Broken Arrow schools partner with Grand Mental Health in new initiative

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — As Broken Arrow gets ready for students to return in August, school officials saw a need in early education classrooms.

This school year, they’re partnering with Grand Mental Health and putting behavioral health coaches and therapists in seven Broken Arrow schools.

“It's gonna help the students immensely, our teachers come in, they really are the experts, they’re teaching kids math and reading, but sometimes as kids interact in the classroom, they struggle and we’re starting to see that happen earlier and younger for our students,” said Sharon James with BAPS.

James said they’ve noticed students struggling in early education. She believes the pandemic and quarantine are to blame.

“One thing we looked at was that we had students who would come to school at 6th grade, but we were seeing 4th grade behavior," James said. "Developmentally where they stopped at the pandemic, they didn’t have any more interaction with their peers, so they didn’t continue that growth."

Kelsee McCutchen with Grand Mental Health said those years of quarantine continue to impact mental health, especially with 4 to 5-year-olds who may just be starting school.

“They may have not had as much exposure to social situations where they were away from their parents," McCutchen said. "They may have been around mom and dad 24/7."

This year, their coaches and therapists will be teaching the kids how to operate without their parents and thrive in a new social setting.

“They will sit with the student and work on behavior modification in the classroom, McCuthen said. "Maybe that’s asking to use somebody’s pencil or pen or learning to share their toys or whatever they’re working on in the school."

She believes this will do great things for the students.

“This is an attempt to keep kids in the classroom, we want to push in instead of pull out, we want them to stay in the class instead of getting pulled out because their behaviors are unmanageable,” she said.

BAPS said they’re excited about this new service for the students and parents. They believe it will help the students be successful through the years as they work toward graduation.