Atlanta Public Schools (APS) recognizes the importance of mental and emotional health, and as the nation observes Emotional Wellness Month in October, APS remains committed to providing students with resources that support their emotional well-being.
Thanks to the newly opened APS Student and Family Support Hub (formerly Oglethorpe Elementary School), students across the district can now receive the emotional supports and services they need to thrive and succeed in one centralized location. Additionally, students with significant emotional and behavioral disorders who once received services through North Metro Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS) now receive the same wraparound services and therapeutic supports in their respective schools where they need it most.
“APS decided to wrap our arms around those students and put them back into schools where they had access to their peers, all their activities, everything that any student in APS would have,” said Chelsea Montgomery, assistant superintendent for Student Services. “This way, students have the individual flexibility to be able to access all of those things with their peers as appropriate without that sort of really hard transition from one school building to the next.”
According to Montgomery, the services offered provide a full continuum of options and supports to students.
“We still provide the therapeutic supports in our traditional schools, but then as appropriate for each individual child, they can access everything else that every other kid can,” she said. “We know that students who are in special education or who are labeled with an emotional behavior disability are at a much higher risk for dropping out and being incarcerated, which is why we really try to give them all that support. Students deserve to have that access.”
To support all scholars’ emotional well-being, the district also provides social-emotional learning (SEL) resources for district counselors, psychologists, social workers, a mental health partner at every school, and individual therapy for students. Families can access many of these services through The Hub. These services include Student Health Services, Social Work Services, School Counseling, Exceptional Education Parent Mentors, Student Registration, and a host of other student support services. Families can also access supplies and other necessities in the APS Hub store.
“If a family comes over for a discipline hearing, we need to make sure they know that their child can get connected with therapy at school and how we can help them,” Montgomery said. “If people come to register, we can get them connected and get that support. I believe that if your basic needs are met, your emotional wellness is set up for more success. What we’re trying to do here is to make sure parents are not having a hard time navigating the system.”
To learn more, please visit the Student and Family Support Hub website.