Individual and Small Group Support
Marshall Elementary School Based Mental Health Team
PWCS Student Needs Assessment 2021-2022
For this academic year, Prince William County Schools decided to create a district-wide student needs assessment to gather information about the needs of students. In a typical school year, school counseling departments collaborate with other members of the School Based Mental Health Team (which include the school social worker and school psychologist) to evaluate the needs at their school site to create a plan of action to support student needs.
Highest Needs According to Student Needs Assessment Results
The top three counseling support needs as identified in the Marshall Student Needs Assessment results are:
- Coping with a negative event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic between April 2021 to October 2021. Negative events refer to a loss of housing, income, food, and/or direct impact by a family member's COVID-19 diagnosis.
- Significant household change (divorce, separation, new caretaker, newly blended family).
- Grief (recent death of a loved one)
Since we had a 73% completion rate of the survey on a school-wide level, we want to ensure that we do not miss any students who have a need for support. If your student(s) fall in one of the three categories mentioned above and you would like for the School Based Mental Health Team to provide support, please click on the button for your grade level below to complete a confidential Self-Identification form. The forms will officially close at the close of the school day on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Once you have completed the form, a member of the team will reach out to you to discuss further steps.
Counseling Support Best Practices
- Individual and small group counseling on the school level is intended to be a short term service, provided to students who are not currently receiving services by a licensed mental health provider in the community (short term= six weeks). If your student demonstrates they are still in need of support once the counseling is complete, you may be connected with community resources to meet that need.
- Outside therapy is a more in-depth, ongoing service than what the school will provide, therefore if your student is already receiving counseling services in the community it is best to connect the mental health agency with the School Counseling Department to provide strategies to be used at school.
- All students who participate in individual/small group counseling will have to have a parent permission form completed, giving consent to receive counseling once a week for 30 minutes over a span of six weeks.
- All COVID-19 safety protocols will be in practice for small group counseling (social distancing, group sizes of less than 6 students).
- All individual/small group counseling groups will begin January 2022 when we return from winter break.
Counseling Support for Grades 1, 3, 5
Please fill out this form if your student is in grades 1, 3, or 5 and is in need of individual/small group counseling support.
Counseling Support for Grades K, 2, 4
Please fill out this form if your student is in grades K, 2, or 4 and is in need of individual/small group counseling support.
How to Reach the School Based Mental Health Team
Have additional questions or information you would like to share with our School Based Mental Health Team? Contact us at our email addresses below:
- School Psychologist- Theresa Grant grantth@pwcs.edu
- School Social Worker- Cindy Donovan donavacm@pwcs.edu
- School Counselor (Grades K, 2, 4)- Christy Patchan patchacm@pwcs.edu
- School Counselor (Grades 1, 3, 5)- Loreisha Cooper cooperls@pwcs.edu