At least 25% of the children in your school live in desperate situations and suffer in silence as a result of the chaos and fear brought about by a parental Substance Use Disorder or mental illness, which in turn causes their ability to concentrate and achieve in school to be disrupted. In order that no child “falls through the cracks” Student Assistance Teams use existing staff to systematically identify and assist students in need of various kinds of support and direction. It may be an academic or behavioral problem. It may be the result of a bullying situation. Or it could be an unidentified learning problem. A Student Assistance program creates a faculty and support staff educated in the reality of what impedes a child’s becoming a balanced and productive student, and it provides educational support groups that counter these issues and increases academic achievement and classroom discipline, decreases absenteeism, and produces higher graduation rates – all educational goals.

Faculty teams seek to find the source of a student’s need and move to find the proper services to address their needs, which often are educational support groups specific to their situation. For more information about Student Assistance and support groups, read “Help Is Down the Hall,” a Handbook with an abundance of information about effective strategies to institute and maintain a low-cost program that can be downloaded below and salvage many hurting children and youth in your schools.

View the Handbook

Children trust their teachers to educate and inspire, and they often trust teachers with their fears and worries about problems at home. Many children, however, exert great effort to hide the fact that they are struggling with substance use or mental disorders at home. For some, a teacher will be the one who notices that a child’s academic performance has changed and perhaps seems preoccupied. The resources on this page were selected to put tools and information into your hands so that:

1. you are better prepared to notice when a child may need help and
2. you will know what to do when a child comes to you for help.

The child’s ability to learn and develop may depend upon your knowledge and understanding.

The responsibilities of a school administrator are countless. In addition to the academic and instructional challenges, the maintenance of the behavioral and emotional wellness of the students also falls to you. Children and families with substance use or mental health disorders will often come to your door. The resources included here were chosen with the intention of giving you practical information to help you support your staff as they assist children from families with alcohol or other drug problems and help you offer guidance to parents who may come to you for help. It is hoped that these tools and information will be useful and effective as you interact with students from families with alcohol and other drug abuse problems.

Children trust their teachers to educate and inspire, and they often trust teachers with their fears and worries about problems at home. Many children, however, exert great effort to hide the fact that they are struggling with substance use or mental disorders at home. For some, a teacher will be the one who notices that a child’s academic performance has changed and perhaps seems preoccupied. The resources on this page were selected to put tools and information into your hands so that:

1. You are better prepared to notice when a child may need help and
2. You will know what to do when a child comes to you for help.

The child’s ability to learn and develop may depend upon your knowledge and understanding.

Children trust their teachers to educate and inspire, and they often trust teachers with their fears and worries about problems at home. Many children, however, exert great effort to hide the fact that they are struggling with substance use or mental disorders at home. For some, a teacher will be the one who notices that a child’s academic performance has changed and perhaps seems preoccupied. The resources on this page were selected to put tools and information into your hands so that:

1. you are better prepared to notice when a child may need help and
2. you will know what to do when a child comes to you for help.

The child’s ability to learn and develop may depend upon your knowledge and understanding.

Children trust their teachers to educate and inspire, and they often trust teachers with their fears and worries about problems at home. Many children, however, exert great effort to hide the fact that they are struggling with substance use or mental disorders at home. For some, a teacher will be the one who notices that a child’s academic performance has changed and perhaps seems preoccupied. The resources on this page were selected to put tools and information into your hands so that:

1. you are better prepared to notice when a child may need help and
2. you will know what to do when a child comes to you for help.

The child’s ability to learn and develop may depend upon your knowledge and understanding.

Children trust their teachers to educate and inspire, and they often trust teachers with their fears and worries about problems at home. Many children, however, exert great effort to hide the fact that they are struggling with substance use or mental disorders at home. For some, a teacher will be the one who notices that a child’s academic performance has changed and perhaps seems preoccupied. The resources on this page were selected to put tools and information into your hands so that:

1. you are better prepared to notice when a child may need help and
2. you will know what to do when a child comes to you for help.

The child’s ability to learn and develop may depend upon your knowledge and understanding.

PTA and other parent organizations intend to advocate for children and provide valuable resources to the learning community. However, the needs of children living in homes with alcohol and other drug problems may remain hidden, even to the caring parent leaders in the school community. The following resources have been selected for the parent leadership in the schools in order to:

1. raise awareness about the many children in their schools who await assistance from a caring adult and
2. inspire them to work with the school to offer programs and services that can make a difference to a significant number of children in their school.