Character Counseling = Climate Change
Metropolis Public Schools
Abstract 

The City of Metropolis is know as one of the "top ten go to cities" in the country, as a leading sports center, and as a significant cultural destination for its art museums, children's museum, opera, theatre, and symphony. Yet, this not the Metropolis that the children in the largest school district in the state, Metropolis Public Schools, know. As one of the largest 25 districts in the US, the students in MPS bring with them--from the Metropolis inner city-- a ### % poverty rate and a ### %  minority rate with a ### %  increase in ESL population. Some elementary schools have over a ### %  transient rate with over ### %  of the 15,000/year homeless being families. Over ### % of MPS students are special education, and ### are actually served in residential psychiatric facilities. These dire statistics manifest themselves in counseling needs and in academic performance: almost ### % of MPS sophomores failed the state high school graduation exam and less then ### % of 3rd graders passed both math and language state assessment tests.

Working with community partners, MPS proposes to provide counseling in the elementary schools to:

1. Decrease emotional health issues which result in disruptions, acting out behaviors, excessive absences, and other antisocial episodes utilizing prevention methods-through classroom instruction from new Character Counselors;

2. Reduce the traditional counselor ratio in the elementary schools for intervention cases by reducing referrals;

3. Identify the students most in need of intensive therapy and follow up/long term or family care (through #1 and #2) so they may go directly to services from the school-based mental health clinic provider, yyyycare.

From this grant, MPS will hire 5 new elementary counselors to become Character Counselors in 15 schools. These counselors, and all other elementary counselors, will receive extensive Professional Development that the abc Learning Center will provide and oversee on conflict resolution, bullying prevention, peace and character education. This 3-tiered approach will include Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders training and is based on research and practices. Additional professional development to be included is Restorative Justice (conflict resolution), the XXX Center (parenting skills, Project Respect (character education), and Heading to Harmony (peer mediation). All objectives are needs based and measurable for the formative and summative evaluations, conducted both internally and externally.