PCS counseling staff awarded John Russell Applegate grant

Perkins County Schools counseling team received the John Russell Applegate grant to help provide social-emotional resources for the school.

ESU 16’s School Psychologist Catherine Ruhlman encouraged Perkins County counselors Alex Johnson and Geraldean Walker to apply and according to Johnson was instrumental in helping them apply.

The grant is for $250 to $5,000 for public schools and other public educational organizations “in order to provide innovative and effective learning experiences for students,” according to the grant’s guidelines.

Johnson and Walker submitted their application for the grant in January, and Friday, March 19 they received the letter of award for the full $5,000 amount.

The grant, according to Johnson, is to provide a variety of social-emotional learning resources for students and staff in grades K-12.

“These resources would help students be able to learn self-regulation and coping skills for their social-emotional needs,” she said. “Along with helping the students, the tools will also help educators be able to support these students even more by having a variety of resources available.”

Examples of resources might include using a therapy stuffed animal with students to help calm them down when they are feeling anxious, and an iPad app where students could log their feelings and check in with a trusted adult.

“In recent years, Perkins County Schools has seen an increase in the number of students who are in need of additional social-emotional support,” Johnson said.

Some examples covered in Johnson’s areas of concern are deaths of parents, suicidal threats and attempts, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol use, self-harm and poverty.

Students identified as tiers two and three through the NeMTSS/PBIS process would benefit from these social-emotional resources, Johnson noted.

NeMTSS is a framework to support all students in their academic, behavioral, and social-emotional learning. Johnson said it is thought of like a pyramid.

At the base is tier 1 where all students are receiving the “core” high-quality instruction and support. Students in tier two receive more targeted or focused supports and interventions in addition to the “core” from tier one. At the top tier (three), students are receiving the most intense instructional supports based on student need.

“Students will benefit from these new resources by having access to a variety of tools that will help them to identify and regulate their emotions,” Johnson said. “Along with counselors, teachers and special educational personnel, ESU 16 staff members that provide services in Perkins County School District will also benefit from being able to use these resources with the students they work with in our district.”

Before the end of the semester, they will have a “shopping day” to spend the awarded grant funds.

The funds will be sent directly to the school to cover the costs of the purchases.

The new resources purchased will be available for use in the Fall 2021 semester.

Johnson said the new resources they plan to add will include supplemental curriculum, iPads and social-emotional apps, and sensory and fidget tools such as therapy stuffed animals, weighted lap blankets, noise cancelling headphones and tactile objects.

“Because different strategies work for different people, we feel it’s important to have lots of options so students can problem-solve and find what works best for them,” Johnson said.