Crisis Intervention Specialist

Mr. Bill Mecca; 452-4252

The Crisis Intervention Specialist (CIS) provides best practice intervention strategies to remove barriers that prevent students from receiving optimal benefit from educational opportunities. Services are delivered to both individual students, classrooms or school-wide such as assembly programs. Some of the examples of the programs offered include:

The Signs of Suicide (SOS) Program and a Tier 1 school-wide program offered to all sophomore and/or juniors.
Coping and Support Training (CAST), a Tier 2 group for students at risk of school failure, is delivered two times per week at various times during the year.
The Reconnecting Youth Program, a Tier 3 program delivered one time per year as a daily class (Group Dynamics) for credit.

When a student is in crisis, the CIS typically limits the work with the student and family to immediate and pressing concerns often followed by a referral to the appropriate community service.

Classroom presentations are a method in which the CIS conducts social emotional learning sessions with an entire classroom of students. It is designed to assist a class in addressing the social and emotional issues that may interfere with academic development.

Student discipline policies exist to ensure that students are aware of and comply with the school district’s expectations for students conduct. The CIS may provide assistance to students and school personnel in identifying the underlying factors of student behavior. The CIS may also help to intervene effectively with students and their families to provide services on site or make appropriate outside referrals.

Peer Mediation is a form of intervention in which peers mediate with each other to resolve conflict. The CIS provides the training and supervision to the Peer Mediation program.

The CIS is also an integral part in promoting and maintaining a positive school climate by facilitating overall respect and trust amongst students and staff. By improving a school climate, culture and conditions, student’s learning also improves. The CIS collaborates with the Anti-Defamation League in training groups of students, Peer Leaders, to teach classroom lessons, be the “eyes and “ears” of the school environment, and deliver the “Truth About Hate” assembly annually to the freshman class.

The CIS coordinates the building’s Early Intervention Team (EIT) to provide “well designed and well implemented early intervention” in the regular education classroom as a way to improve student performance.

Again, these are a sample of the typical daily activities of the CIS at THS. Services and programs may vary year to year responding the evolving needs of students and the district's educational goals. Please contact the CIS, Bill Mecca, with any questions at 452-4252.