Blessed Sacrament School, Milwaukee, used its GIFTS grant to address the mental health of its students. (Submitted photo)
As a Catholic school principal who comes from a special education background, Megan Cerbins knows the importance of social/emotional wellness when it comes to helping a student be successful.
So, when Cerbins and her staff at Blessed Sacrament School on Milwaukee’s South Side realized their community was struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, she knew the solution had to be implemented throughout the school, not just on a case-by-case basis.
“Our kids need more support than ever,” said Cerbins, who noted one indicator of declining mental health was an increasing number of students expressing suicidal ideation. “We’re finding that students with mental health (issues) are becoming the majority, not the minority. We’re trying to stay on the front of these issues rather than playing catch-up.”
That’s what motivated Cerbins to apply for a grant from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s GIFTS program in the winter of 2022. When the school was awarded the grant, which is funded by proceeds from the annual Archbishop’s Catholic Schools Dinner, it financed the resources needed to launch Blessed Sacrament’s new school-wide approach to social and emotional wellness.
Thanks to the GIFTS grant, Blessed Sacrament was able to purchase the Growth Mindset Coach curriculum, which assists teachers in implementing social/emotional development exercises in their classrooms. This is done mainly through “SEL (social/emotional learning) time,” which is now embedded into every grade’s schedule, along with weekly sessions with the school counselor.
The school also instituted weekly “FLEX Friday,” where time is dedicated to “building community among students and staff with visitors, activities and more,” said Cerbins.
The grant also funded the purchase of age-appropriate literature for use in the classroom that helps students explore the concepts of perseverance, self-esteem, emotion management and goal setting.
Through the Growth Mindset curriculum, Blessed Sacrament staff members have learned new strategies to develop a solutions-oriented “growth mindset” in themselves and to cultivate it in their students. They have also come to better understand and identify the challenges their students face and are more prepared to help them communicate their needs and express their emotions in a constructive and healthy way.
But most importantly, said Cerbins, the grant set the scene for an overhaul in how Blessed Sacrament approaches the issues of social/emotional wellness in the school community.
“The GIFTS grant got us started,” she said. “If our students are not socially and emotionally healthy, they aren’t going to grow or learn in any aspect.”
During the 2022-23 school year, Blessed Sacrament was able to secure the services of a part-time school counselor and a part-time school psychologist through partnerships with Mount Mary University and Alverno College. All staff undergo training provided by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, giving them tools to recognize even nonverbal signs that students are suffering from mental distress. In the 2023-24 school year, Blessed Sacrament utilized funds to outsource both occupational therapy and speech services for all students with IEPs.
“A lot of it is letting kids know we’re here to listen,” said Cerbins. “We’re here to help you. If you’re feeling this way, you’ve got to talk about it.”
The school has also created a “Serenity Room” that allows students to emotionally “re-regulate” with the use of a trampoline, a swing and other sensory-stimulating items.
Spurred on by that initial GIFTS grant, said Cerbins, Blessed Sacrament is striving to be a place where any student can find a home, whatever their needs academically, socially and emotionally. She is especially eager to welcome students via the Special Needs Scholarship Program and wants to take a student-first attitude toward making a home at Blessed Sacrament for any child who wants to attend.
“We have a student support team that consists of a student support director, school counselor and myself to ensure support for all students in need,” said Cerbins.
Traditionally, she acknowledged, many Catholic schools have lacked the resources of their public school counterparts to accommodate differing abilities of students, but Cerbins doesn’t believe that should be the case. Catholic schools need to rise to the challenge. “Catholic means universal,” she said. “It doesn’t mean only students that fit a specific mold.”
It was the GIFTS grant that served as a stepping stone to achieve all of this, she added, setting Blessed Sacrament on a path to better minister to all students and families.
“We’re solutions oriented. We come together for a solution and communicate with one another. It’s embedded in what we do,” she said. “It’s a God-driven work. It’s not an ‘us-centered’ work.”
