Student Support

W.I.D.E. in Glens FallsGlens Falls City Schools prioritize wellness, inclusion, diversity, and equity (W.I.D.E.) within our student and staff culture, laying the groundwork for a vibrant, supportive, and equitable learning community. By nurturing the well-being of individuals, fostering a culture of belonging, embracing diversity, and advancing equity, we give every student the opportunity to thrive and succeed. Together, let’s build a future where every learner feels valued, empowered, and inspired. MORE on W.I.D.E.

HOPE CommitteeThe Glens Falls City Schools HOPE Committee works to break down barriers holding students back from their fullest educational experience. This happens by compassionately fulfilling immediate needs of students for food and clothing, building and supporting trusting relationships with district families, and fostering connections with community resources. Click HERE for more on the HOPE Committee.

Parental notification for self-harm alerts

GoGuardian Beacon is a suicide and self-harm prevention software for schools designed to help staff proactively identify at-risk students so they can quickly get them assistance. Specifically, Beacon is built to identify when a student accesses content or exhibits online behaviors that may be related to self-harm or suicide.  Beacon has a feature that will notify parents/guardians via email after school hours. GoGuardian attempts to notify the person who is taking care of the student at any given moment, especially when that student needs someone to talk to immediately. Outside of school hours, a student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), are often the closest and most available caretaker.  An important part of this process is for parents to learn how to support kids in distress in a way that allows them to feel safe, and help students get professional help when needed. 

Psychological Services

School-based mental health services include a broad spectrum of assessment, prevention, intervention, postvention, counseling, consultation, and referral activities and services.

Ideally, school-based services dovetail with community-based services so that children and youth receive the support they need in a seamless, coordinated, and comprehensive system of care.

The purpose of psychological services is to help students develop their capacities to the fullest by attempting to provide the best possible conditions for learning. The psychologist works with children who have learning or emotional difficulties, and with their parents. The psychologist suggests ways to help the child adjust to the learning situations in school and to be more secure and effective in everyday living. Parents who have a question regarding psychological services are asked to contact the building principal in the school the student attends.

Social Work ServicesThe primary purpose of social work in school is to support students in an educational setting — help them manage their learning needs, family problems, and issues of an environmental, social/emotional, mental health, or substance abuse nature that might impact their functioning.

Social workers use a professional knowledge base to help people make the most effective use of their own abilities so they can focus on getting an education. In a school setting, it is often providing crisis intervention, family support and direct counseling. These activities support success by working collaboratively with a school intervention team, teachers, or community-based providers to support students.

School Social workers are licensed to provide direct counseling services to students or refer them to community-based professional services. The type of social work support offered is dependent on the student’s need. Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) can provide bio-psycho-social assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health, substance abuse, behavioral or emotional problems.

Resources
Glens Falls Area School Community Supports & Resources
Addiction Self-Tests
How to help a suicidal person
National Association of School Psychologists
National Institute of Mental Health
New York Association of School Psychologists
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
School Social Work Association of America
Self-inflicted injury prevention fact sheet (NYS Department of Health)
Self-injury resources (Mayo Clinic)
The Council for Prevention
Warning signs of a possible suicide attempt