The District 205 Board of Education last night renewed a contract with Bridgeway to provide mental health counseling at Lombard Middle School.
This was a partnership that was in place last school year and although there isn’t hard data available as far as WGIL is aware, it seems to be going very well.
Then-Principal Nick Sutton and counselor Sara Bates told WGIL of how helpful it was for students to have a counselor throughout the school day which cut down on discipline issues.
Last night Director of Finance and Operations Jennifer Hamm called the program “incredibly successful.”
Board Member Jean Ann Glasnovich pointed another plus in the program.
“I think it’s important to know that this extends through the summer so that our students have services, and this summer they had services through Bridgeway.”
The partnership is funded with Title One funds which pay Bridgeway which pays the counselor.
Those are federal dollars that cannot be used on district salaries, but can be used on resources, programs and sub-contracting programs for the purposes of making sure every child has the capability of meeting or exceeding standards.
