The Waunakee Community School District (WCSD) student services and special education staff express concerns over the increasing number of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and 504 plan referrals from clinicians catering to affluent, well-resourced families. This project will center around improving communication between providers and schools, while simultaneously augmenting the schools’ ability to address the mental health concerns of students and their families with the aim of providing an equitable educational experience for all students.
WCSD desires an efficient and effective mechanism to improve: (1) communication and collaboration between the medical community and the school community, (2) communication and collaboration among stakeholders to respond to students’ mental health and education needs equitably and accurately, and (3) students’ mental health outcomes overall.
This proposal outlines a key intervention, the Coordination of Services Team (COST) Model, to address these objectives within the WCSD.
UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu