More than 6,000 students in the Montgomery County Public Schools system receive a variety of mental health programs and services funded by more than $9 million in Maryland grant money.
On Monday, school leaders held a news conference at Quince Orchard High School to hear more about the services provided to students through the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission grant.
While parents might assume that the school system’s more than 160,000 students have their mental health needs met by school psychologists and counselors, school officials said that’s not the case.
Christina Connolly-Chester, the director of psychological services for Montgomery County Public Schools, said Monday, “When we talk about the ratios of school counselor, the national ratio should be 1-to-250.”
But, it’s significantly more than that at the county’s elementary schools, she said.
“For a school psychologist, it’s 1-to-500 — but at MCPS, it’s 1-to-1,700 students,” she said. “It’s not enough.”
Montgomery County schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor said tending to the needs of students “is a team sport” that calls for tapping on the expertise throughout the community “as we take care of the whole child.”
“Over 90% of those who are being served — and their families — recognize the benefit that comes from this work and this partnership,” Taylor said, adding that the school system does see “a marked improvement” in student outcomes as a result of the services provided.
That’s why school, state and county officials were highlighting state funding that fuels programs, such as “Encuentros,” described by the nonprofit organization Identity as “peer-led emotional support groups” that serve target Latino students.
Paola Gomez, a junior at Quince Orchard, said the program helped her see that other students had struggles just like hers.
“Honestly, it has really helped me. Starting in my freshman year, my grades were really bad,” she said.
Now, Gomez said, her grades have improved, and she’s looking forward to applying to colleges and exploring her future.
Gomez said the key to the program is the peer-based approach.
“This just involves more students at a personal … level where you can communicate with other students your age that a counselor can’t do. Because they’re not in a student environment; the students themselves are,” she said.
Maria Fernanda Ruedas, an 18-year-old senior in the Encuentros program, spoke in Spanish about her experiences in the program.
Ruedas said through a translator that she’d been in the Encuentros program for two years.
Being a youth-peer leader has really benefited Ruedas, and it has helped her provide support to her peers, said Identity’s Carolyn Camacho for Ruedas.
“The sessions provided content that was very beneficial to her, and now as youth peer leader, she’s very grateful” for the opportunities to serve other students, Camacho said.
Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando spoke about the importance of the emotional supports offered — not just to children, but to their families — through the variety of mental health programs.
Jawando pointed to an experience his family had Monday morning when his own son felt overwhelmed with emotions and had a “breakdown” and didn’t want to go to school.
“We had to go through breathing exercises that I learned through the counselors at MCPS,” Jawando said, noting his son was able to get back on track and head off to school.
While the focus of the morning’s event was on the positive, Maryland State Sen. Cheryl Kagan sounded a note of caution, saying it’s good to celebrate the successes of grant programs, but the state is still facing a $1.4 billion shortfall heading into the General Assembly session that starts in January.
“The reality is, that there are going to be a lot of scissors cutting budgets, and we’re going to be facing some pretty tough times,” Kagan said.
After the event, Kagan predicted “an excruciatingly challenging session” in Annapolis due to federal cuts that affect the state budget and the programs that the budget funds.
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