Thrive Chelan Valley recognizes that the care for youth cannot come to an annual halt for 3 months out of the year. Youth need to be supported, guided, and encouraged, sometimes by someone who supports, guides, and encourages professionally. For this reason we ensured that 7 youth would have transportation to summer counseling sessions throughout the summer. See below for a report about this experience:
Manson School District Summer Counseling Update
Program Title: Manson School District Summer Mental Health Support
Months: June, July & August 2018 Report Date: September 2018
What did we do?
Thanks to the generosity and vision of THRIVE Chelan, we were able to provide nine Manson School District students with transportation to summer mental health support for a total of seven weeks.
When comparing STAR Reading and Math scores between Spring 2018 and Fall 2018 for students who participated in summer counseling sessions through CVCH, most students made gains heading into the start of the school year. On average, students who attended summer counseling appointments made about five months’ worth of growth, both in Reading and Math. This result is incredible, especially since schools nationwide are often battling the “summer slide” trend, where students forget some of what they learned during the previous school year (Alexander, K. L., Entwisle D. R., & Olson L. S. (2007a). Lasting consequences of the summer learning gap. American Sociological Review, 72, 167-180).
While the sample size is small, we could also start to see possible initial trends indicating that students who attended more counseling sessions had larger gains over the summer. For example, one student who attended all seven sessions made eight months’ worth of growth in reading and six months’ worth of growth in math between Spring 2018 and Fall 2018. A student who attended three sessions this summer made two months’ worth of growth in reading between the Spring and Fall data points. How exciting!
We hope to be able to continue to provide these types of experiences for students into the future. We feel strongly that the benefit to students benefit is greater when we partner together as a community to provide proactive wraparound services for children.
Because these types of experiences don’t happen without a mountain of support…a HUGE thanks to…
Mr. Matt Charlton and Manson School District for allowing us the opportunity to facilitate this opportunity for students via facilities, transportation, and moral support.
Parents & Families for trusting us with their children each week! Our kids are so lucky to have such amazing, loving parents who advocate and provide for their needs in a multitude of way.
Natalie Eggers from Columbia Valley Community Health for traveling to Manson each week and supporting students in such an effective and professional manner. Our students have made an immense amount of growth due to her expertise.
Janine Sanborn for her flexibility, organization and communication when transporting students safely this summer.
Janice Stewart for helping coordinate transportation each week by reserving cars, facilitating details and communicating effectively.
THRIVE Chelan Valley for hearing our vision and funding this experience. THRIVE made it possible for 7 children to attend summer counseling and enter the school year with even more strategies and support.