Atoka Public Schools was recently chosen for the 5 year federally funded Project AWARE grant to partner with the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). Supports will include high quality trauma-informed training for staff and community who work with school-aged youth, adding a licensed counselor to our district, providing outreach to families and community, developing wellness and resilience education, increasing awareness of the importance of mental health, and linking students and families to needed services and resources.

Atoka Public School is proud to be the recipient of this grant and recognizes the growing need for educating students in mental health, wellness and resilience.  Although academic success is a primary focus for our students, we acknowledge the importance of social emotional learning and mental health needs as essential to learning as well.  Our district recognizes the need to create and maintain a safe school environment, develop positive connections with students and families, and establish partnerships with local community resources.  This framework will allow us as a district to create a more comprehensive whole child approach to education and, in turn, a more hopeful future for our students.

GRANT GOALS

• Goal 1: Develop a community and family mental health awareness and outreach campaign incorporating activities designed to engage youth and family to increase knowledge of mental health issues and awareness of school and community based resources designed to support improved mental health in the community.
• Goal 2: Refine school discipline policies to reduce loss of instructional time and school removals,.
• Goal 3:  Increase the percentage of Oklahoma youth and families receiving needed mental health services through collaboration between LEAs and community mental health providers.
• Goal 4:  Train all faculty in OK AWARE districts to identify and respond to students experiencing a mental health issue or crisis.

GRANT OBJECTIVES

• Objective 1.1:  School staff will complete mental health training each year.
• Objective 2.1:  School discipline referrals will reduce 15% per year as measured by baseline data collected in the 2019-20 school year.  
• Objective 2.2:  School suspensions and expulsions will reduce 15% per year as measured by the baseline data reported in the 2019-20 school year.  
• Objective 3.1:  100% of students enrolled in three LEAs will complete a universal mental health screening a minimum of twice per year as measured by screening results and number of students referred for Tier 2 and 3 services.
• Objective 3.2:  75% of students receiving Tier 2 interventions will demonstrate a positive response to the intervention within one year of receiving services.

AWARE Counselor: 
Teresa Kennison, MS, LPC-S
Atoka Public Schools
580-889-3553
tkennison@atoka.org

AWARE Community Manager:
Michelle Allen
Atoka Public Schools
580-889-3553
maallen@atoka.org

 
AWARE Helps Meet Student Needs

Oklahoma SDE Press Release - Joy Hofmeister

OSDE School Counselor Corps Grant

AWARE Helps Meet Student Needs

OSU Partnership with Project AWARE

In a crisis?  Text HOME to 741741 to text with a crisis counselor
Crisis Text Line

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:  800-273-8255
Suicide Prevention Lifeline

National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-SAFE (7233)
National Domestic Violence Hotline

The Hope Line
The Hope Line

Alchol Rehab Guide
Alcohol Rehab Guide

Community Food Resources

Community Shelter/Housing Resources

       Community Clothing Resources

       Community Education Resources

        INCA Community General Resources

CLOTHING RESOURCES:

INCA CLOTHING BANK 580-889-3683  Provides clothing and household items

for low income families and disaster victims

ATOKA SCHOOLS CLOTHING BANK Each school site provides a Care Closet

available that provides needed items for students

FOOD RESOURCES:

EBT Card Information

Packed Promise

(Free monthly shelf-stable food box with fresh fruit/veggie voucher):

CHICKASAW SUMMER FOOD PROGRAM

(no income requirements):

APS will administer the Early Identification System (EIS) through Project AWARE. 

Here’s a closer look:

WHAT:

To view questions included in the EIS:  District EIS Questionnaire

WHY: APS will use the EIS data to determine student needs and will work closely with parents to identiy school or community-based supports. Effectively identifying early signs and symptoms related to student well being can lead to better student outcomes.

HOW: Teachers (K-4th) and students (5^th -12th) will complete the EIS, an easy to use, 34 item tool designed to gather information regarding student well-being.

MORE INFORMATION:

Informative Article:  Thompson2021_Article_ConfirmatoryFactorStructureAnd.pdf

Any other questions may be answered by Project Aware Community Manager, Michelle Allen at 580-889-6611.

Atoka Public School students will participate in voluntary surveys throughout the grant cycle to aid the district in improving school climate, identifying needs to provide prevention programs and mental health services tailored to the needs of our district. Consent forms are required for parent permission to participate and are included in student enrollment forms. Parents may opt out of surveys for their students by not signing consent or by contacting the Atoka Public Schools district office.

UPDATE: Delaying administration of this survey until 2023-24.

OPNA – The OPNA survey is not associated directly with Project AWARE, but the district will use the data to identify needed prevention services which AWARE can help support. 

Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment (OPNA) – The OPNA is a bienniel survey of public, private, and charter school students in the 6^th, 8^th, 10^th and 12^th grades.  The survey is a project of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), and has been conducted in Oklahoma since 2004.  The OPNA is a robust tool for providing direction to schools, districts, and communities to effectively improve the lives of students across a variety of issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drug use, mental health, academic failure, and violence. The OPNA measures problem behaviors and risk and protective factors, which are attitudes, behaviors, and opinions that research has shown to be highly correlated with these health risk behaviors. 

For more information see the FAQ guide here:

https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/odmhsas/documents/prevention/opna/OPNA_FAQ.pdf

To view the OPNA survey instruments by grade level:

https://oklahoma.gov/odmhsas/prevention/schools/opna.html