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Claysburg-Kimmel touts new programs for students

Mental health awareness, academic incentives and preparing students for the future were the cornerstones of the 2023-24 school year at the Claysburg-Kimmel School District, and will continue to be the focus of the new year ahead, according to Superintendent Brian Helsel.

Grant funding enabled the district to create multiple new programs, especially surrounding mental health.

“School district administrators across the state identified mental health support as their most significant hurdle,” Helsel said.

This reflects a national trend of increasing concern over the mental health of young people in the wake of COVID-19. Helsel pointed to the Pennsylvania Youth Survey, which states that about 47% of students reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, with a “significant number” saying these feelings interfered with their day-to-day life.

To combat this, Helsel said the district has worked to bring awareness to not only mental health, but social-emotional learning, which is the development of self awareness, self control and interpersonal skills. The district was awarded a $109,695 Mental Health Grant for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years to provide more support for this initiative in the form of “several mental health assistants.”

“As a result, students have been provided with additional support programming that would otherwise be unavailable,” Helsel said.

After-school club

Another program paid for by grant money is the Bulldog After-School Club, which emphasizes student participation, parent involvement and community partnership. The club is funded through the $382,200 Nita Lowey 21st Century Community Grant until 2029.

“Each year the district is funded $78,440 to run an after-school program for grades K through six,” Helsel said.

The after-school club meets four days a week during the school year and six weeks through the summer. With 42 students enrolled, Helsel said it aims to address truancy and chronic absenteeism by improving school engagement.

“The (club) addresses the three priority risk factors cited for Blair County substance use prevention services — low commitment toward school, parental attitudes and perceived risk of drug use,” Helsel said.

The club’s most recent purchase was a Beam mobile projector, which “transforms spaces of all kinds into immersive play areas,” Helsel said. With this, participants can access hundreds of games that “support program initiatives” in regards to education, physical activities and social and emotional learning.

Helping others

The district also created a board-approved CK Buddy Club, which consists of an advisor and 20 students in 11th and 12th grades.

The purpose of the club is for members to be exposed to a career in education by working with students with special needs; spend time with students with disabilities through different experiences and activities like competitions and the development of a student store; and give members insight into the special education field through on-campus tours and guest speakers, Helsel said.

The CK Buddy Club was funded by a $20,000 Future Special Educators Grant from the state Department of Education.

“Our entire school system has undergone an increased focus on supporting and advancing programming, facilities and processes within servicing the special needs community,” Helsel said.

Mentor relationships

Longtime Claysburg Education Foundation volunteer and retired business teacher Richard Allison was particularly excited about his new role helping with the district’s recently formed program Mentoring for Success.

Allison said the program so far includes himself, two local business owners, industry professionals and about 21 students who are both college and non-college bound. They meet for about an hour or two at a time.

“We just sit down with them and allow them to ask all these questions,” Allison said. “‘What was the worst thing you went through?’ or something like that.”

Helsel said students in the program have the chance to form lasting relationships while gaining exposure to the workforce.

“It aims to ensure that students are prepared for post-secondary education, trade schools or entry-level professional success,” Helsel said.

A few guests the group had included a local engineer showing how he uses CAD drawings for work, a business owner with a specialization in journalism speaking to English groups and a NASA employee explaining how he applies calculus and physics to his projects.

“They’re mentoring with business executives,” Allison said. “These people are owners and chairmans for their companies.”

Getting up to speed

Helsel said the district has been working with specialists from the IU8 to evaluate and update their math curriculum. Their goal is to “increase the focus on conceptual understanding and problem-solving strategies” so students can develop both the stronger critical thinking and math skills needed for future careers.

For the 2023-24 school year, students at the Claysburg-Kimmel School District scored slightly below the state average in math (40.2%; 0.3% below average), above average in English language arts (54.8%; 1.8% above average) and science (69.9%; 4.1% above average.)

“Technology is the key,” Allison said. “Tech is the name of the game in getting these kids up to snuff on everything.”

Remote learning on days students can’t go to school “makes a big difference,” Allison said. “Rather than sitting at home in a snow storm, it fills the void for when a kid can’t get to school.”

Creating incentives

To inspire students to not only attend school, but maintain good grades and show good behavior, the district created a lounge area for students in 2023. It was designed as a “common area” with “comfortable seating, adjustable learning areas and numerous charging stations for individual technology,” Helsel said.

To access the “Incentive Lounge” during their free periods, students would have to maintain a grade point average of at least 90%. Teachers were also encouraged to use the area as a reward for “class-wide achievements,” Helsel said.

“The lounge has become a cornerstone of the school’s mental health initiatives,” Helsel said. “It provides one-on-one student mental health support by involving art, music and hands-on creativity activities.”

Positive reinforcement

Since 2023, the district has also been working toward helping students manage their behavior through positive reinforcement, Helsel said.

Beginning at the high school level, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports program praised students, gave out certificates and “even tangible rewards such as school supplies and recreational activities” to recognize them for their positive behavior, Helsel said.

School-wide incentives, like Student of the Month awards and other achievements that benefited the entire student body, were a big factor in students continuing to adhere to the program’s guidelines.

“By the first quarter of the 2024-2025 academic year, the high school reported a nearly 50 percent reduction in disciplinary infractions compared to the previous year,” Helsel said.

With those results in mind, the district extended the program to the elementary school for the 2024-25 school year after tailoring it for younger students.

“Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Helsel said. “With the high school seeing a remarkable reduction in disciplinary infractions, and the elementary school showing early signs of success, the future of the initiative looks promising.”

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