All St. Joseph School District schools are required to be trauma-informed but some schools are taking steps even further to help children dealing with difficult experiences.

According to the district, beginning this year, Senate Bill 638 establishes the Trauma Informed Schools Initiative as a statewide Missouri initiative, and schools will be expected to use a trauma-informed approach and communicate with parents about what that means. Jean West is a social worker and and TLC certified trauma consultant and trainer for the district. She said a basic trauma training has been held in every school, however some schools have requested more training.

“There are certain schools who say, ‘we need more education for our staff. we want more. We have lots of kids that are struggling and we know they’ve gone through these things and we want more information,” West said. “So not every school has asked for more training but there are a lot of schools that have had more training.”

The district said the majority of counselors and all school social workers have received extensive training in trauma, and training is being provided to all school staff. Over the last few years, many schools have been able to go into more depth with their training, including trainings for grade-level teams and individual teachers. West conducted trainings Wednesday, at Hyde Elementary. She said children can have trauma from a variety of situations.

“It could be anything from abuse, violence, family tragedy, a death in the family, homelessness, a very bad car accident,” West said. “But it’s important to understand that it’s a natural response to an unnatural occurrence within someone’s life.  It’s more about that individuals thoughts, feelings, and beliefs around what happened rather then the incident itself.”

West said last year, the Downtown Rotary Club provided a grant to train one teacher in the Neurosequential Model in Education, and provide somatosensory supplies for his classroom. Jacob Kretzer, a Humboldt fourth grade teacher, received the training and is now helping to train more staff at his school.

One of the supplies purchased with the Rotary grant was a pulse oxometer for each student in Mr. Kretzer’s class.  Students are taught how stress impacts their brain, and use the oxometer to monitor their pulses and help them better regulate their emotions.  West said statistics showed a decrease in behavioral incidents last year due to the training.

“There was a 74% reduction in office referrals in his (Kretzer’s) classroom,” West said.

This year, the Rotary grant will also provide supplies for four more teacher classrooms, and the district has plans to provide training for these teachers in the Neurosequential Model in Education using professional development funds.

According to a news release, many schools now have therapeutic tools in buildings and classrooms to help students take a step back and regulate their emotions:

At Oak Grove, there is a new wellness wall called the Grizzly Pause, where students can take a brain break and do some physical activities. The activities will get them up and moving to improve their mood, while being beneficial for health.

At Edison, students select an emotion on a board to show how they are feeling each morning. This helps teachers know whether they need to intervene or approach a student differently on certain days.

Lindbergh has started a committee of four students that will help make decisions for a comfort corner, choosing what to buy for the corner, setting rules for the corner and determining what is popular and helpful in the corner. This will give students ownership over the corner and help them participate in the process.

All of these interventions are ways to help students learn to handle overwhelming emotions in a healthy way.

For more information about the Trauma Informed Schools Initiative, visit the DESE website at: https://dese.mo.gov/traumainformed.

 

The St. Joseph Public Library system has received $19,056 in funding it plans to use toward community events as part of its children’s early literacy outreach budget.

According to a news release, the funding comes from Racing to Read grant initiative established by the Missouri Public Library, made possible by the federal Library Services and Technology Act. Now through May 2018, the St. Joseph Public Library will have additional funding to host a variety of events where children and caregivers will participate in early literacy activities, storytimes, crafts, receive a free children’s book—and in some cases, enjoy a free meal.

In an effort to strengthen community outreach resources within the community, St. Joseph Public Library said it has partnered with local agencies such as St. Joseph Public School District’s Parents as Teachers and United Way’s Success By 6 to host multiple grant-sponsored events aimed to improve St. Joseph’s kindergarten readiness. Racing to Read funding will provide craft supplies, activities, and one free book for every child at these upcoming interactive and free family-friendly events:

• Tiny Tot Town (Civic Arena on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Family Fun Time: Block Bash (The Keatley Center on Saturday, November 11, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)
• First Saturday’s Holidays at the Square (Felix Street Square, Saturday, December 2, 2017 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.).

