.

In addition, the class will hopefully change the way the staff sees the students. “That program would really help change the way our staff perceive our students in general.”

He said that the district has also purchased new health care curriculum at middle school and high school. “It contains resources and instructions in mental health and social-emotional well-being for the kids.”

He said that he is in the process of coordinating with ‘Youth Aware.’ “It is a program called YAM (Youth Aware Mental Health) that is organized and recognized by the Montana OPI (Office of Public Instruction) as training for suicide awareness and prevention. It focuses on raising mental health awareness, risk and protective factors associated with suicide.”

The superintendent said the program will be included into the curriculum later in November.

“We have also brought in professional training from Quantum Learning that has taught us the importance of forming meaningful and intentional relationships with our students. A staff who knows the students is obviously better equipped to identify early warning signs.”

He explained that the best thing the teachers and staff can do for the students is create healthy relationships with them. “Overall, we are doing the best that we can.”

According to Skogen, the schools have been working to gather resources for teachers, staff and families to handle mental and emotional stress caused by the pandemic and other situations.

“Since the start of the school year, we have been trying to gather resources for our staff and students, just surrounding mental health in general.

“We have reached out to New York Life, which has a program designed to support schools through grief-sensitive schools initiative training. It is a coalition to support grieving students or staff.”

“We have reached out to them multiple times. We are still waiting to get some resources from them.”

“Additionally, we have scheduled in person professional development with Jess Fuhrman, the crisis coalition coordinator for Eastern Montana Community Health (in Miles City). His training will focus on a research-based program called Question, Persuade and Refer. It is a program to target suicide prevention and youth mental health,” the superintendent said.

“That training will provide the staff with resources and how to effectively talk with students about issues they may be struggling with,” he said.

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