Cheerful laughter and chatter filled the busy cafeteria as children gathered around a table, taking their time to choose from a smorgasbord of snacks, like fruit, nuts, water, and more. Teachers were on hand to help them out.
This is not a usual part of the Wellston Elementary School cafeteria, but part of a special event called Swap-Up Day. Family Support Coordinator Gina McVey explained that they went into all of the classrooms and talked to students about how what they eat and drink affects the entire body.
The students were given menu cards showing how certain foods can make them feel - happy, strong, energized and focused - then asked how they want to feel when choosing a snack, McVey said.
“It’s about treating the whole student now because the conditions that they’re living in, really, most of them are really, really rough. And so if all we are trying to do now is teach them reading and writing and math and all that, it’s not going to work,” McVey said.
Swap-Up Day is just part of a new program in its first year at Wellston Public Schools. In her role, McVey works with the school nurse, Jessica Todd, to talk to teachers and administrators to find out what kids have needs and what they are. They then work with the schools and families to help meet those needs, whether it’s taking kids to the clothes closet for clothes, taking them to dentist appointments, or getting families registered at food pantries. They also bring in mental health professionals free of charge.
McVey, who was a teacher for 22 years, said she understood that if a student is struggling, teachers don’t always have the time to meet those needs.
“Now they have somebody to come alongside them to help them address the problem that’s keeping them from learning,” she said. “Whether it’s discipline, because, you know, if they’re acting out, there’s a reason they’re acting out.”
Wellston Elementary School Principal Dr. Susan Wray said the program is helping her school get the outcomes they want to see. She said that in order to do that, they have to support the whole child, including mental health and physical health. Anyway that they can support that whole child really helps.
“Because they’re happy. They feel like they can succeed better if their other needs are met,” she said.
Wray added that she often tells kids she has three jobs - first is safety and wellbeing, that kids feel comfortable being at school, then academic outcomes, followed by state requirements.
“These ladies can come in, and they’re constantly in my office going, ‘We need to help this kid, and this is what the need is. How can we do?’ We brainstorm together about how we can, and we are seeing great results from that in just attendance. Kids are coming to school who weren’t coming to school,” she said.
This is year two of three for the school nurse pilot program, which was launched after the Lincoln County Partnership for Child Well Being received a $1.5 million grant. According to coordinator Diann Herrmann, the grant has allowed them to bring in registered nurses to every school, along with family support coordinators and mental health professionals.
They started last year at Chandler. The program has partnered with with Youth and Family Resource Center in Shawnee, providing mental health professionals when needed. There’s a referral system in place that involves creating a care plan with the parents, the coordinated school health team and the mental health team.
“We have just seen that blossom. Mental health is so needed,” she said.
Herrmann said they now have the program at Wellston, Carney, Agra, Meeker, Prague and McLoud Elementary. In the fall, the program will start in Davenport and White Rock with nurses.
She added that the program has taken some of the load off teachers and administrators, with the teams going into classrooms and providing education on topics such as concussions and hydration. All of the nurses and family support coordinators have also undergone education on vaping, and through a coalition with Gateway, they’ve provided training for teachers and high school students on the use of Narcan. Herrman said they’re also working with the Native American tribes in the county as well, running a summer reading fitness program.