Additionally, the Racing to Read funding will provide new children’s books for circulation for each of the four St. Joseph Public Library branches, as well as purchase early literacy materials for use at local reading readiness events both within and outside of the public library.

The City of St. Joseph Health Department has announced it plans to host its annual free flu clinic later this month.

According to a news release, the clinic will be held on Friday, Oct. 13 at the REC Center located at 2791 SW Parkway. It will start at 9 a.m. and run until noon or until supplies run out.

The health department said, Buchanan County residents 18 and older, who are not pregnant are encouraged to attend. Participants are asked to wear a shirt that allows access to the shoulder area, where the vaccine will be administered. Those who have privately provided health insurance, Medicare or Missouri HealthNet are asked to present their card at clinic registration. No out of pocket expense will be charged for the vaccine.

The health department said it is only offering drive-up service to those with mobility issues. Patrons of the flu clinic will park in the REC Center parking lot, enter the building, and go through stations for paperwork, screening, and the shot.

No services will be provided at the Health Department, 904 S 10th St, on the day of the flu clinic but will resume on Monday, October 16th.

A man accused of shooting and killing a St. Joseph woman over the weekend made a court appearance Tuesday.

Terrell Smith, 34 appeared by video conference from the Buchanan County Jail for an arraignment in front of Judge Rebecca Spencer sitting in for Judge Keith Marquart.  Smith is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 31-year-old Stormi Harbord.

As we previously reported, Harbord was found deceased at a home early Saturday morning in the 1300 block of S. 20th. Investigators accuse Smith in court documents, of shooting Harbord while under the influence of marijuana, methamphetamine and benzos.

Smith is scheduled for a preliminary hearing for Oct. 26.  He continues to be held without bail in the Buchanan County Jail.

Statement from the St. Joseph School District:

“The concerns that are raised in this lawsuit were investigated and addressed, but we are unable to discuss specific disciplinary action taken against any student,” said Dr. Robert Newhart, SJSD superintendent. “Additionally, with respect to the claims in the lawsuit, we can’t respond without potentially violating the privacy rights of the student involved in this suit or other students. But, if we could provide additional information, you would know that this lawsuit does not provide a full or accurate account of what has transpired between Frances Keitz and the district. The district has already prevailed once on claims brought by Mrs. Keitz, which is a reminder that there are two sides to every story, and that the allegations of a lawsuit are not proof that anything improper actually occurred.”

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The mother of a St. Joseph public school student says in a lawsuit that the district did not help her daughter when she was being bullied by classmates.

Frances Keitz contends the bullying included death threats and physical and verbal abuse against her daughter, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Kansas City Star reports Keitz alleges students at Skaith Elementary School pulled her daughter’s hair around her throat to choke her, told her to hang herself, threatened to kill her and kicked her in the head.

Keitz says she repeatedly asked district administrators to protect her daughter but they did nothing.

The alleged abuse occurred during the 2015-16 school year.

Superintendent Robert Newhart said the district doesn’t respond to pending litigation.

Authorities are warning drivers ahead of an anticipated increase in deer related crashes.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the majority of deer strikes crashes take place in October and November every year with the largest number in November. Although deer strikes can occur at any time, the patrol said most are between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6:59 a.m.

Last year, drivers in Missouri experienced 4,604 traffic crashes where deer-vehicle strikes occurred. One deer strike occurred every 1.9 hours in the state. In these crashes, there were six fatalities and 455 people were injured.

The patrol said, deer behavior changes due to mating season, which may cause an increase in sightings and roadway crossings. Hunting and crop harvesting may result in these animals being in places they aren’t usually seen. Drivers are urged to remain alert.

When drivers see deer the patrol is urging them to slow down and proceed with caution.  Also, deer often travel in groups so drivers should stay on guard after a close call or when they see a single deer. Natural features also affect deer movement. In areas where there are streams or wooded corridors surrounded by farmland, look for more deer to cross roadways.