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Our Commitment

Student Services is committed to strengthening our students’ social, emotional, and academic competencies. We provide an array of services to help every student succeed in high school and to create a plan for life after graduation. School counselors, social workers, psychologist, nurses, and administrators collaborate to provide a nurturing school environment that fosters personal success and social understanding. Additionally, we provide CHS resources for parents and caretakers in order to enable well informed decisions for their child’s social and emotional wellbeing. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

CHS Resources

Group Counseling Services

Our district’s comprehensive Student Services program emphasizes the importance of academic and life success for every student. During the school year, students have the opportunity to participate in small counseling groups. Small-group counseling is an excellent way for students to learn skills, develop self-awareness and confidence, practice new behaviors, and better understand how to effectively deal with some of the issues/concerns life presents. We have found that when we work with students in groups, they gain support from others who are experiencing similar situations or who have adjusted well after experiencing a similar situation in the past. Your child may express an interest in joining a group or may be nominated to participate in a group. Counseling groups focus on a variety of different topics, depending on student needs. Groups are aimed to help students identify ways of developing positive coping strategies and learning from the shared experiences of other students. Groups meet one day a week for approximately six weeks for one hour each week. Groups meet at different times during the school day to minimize the content missed in each class. Classroom requirements will take precedence over group participation, and participation in group is completely voluntary.

Erin’s Law

The public has become progressively aware of the rising incidence of abuse and neglect of children. The state of Illinois passed Erin’s Law, which mandates schools to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse/assault and awareness training as well as prevention education to children in grades Pre-K through 12th. Central School District takes this responsibility with all seriousness and realizes the best way to teach children these strategies is through a strong partnership with parents.

Erin’s Law is named for Erin Merryn, an abuse survivor who is now a national advocate for sexual abuse. The website for Erin’s Law can be found at: http://erinslaw.org/

Erin’s Law Taskforce
Erin’s Law Illinois Website
Erin Merryn: Breaking the Silence

Signs of Suicide (SOS) Program

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster of emotions which may be difficult for teens. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age, and the past decade has seen teen suicide rates double. Depression—which is treatable—is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth.

To proactively address these issues, Central High School is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide Prevention Program (SOS). The program aims to increase help seeking by students concerned about themselves or a friend. SOS is listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices and, in a randomized control study, the SOS High School Program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40% (BMC Public Health, July 2007). The SOS program is available to us through Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute, and implement SOS. For more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure and view their online Parent Presentation at http://elyssasmission.org/parent-suicide-prevention-training/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe.

Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:

  • To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness.
  • To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression.
  • To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend.
  • To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns.
  • To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help if they need it.

The program will be presented to all Freshmen once a year during their Health, PE, or Band class. As part of the program, Elyssa’s Mission staff will show the SOS video and subsequently lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener as well as fill out a Response Card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult at the school regarding concerns about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression but rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. Our school counselor, social worker, and/or psychologist as well as qualified staff from a community partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps. In addition, if your son or daughter completes the questionnaire and there is a concern, please know that Student Services staff will be available to meet with students and then follow up with a phone call to you.