Mental Health Support Team

Meet Our Mental Health Support Team:

• Nicole Johnston, LLMSW - South Walnut Elementary School Social Worker
[email protected]

• Nicole Kindig, LLCSW - Bangor Middle School Social Worker
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• Kate Fitzsimons, LLMSW - Bangor High School Social Worker
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• Elizabeth Zwartz, LLMSW- VBISD Special Education School Social Worker for South Walnut Elementary School
[email protected]

• Alyss Salas, LLMSW - VBISD Special Education School Social Worker for Bangor Middle School and Bangor High School
[email protected]

• Falon Shepeck, LLPC - CMH Mental Health Clinician at South Walnut Elementary School
[email protected]

• Karen Riffer-Reinert, LMSW - CMH Mental Health Clinician at Bangor Health Center for Bangor Middle School and Bangor High School
[email protected]

• Aaron Van Heest, LBSW - VBISD Mental Health Clinician for Bangor Middle School and Bangor High School
[email protected]

What Mental Health Services Are There At Bangor Public Schools?

Bangor Public Schools is thrilled to have been able to add more Social Workers in each of our schools this year, with a General Education Social Worker now available in each building. Our Mental Health Team has been working hard to find ways to best support our students in a school setting. We have implemented some amazing supports both on an individual as well as on a School-Wide level, all of which are completely free and accessible to students.

Individual Meetings: (Tier 3 Intervention)
Students who would benefit from meeting with a School Social Worker or one of our Mental Health Clinicians on an individual basis are able to do so. Our Mental Health Clinicians have the ability to provide therapy to students on an individual basis during the school day in order to help support their mental health. Students who are referred to Mental Health Clinicians are often referred by teachers, staff, other students/friends, family members, or by the actual student seeking the support. If you/your child are interested in meeting with someone on our Mental Health Support team or would like support while being connected to a therapist in an outpatient setting, feel free to reach out to your/your child's building School Social Worker.

Groups: (Tier 2 Intervention)
Each of our School Social Workers run small groups that take place approximately once a week with students who would benefit from engaging with peers and receiving additional mental health support. Some of these groups include supporting students who are struggling to manage depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, anger management, and more. If you/your child are interested in joining one of our groups, feel free to reach out to your/your child's building School Social Worker.

School Wide Support: (Tier 1 Intervention)
Each of our School Social Workers has been working hard to create, monitor and implement school-wide interventions that all students receive in each of their classrooms as a means to supporting their mental health. Bangor Public Schools has introduced Trails to Wellness, an evidenced-based curriculum that focuses on social and emotional learning (SEL). Social and Emotional Learning concentrates on the learning of social and emotional skills that are essential for youth to learn so that they can be successful in school and work settings as well as every day life. The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) identifies five competencies of Social Emotional Learning which are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Whether it is managing stress for a big test coming up, resolving conflict with a peer, or managing emotions that come up during a typical day - social emotional learning can help manage each of these areas and more. As of right now, teachers will go through a lesson using the Trails to Wellness curriculum twice a week during their Seminar Class.