Dear Parents/Guardians:
The physical and mental health of young people plays a key role in their ability to succeed in school.
Forest City Regional School District is committed to working with you, not only in the academic education of your student, but also to ensure that students reach their full potential outside of the classroom.
It is in this spirit that we are offering parents of Forest City Regional students the opportunity to have their child participate in a behavioral and emotional screening. The BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS) offers a reliable, quick, and systematic way to determine behavioral and emotional strengths and weaknesses of adolescents in high school, including internalizing problems, externalizing problems, school problems, and adaptive skills.
The BASC-3 BESS assesses a wide array of behaviors that represents both behavioral difficulties and strengths. The BASC-3 BESS is designed for schools, mental health clinics, pediatric clinics, communities, and researchers to screen for a variety of behavioral and emotional disorders that can lead to adjustment problems.
Benefits of the BESS:
• Assess a wide array of behaviors that represent both behavioral problems and strengths.
• Use forms that can be completed in approximately five minutes or less, without the need for specialized training.
• Use Total Score on the report that is a reliable and accurate predictor of a broad range of behavioral, emotional and academic problems.
Parents/guardians of all students who complete the screener will receive a summary of results report prepared by the school psychologist. This report will not include answers to specific/individual questions, but rather an overview of scores for each category. Parents of students indicated within the elevated or extremely elevated risk range will be contacted to discuss presenting concerns and collaboratively plan on how to best support the student.
For the BASC-3 BESS, a paper and pencil administration, scores are manually entered by the school psychologist (with only 1 district Pearson license) into Q-global, a web-based application for test administration, scoring and reporting. Score reports are accessible and retained electronically for as long as we maintain our account. Copies of all paper screeners will be kept in a locked cabinet in the school psychologist’s office and then shredded during the summer following the administrative year.
The screener is free, voluntary, and confidential. It is our hope that the screening will reassure you that your teenager is just experiencing typical "growing pains."
However, the BASC-BESS 3 may pinpoint a concern in the early stages, offering you the ability to secure additional assistance for your student, if you should so desire. With your permission, your high school student will participate in the screening during a non academic period. All screening results will be kept confidential, stored separately from academic records, and will not be shared with our teaching staff.
There are four steps to the screening procedure after parent permission is granted:
Step 1: Students will complete a 5-minute, paper based questionnaire answering questions that focus on the following topics: internalizing problems, externalizing problems, school problems, and adaptive skills.
Step 2: Students whose answers indicate they are in the normal risk range will briefly meet with district support staff of Forest City Regional School District to answer any questions they may have about the screening.
Step 3: Students whose scores fall in the elevated or extremely elevated risk range will individually meet with the school social worker, who will conduct a brief mental health assessment to determine if further evaluation would be recommended.
Step 4: Staff from Forest City Regional School District will contact you if your student meets with a mental health professional, as well as discuss professional recommendations for further evaluation of your student.
Forest City Regional School District provides the screening at no cost, but does not provide further evaluation or treatment services. It is up to you to decide if you want to obtain any additional services for your student. Please complete the enclosed permission slip, Behavioral and Emotional Screening Parent Consent Form, if you would like your student to benefit from this opportunity. Please call Mrs. Juliann Lionetti at 570-785-2469 if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Cassandra Stout
Principal