FOLEY - As unfortunate as it is, kids today face a lot of daily stress at school, at home, and in their personal life. This stress can lead to major issues for that child, including low academic performance and suffering mentally and emotionally.

“Family structure and dynamics have changed, and that can cause stress. We have children who place stress upon themselves to be perfectionists and push themselves beyond a breaking point. Social media is a tremendous issue when children don’t put it down and step away from it for a while,” said Baldwin County Public School System Intervention Supervisor Patrice Davis. “Children are constantly being tasked with more and more adult issues and it’s unfortunate that they’re having to deal with it at such a young age.”

Davis is over 80 school counselors and 12 social workers in the Baldwin County Public School System. She states that while academics are extremely important, equally of concern is meeting the emotional and social needs of every student throughout Baldwin County. Issues ranging from hunger, mental illnesses both diagnosed and undiagnosed, and problems within a child’s home all affect their academic career and success. That’s where the school counselors and social workers step in.

“We have to address the needs of the students, and the more resources you can provide and get students help, then they’ll be successful in the classroom, their attendance will be improved, their grades will be improved, and their behavior is going to be improved,” Davis said.

To help counselors at Foley Middle School in supporting their students, the school gave space for counselors Jennifer Kukes and Coryn Bergenty to create a counseling wing, where students can meet in small groups or on an individual level as needed. Kukes and Bergenty serve students in the areas of academics, personal, and social, meeting standards in each area just as with curriculum. Each year they focus on educating students on issues such as bullying and drugs, as well as adding new topics, like tolerance. Throughout the year, speakers are brought in to make presentations to the students. The counselors strive to meet the needs of every student in the school.

“This year we started working with the Hispanic parents to close that gap,” said Kukes. “We have a large population of Spanish speaking people here and that was a definite need that we had. It’s been fun working with the liaisons and the parents, and helping the parents understand what their children are facing.”

Many community partners assist with the counseling program, including local churches, AltaPointe Health, Women’s Care Medical Center, and The Lighthouse. Every Baldwin County School has Peer Helpers, formed by the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation as a way to help students in need. Students who join the Peer Helper Program are given lessons on how to approach and speak to fellow students who are going through hard circumstances. Peer Helpers are trained to know when to simply be there for a student or when to speak with an adult.

“Since we became a Leader In Me school, our school’s mission has primarily been to help students achieve their potential by promoting a sense of belonging in our school,” said Bergenty. “Our counseling program has aligned our vision and mission to what our school is doing. It’s really important for us to constantly communicate with our administrators. We’re on the same page about what’s going on and they’ve been so supportive of us.”

A counseling/intervention section is located under the directory of the school system’s website: www.bcbe.org. A list of resources can be found there for parents, family, or friends who may want to learn more about a variety of issues and ways to seek help for a multitude of problems. Resources are provided for bullying, suicide, general information on counseling, human trafficking, social media safety, and more.

“All 80 of our school counselors do a phenomenal job, and I think they have a monumental task that is asked of them each and every day,” Davis said. “The fact that they are able to meet the needs of the students as effectively as they do, the fact that they are able to wear the multitude of hats that they do, juggle all of the balls that they do, speaks volumes for them, their integrity, and their commitment to the field of education and our students. I’m blessed to be able to work with them every day; it’s a joy to be able to work alongside people who share your passion and have the same drive and desire to help make our students be that much more successful in life.”