Mental Well-Being

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What is Care Solace?

Care Solace connects students, staff, families and community members to care. At no cost to you, Care Solace will quickly and confidentially find available mental heath and substance use providers matched to your needs.

24/7/365 Multilingual Support
Care regarless of insurance
Easy access to care

You can access Care Solace by clicking on the Care Solace link, calling 1-888-515-0595, or contacting your school counselor and they will submit a referral on your behalf.

About KASD Mental Well-Being

Student Mental Well-Being

Student Mental Well-Being refers to the overall state of a student's psychological and emotional health. It encompasses various factors, including their ability to cope with stress, manage emotions, maintain healthy relationships, and adapt to academic and social challenges. Key components of student mental well-being include emotional regulation, coping skills, social connectedness, self-esteem, and resilience.

The KASD supports Student Mental Well-Being through an Equitable Multi-Level System of Support (EMLSS) framework, designed to provide consistent practices within and across grade levels and schools. In this system, schools provide various types of support at differing levels of intensity to proactively and responsively adjust to student needs.

The following are some examples of the support the KASD provides through an EMLSS framework to students to support mental well-being.

Highlights of KASD Mental Well-Being services:

All community members have access to mental health navigation through Care Solace
All staff receive trauma sensitive schools training to support student mental well-being
Students 4K-12 have access to school based mental health services through PATH Counseling
High school students can receive academic as well as intensive mental health services through Triumph

Some Ways We Support Student Mental Well-Being

Universal Practices

Designed to provide support for all students

Social-Emotional Learning

Trauma Sensitive Approach

Trauma-sensitive schools, or trauma-informed schools, are schools that aim to create a safe and supportive environment for students to learn and succeed. They do this by addressing the impact of trauma on learning and by providing students with the support they need. Trauma-sensitive strategies include providing staff training, creating safe environments, reducing triggers, and utilizing intentional strategies to build positive relationships.

Universal Screener

Just like we do with health, vision, hearing, and academic screenings, we administer a mental well-being screening tool to help identify the social and emotional needs of our students.

The screener consists of a brief online rating scale, known as the BIMAS-2 (Behavioral Intervention Monitoring Assessment System-2nd Edition ) that is either completed by the students or the teachers depending on the grade level. Information from the BIMAS-2 will allow us to develop more effective, whole-school, classroom, and individual intervention plans (when and if needed with parent input and permission).

Targeted Practices

Designed to provide additional support for students

Differentiated and Small Group Instruction

Differentiated and Small Group Instruction

Differentiated and small group social and emotional instruction involves tailoring teaching methods and activities to meet the unique needs of students, ensuring they receive appropriate support for their social and emotional development. This approach allows for personalized attention, targeted support, and enhanced engagement, helping students develop essential skills.

Intensive Practices

Designed to provide individualized and intensive support for students

Triumph
Path Counseling

Triumph

The Triumph Program is a collaboration between the Kaukauna, Kimberly and Little Chute Area School Districts. Together, they have partnered to provide educational services integrated with on-site mental health services with the goal of helping our students in grades 9-12 have academic success. Students are referred to the Triumph program by their school counselor. Please see your school counselor for more information.

Path Counseling

The program goal for the United Way's PATH (Providing Access To Healing) for students is, "To improve access to mental health services for children and youth experiencing barriers to care in the community".

The United Way's PATH for Students and the Kaukauna Area School District are working together to provide students the opportunity to receive school based counseling services.

Completed forms are a prerequisite for counseling to begin. Participation in counseling is voluntary.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, or desire more information please contact your student's school counselor.

Student Mental Well-Being Universal Screening

Frequently Asked Questions

What is student mental well-being universal screening?

Just like we do with health, vision, hearing, and academic screenings, we administer a mental well-being screening tool to help identify the social and emotional needs of our students. The screener consists of a brief online rating scale, known as the BIMAS-2 (Behavioral Intervention Monitoring Assessment System-2nd Edition) that is either completed by the students or the teachers depending on the grade level.

What is the BIMAS-2?

The BIMAS-2 (Behavioral Intervention Monitoring Assessment System-2nd Edition) is a measure that is useful for universal screening, progress monitoring, outcome assessment, and program evaluation. It includes 34 brief questions that look at common behavioral concerns (conduct, negative affect, cognitive/attention) as well as adaptive behaviors (social/communication, academic functioning). It also measures Social Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies, such as Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Self-Management, Relationships, and Responsible Decision Making. It was designed for students in grades K-12.

What is the purpose of the BIMAS-2?

One part of our District's Continuous Improvement Plan is Student Mental Well-Being. To enhance our support system in this area, we are introducing the BIMAS-2, as a universal mental well-being screening tool. This tool will provide valuable information for developing more effective whole-school, classroom, and individual intervention plans, with parental input and permission as needed. Please note that the BIMAS-2 is a proactive screening tool, not a diagnostic tool. It is designed to identify students who may benefit from additional support but cannot diagnose conditions or be used to prescribe medication.

How does the screening process work?

During the 2024-2025 school year, the screening will be completed by the student’s classroom teacher for students in grades K-4, and the screening will be completed by the students in grades 7 and 9. We will continue to expand the screening process to more grade levels over time. This universal screening will become part of our ongoing process to monitor and support our students’ mental well-being.

Prior to each screening, teachers who will be completing the screening and students in grades 7 and 9 will receive information about the BIMAS-2 to understand its contents and process. Students in grades 7 and 9 will receive instructions from their homeroom teachers on how to complete the screen. The BIMAS-2 is estimated to take 5-10 minutes to complete.

On the day of the screening, if it is reported that a student has had thoughts of harming themselves, a staff member will contact the student individually and confidentially to ensure their safety. You would then be notified via phone call by a student services staff member who will connect with you to discuss possible next steps and resources for you to consider.

If a student in grades 6-12 is absent on the day of the screening, student services staff will arrange a day, time, and space for them to complete the screening shortly after their return, given that both the student and their parent/guardian consent.

What do I do if I want my student(s) to be screened?

What if I don't want my student(s) to complete the BIMAS-2?

Although we aim to address the needs of as many students as possible through this screening, participation is completely voluntary. You will receive information via email and text when a screening is to occur. If you prefer not to have your student(s) participate, please fill out the Opt-Out form with the required information by the deadline that has been shared. Once you opt your student(s) out, they will remain opted out unless you choose to opt them back in. To re-enroll your student(s) in the screening, please email kasdstudentservices@kaukaunasd.org with the name(s) of your student(s).

What questions does the BIMAS-2 ask?

What happens to the results of the BIMAS-2?

Students’ results are stored in the BIMAS-2 system where administration, student services, and SROs can access the data.

Teachers can see the information for the class if they complete the screening for their students (grades K-5). If parents would like to receive information regarding their student’s screening results, they can request results by sending an email to kasdstudentservices@kaukaunasd.org.

I opted my student out in the past, but would like them to take future screenings. How do I opt back in?

Who do I contact for additional information?

Helpful Links

BIMAS-2 Teacher Rating Questions (grades K-5)

BIMAS-2 Student Rating Questions (grades 6-12)

Parent/Guardian Letter September 13, 2024

BIMAS-2 Opt-Out Form

kasdstudentservices@kaukaunasd.org