LEES CREEK — It’s anticipated a new treatment therapist will be in East Clinton’s two elementary buildings starting next week, so along with an existing elementary social worker, the goal is to have a licensed therapist in each building daily.
Mandy Mitchell Cox of Hillsboro, who’s with a not-for-profit organization, will finish her training with the organization this week, and the hope is next week she’ll be meeting with some of the families and children, New Vienna Elementary School Principal Allen Seitz reported Tuesday to the school board.
Back at November’s board of education meeting, Seitz said his elementary school has a lot of students facing traumas and the one social worker could use some help in addressing the young students’ mental health needs.
“A lot of our students are having [mental health] needs that we are having a hard time meeting,” the principal said last fall.
The nonprofit had a hard time getting someone hired full-time to go into the schools, Seitz said this week.
Currently, the nonprofit can only serve Medicaid-billable children, he added. So the plan is for Cox to work with those students, and existing social worker Tomi Goldner will work with the other students.
When school is out this summer, Cox will still work with the families, meeting students at their homes or a public library, “so that way they still have that connection through the summer,” said the principal.
The school district is not paying for the services, as it is Medicaid that will get billed.
The nonprofit agency is hoping to get everything necessary set up so that next year its therapist could serve any student, regardless of insurance provider, according to Seitz.
“They’re hoping to be able to branch out and do what they need to be able to reach all kids,” he said.
Seitz announced that New Vienna Elementary fifth-grade students participated in their D.A.R.E. [Drug Abuse Resistance Education program] graduation this week, and Sabina Elementary did likewise the week before.
At New Vienna Elementary, the two first-place winners of a DARE essay contest are Alexis Green and Lane Coffey. At Sabina Elementary, the essay winners are Caydence Kempton and Brayden Webb.
Clinton County Deputy Sheriff David Boris Jr. is the DARE officer for both elementaries, as well as the district’s on-site school resource officer (SRO). At the board meeting, he was hired as the first coach for this coming fall’s inaugural season of an East Clinton Astros varsity girls soccer team.
Boris has coached East Clinton Junior High basketball, and was instrumental in establishing a soccer program at a Sabina church.
“We’re excited to bring him on and get this program started as well,” EC Superintendent Eric Magee said after the meeting.
Magee thinks Boris will probably already know all the girls who take part in the first-year soccer program thanks to his roles as DARE officer, school district SRO, and working with youngsters in the local church’s soccer program.
Magee reported to the board he’ll soon be analyzing staffing needs for next school year which will involve setting some priorities — he’s received requests to add 15 new positions to the district roster from different departments and buildings.
He said obviously the district’s funding will not permit adding 15 positions. Among likely additions will be a couple special education spots because caseload numbers there are at a level where the district will need to add intervention specialists, said the superintendent.
East Clinton’s athletic league, the Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference (SBAAC), is increasing ticket prices for every sport by $1, Magee announced.
In order to stay competitive with some leagues around it, especially the leagues toward the Cincinnati side, the pay rates for SBAAC football and basketball referees are going up. Varsity football referees will go from $73 per game to $95. And SBAAC varsity basketball refs will see their pay per contest rise from $71 to $80.
East Clinton High School Principal Michael Adams noted in his report that the major construction and renovation work going on at the Lees Creek campus means the band has lost its band room as well as “band area number 2 they were using.” As a result, band members are now using the high school gym, while high school gym classes have moved over to the middle school.
He gave kudos to the high school musical production that was recently staged at the Murphy Theatre. “Just a fantastic presentation,” said Adams. He pointed out the level of participation, with at least 45 students on stage, and eight students doing stage management or back-stage work.
He added a community piece to his board report — “just cannot say enough about our community.”
Adams continued, “You think about our community: Basketball parents showing up [to hang posters], a fire truck escort [for “Elite 8” girls basketball team], fans showing up at the games, ‘Disney’s Newsies’ [musical] and a packed theatre each night, with a number of community members there to support that with their time and financially.”
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
