Students and staff at Lakes Partnership School (LPS) will benefit from special funding provided by Care Connections of Northern Iowa (CCNIA). The grant money will be used for ongoing activities that encourage team building and growth in problem solving, and provide meals during professional development time with Four Oaks. This year, LPS staff are partnering with Four Oaks Children and Family Services to enhance their knowledge, training, and support in implementing next-level Trauma Informed Care when working with the students on a daily basis.
LPS is a day treatment school in Spencer for students who are currently experiencing emotional and behavioral challenges that prevent them from making progress in the public school setting. The school, which opened in 2014, is a partnership between Prairie Lakes AEA, Spencer Community Schools, and other northwest Iowa school districts. The focus for LPS this year is to provide comprehensive Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health support for all students and staff. The purpose of CCNIA is to improve health, hope and successful outcomes for adults and children, and coordinate a system of care for citizens experiencing mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities in six Iowa counties.
At the beginning of the school year, LPS leadership reached out to CCNIA about a potential grant opportunity to supplement their professional development mission this year. CCNIA, who after hearing about the school and its role supporting students with significant behavioral and mental health needs, were appreciative of the work, dedication, and commitment of the services provided through the school and wanted to assist LPS on this project.
Through this partnership, a range of services and supports will be implemented that ensure comprehensive Social-Emotional-Behavioral-Mental Health Supports are available to all students and staff. Four Oaks collaborates with school districts across the state of Iowa to help increase the capacity of educators in meeting the Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Health (SEBH) needs of their students. Their professional learning services encompass a large variety of trauma-informed and social-emotional learning topics including ACES, neuroscience and child development, regulation, staff self-care, basics of restorative practices, integrating social-emotional learning into academics, and community building circles.
“We’re so thankful to the CCNIA Region and Board for their support and funding of this project,” said Brianne Goings, Lead Teacher at LPS. ”This funding will support our staff as they continue to enhance their knowledge and skills to support students in building the skills they need to be successful in a public school setting.”