Mental Health & Support Services FAQs

School Counseling services are reserved for students whose social and emotional needs are impairing their academic abilities. For students that are experiencing challenges outside of school, referrals to local mental health agencies will be provided. Reasons for a school counseling referral impacting academic or school performance:

• Loss of a family member or loved one (e.g. death, incarceration, or deportation). 
• Stressors at home are affecting school performance or self esteem (e.g. divorce, financial stress). 
• Student is very sad, angry, or worried.
• Difficulty making and maintaining appropriate friendships with peers.
• Student lacks school motivation to participate or attend school or is extremely distracted.
• Severe changes in a student’s behavior.
• A traumatic event that is impacting school performance (e.g. abuse, car accident, bullying, etc.).

Meeting with the school Counselor will look different at each of our KIPP Schools, but in general they may receive support the following ways, based on what is appropriate:

• Counselor consults with teacher about appropriate interventions and supports that can help the student be more successful in their classroom.
• Counselor may come into the classroom to present on a particular topic (e.g. bullying prevention, appropriate friendships, or suicide awareness for middle school students).

• Sometimes the school Counselor's caseload is full or the need of the student goes beyond school performance, and a referral will be initiated in partnership with the parent/family for outside counseling services or services provided for by a contracted therapist.

• Counselor will meet with a group of no more than 10 students to work on increasing skills in a certain area, such as coping with strong emotions, processing grief or social skills.

• Students meet with the school counselor one on one to address a particular concern or behavior.

Mental health services are provided by Master’s level Social Workers (MSW or equivalent - e.g. school psychology) that are registered with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as Associate Clinical Social Workers (ACSW) or Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), in addition to possessing their Pupil Personnel Services Credential with certification in school social work / school counseling, and child welfare and attendance through the Committee on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). All clinicians are trained in multiple evidence-based practices and specialize in treating depression, anxiety, special education, disruptive behaviors, and trauma.

• In order to benefit from these services, students must be referred (by staff, parent or self-referral), and schools must demonstrate that all other options have been exhausted, qualify through school counseling assessment and parent interview.
• Parents also must sign for consent for participation in mental health services for students, however, School Counselors are permitted to meet with students without parental consent up to 3 times and in the case of emergencies (e.g. suicidal ideation or suspicion of abuse).
• In the state of California, children aged 12 and above are able to consent for their own mental health services, however, School Counselors will always attempt to partner with parents/legal guardians to collaborate on treatment and referrals.

Consent for counseling can be revoked in writing at any time by the parent or legal guardian and given to the main office or directly to the School Counselor.

A counselor-student relationship must be built on trust and confidentiality. This means that School Counselors are bound by ethical codes of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to keep conversations between counselors and students private. School Counselors maintain the confidentiality of their students and their families at all times and will only break confidentiality if given specific permission or if the student’s or when student may be susceptible to or there is suspicion of:

• Harming themselves.
• Harm to others.
• Abuse and/or Neglect.

School Counselors, like all KIPP SoCal Public Schools employees, are mandated reporters.

Suicide Prevention & Awareness Video

If you observe significant changes in behavior like the ones below, it may be a sign that someone you know needs help:

• Changes in personality
• Neglecting personal appearance/hygiene
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Internet searches related to suicide
• Self-injurious behaviors
• Changes in appetite

How has your child been feeling? Have they been feeling this way for more than 4-6 weeks? Look out for signs of:

• Depression
• Intense sadness, tearfulness
• Anxiety
• Irritability/Anger
• Hopelessness or apathy
• Low energy

What has the child said, written or posted on social media that we should be concerned about? Like the statements below:

• “I wish I was dead”
• Feeling like they are a burden 
• “No one would care if I was gone”
• Specific statements of suicide
• “I wish I was never born”
• “People would be better off without me”

LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer or questioning. Questioning is the term used to describe the process of exploring and/or understanding one’s sexual identity and/or gender identity. For more information about gender identity and other LGBTQ terminology, visit the Movement Advancement Project’s: An Ally’s Guide to Terminology.

