Westbrook High School

Westbrook High School Student Services

Information and Updates

If your child is experiencing a crisis or having difficulty in school, please contact a school official for assistance. Below is the description of Westbrook High School's Student Service Alert Team. For further information feel free to contact your respective guidance counselor or Chet Bialicki, Transition Coordinator.

STUDENT SERVICE ALERT TEAM

Rationale:         The Student Service Alert Team will provide a “safety net” for students and faculty by identifying and treating stress and personal conflicts.

Purpose:           Intervention by appropriate resource people who will be alerted to a problem early and establish lines of communication through a clear and consistent format.

Membership:    Two guidance counselors, the principal, school psychologist, the special services teacher, student assistance counselor, and nurse.                    

This team will meet weekly for one hour for what is called a “student service meeting”. Specific roles will be designated for each member of the group.  For example, the guidance counselor may be elected chair-person; the student assistance counselor, secretary, and the principal put in charge of scheduling the planning and placement team meetings.  These roles will change each quarter to assure that no one perspective dominates the focus of the group.

Format:            The meeting begins with a review of the previous week’s minutes when the group is updated on progress of suggestions previously discussed.  The first order of new business is “New Life Crisis”. Recent divorces, deaths, or other problems concerning families of students are discussed.  A member of the group deemed closest to the individual in crisis makes a personal contact with the person before the week is over.

                        The next major component of the meeting is the processing of “alerts” in which students with whom regular classroom teachers or specialists are having specific academic, social, or behavioral problems are identified.  The team member who brings the alert to the group’s attention is responsible for providing relevant background information.  This may include academic progress; grades; current test date; specific behavior problems such as truancy, acting out, and drug and alcohol abuse; educational history and family background.  The group then brainstorms possible intervention designed to address the problem specified by the alert.  Often modifying the classroom schedule or situation will rectify the problem before direct special education is needed.  Additional alternatives may include counseling, diagnostic testing, and/or placement in a special education room.  Should a planning and placement team be deemed appropriate, the date is scheduled at this time.  A further responsibility of the team member presenting at the alert is to provide feedback to the appropriate faculty and staff members.

                        The end result is that the Student Service Alert Team (SSAT) will develop a positive image for problem solving, which in turn, will help service all students by promoting appropriate interventions.