The Rockford Register Star‘s Greg Stanley wrote today about a partnership between Rosecrance and Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato in the South Beloit School District.
In South Beloit, Stanley writes, the number of students from low-income families reached a new high 63 percent of the student body in 2011 — up from 45 percent in 2001. In response, the high school’s administration is emphasizing positive coping mechanisms for students to deal not only with the economy, but other issues that may be out of a teenager’s control.
From the Rockford Register Star:
On Wednesday, the high school will host a program to teach students and parents about the dangers and prevalence of synthetic drugs. State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato and a representative from the Rosecrance Health Network will speak about the drug, mental health effects of substance abuse and how parents can recognize signs and symptoms of its use.
In the coming weeks, South Beloit teachers also will be trained to spot the growing concern of self-mutilation, or cutting, among students and strategies to prevent it.
“Self-mutilation seems to be really prominent for kids who are coping,” Kiel said. “Our kids are talking about it, Hononegah (High School) kids are doing it. What we want to do is make sure parents and teachers and the kids themselves know there are better ways to cope.”