OPS names Bell District Mental Health Coordinator

March 3, 2020 | 12:05 am

Updated March 2, 2020 | 8:36 pm

Owensboro Public Schools has named Summer Bell the district’s mental health coordinator. The mental health coordinator is a new position created within the district as a result of a “Project Prevent – Safe PLACE” grant through a partnership with the Green River Region Educational Cooperative.

“I’m looking forward to implementing even more mental health services throughout the entire district,” said Bell. “Each of our schools are doing great things in the mental health field individually, and this position will allow for best practices to be incorporated in each school across the district.”

Bell has served the Owensboro Public Schools district for the past 13 years as a student assistance coordinator, providing school-based social work and counseling services at Owensboro High School. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC) specializing in both mental health and substance abuse.

In this new role, Bell will be responsible for promoting the mental health and wellness of students by providing
evidence-based interventions at the school level in conjunction with the school counselors, family resource and youth service center coordinators, social workers and student assistant coordinators. Bell will also be responsible for training staff and developing collaboration methods that solve issues pertaining to mental health.

“As a society, we are able to talk about mental health more openly than we were able to in the past,” said Bell.
“Addressing mental health is not only about our students, but their families that deal with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. I hope to be able to educate students on basic coping techniques, identifying warning signs, and connecting them to resources to support those techniques.”

Bell holds a Masters Degree in social work from the University of Louisville. She will begin her new role effective immediately and will move from Owensboro High School to the Owensboro Public Schools Central Office.

March 3, 2020 | 12:05 am

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