Lombard Middle School has spearheaded a new way for students who may be dealing with issues reach out. And that method has now gone district-wide.
There is an online form known as the Acknowledge, Care, Tell – or ACT form – that students are utilizing. Churchill Assistant Principal Matt Lingafelter says thus far, the things that get submitted encompasses many issues.
“What I’ve been extremely pleased with: there was some concern upfront will student just be silly with it?” Lingafelter said. “That has absolutely not been the case. Our junior high students have been on-point in bringing us to some very, very deep mental health needs along with some other things. (They bring) some surface-level things that maybe we’re able to address real quickly and some deeper level things in the mental health area where we’ve been able to seek some deeper assistance.”
Lingafelter says with serious or mental health issues – the school gets the family involved right away. For other issues like bullying, the student is given resources to help with the issue. The online form is monitored throughout the day and checked first thing in the morning. If a student is having a serious issue at night or on the weekend, a hotline is included to assist the student. The form is simple – you include the name of the student you are concerned with, the issue, where it happened, and leaving your own name is optional.