The word “queer” used to be considered a derogatory term, but a new generation of LGBTQ people have reclaimed the term to be an umbrella not specific to sexual orientation or to gender identity and inclusive of many people and identities. As long as you are not using it in a demeaning or derogatory way, it is OK to use!

KIPP SoCal team members will not tell caregivers unless the student has given permission or asked for assistance in telling the caregiver. “Outing” a student without their permission can break their trust with that teacher and can be harmful to their self-esteem and safety. However, team members are encouraged to discuss and assess the student’s concerns, weigh pros/cons of disclosing that information to caregivers, and to ensure the student gets appropriate support and assistance (e.g. support groups, referrals to School Counseling). The safety of your child is a top priority, to that end, should a safety concern present itself, teachers and team members have been instructed to notify the School Counselor so that they can work collaboratively to address the issue and notify caregivers of the concern.

No, we do not have a specific curriculum. However, The FAIR Education Act (also known as Senate Bill 48) was signed into law in 2011 and requires that California public schools provide Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful representations of our diverse ethnic and cultural population in the K-12 grade history and social studies curriculum - this includes the contributions of LGBTQ people. To learn more about your child’s curriculum, please reach out to your child’s teacher or School Leader.

Not at all! Children see messages and representations about gender and relationships (whether heterosexual or queer) everywhere, well before elementary school - from television and media to conversations with their peers and their family. 

In terms of gender: Children learn about the “rules” for boys and girls, as well as the consequences for violating them. By learning about the diversity of gender, children have an opportunity to explore a greater range of interests, ideas, and activities. For all children, the pressure of “doing gender correctly,” is greatly reduced, creating more space for them to discover new talents and interests.

In terms of sexuality: According to experts, most children will experience their first crush by the age of 5 or 6 (Kindergarten or 1st grade), this is true for all sexualities, and is actually considered a developmental milestone. There is a lot of curiosity at this age! So it is important to start age-appropriate dialogue around all types of relationships in order to create safe spaces for children to ask questions, build empathy, and validate everyone’s unique experiences.

The National OUT for Safe Schools campaign was created as a way to encourage school staff (including administrators, teachers, assistants, bus drivers, etc.) to publicly identify as supportive LGBTQ allies. Staff who wish to participate can wear the badges displaying their willingness to talk to students and parents about LGBTQ concerns. This visual display of support lets students know that “safe spaces” aren’t limited to the classroom. Anywhere there is an adult who is wearing this badge, students will know that person represents a safe space. This will extend the reach of the campaign to the areas where the most incidents of victimization occur: on the playground, during lunch time, and in school hallways. 

The badges can be worn voluntarily by any KIPP SoCal team member that completes training provided by the Director of Mental Health and has a willingness to show their allyship to the LGBTQ community and be a resource to students and families. By wearing an OUT for Safe Schools badge, KIPP SoCal team members have the opportunity to declare that they are safe space ambassadors and show that they are allies to all LGBTQ students. An Out for Safe Schools ally is someone who advocates for the safety, inclusion and celebration of LGBTQ individuals. An ally might stand up for an LGBTQ individual, speak out against hurtful language, or proactively work to ensure that school climate policies and practices are safe and inclusive for LGBTQ individuals.
 

No. Wearing a badge means they identify themself as an ally to the LGBTQ community and are available as a resource for students, other staff and parents. Some individuals that wear the badge may identify as members of the LGBTQ community, others may not.

While simply wearing a badge alone will not eradicate bias against LGBTQ individuals, the visibility will help students know they have an adult to talk to and can help foster a more inclusive and celebratory environment. 
 

Currently we’ve only ordered enough badges for our current team members, however, please contact Jasmine Lamitte, Director of Mental Health & Support Services, jlamitte@kippsocal.org with your request. If there is a growing number of parents/caregivers that want badges, this is something we will look into for next school year!
 

If you are interested in getting involved with the regional initiative and ways to support our LGBTQ students and families, please contact Jasmine Lamitte, Director of Mental Health & Support Services, jlamitte@kippsocal.org.