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By rdnewsNOW Staff

Behaviour Support Team

Red Deer Public Schools receives $706,000 grant to help support mental health

Nov 25, 2022 | 2:56 PM

The Red Deer Public Schools District (RDPSD) says a new Behaviour Support Team will be hired thanks to a $706,000 grant through the Mental Health In Schools Pilot Program from Alberta Education.

The funding is part of a $40 million grant program that is to support 60 mental health pilots across Alberta.

RDPSD says they are anticipating $210,000 in funding for this school year, $350,000 in the 2023/24 school year, and the remaining $140,000 in September of 2024, funding the pilot until December of 2024.

“Thanks to the funding, Red Deer Public has hired a registered psychiatric nurse, a teacher with 20 years of training in supporting mental health and behaviour, and a registered social worker who will all be readily available to classrooms throughout the Division,” said Nicola Golby, RDPSD’s Associate Superintendent of Student Services. “The goal is to help children be successful in learning, and to work with our amazing school staff to ensure they receive the required mental health and behavioural strategies needed to support students.”

Officials say this centralized team will travel to schools throughout Red Deer Public as needed to help support students, staff and families. They say one benefit for their schools is that the centralized team can be at any school in Red Deer within 10 minutes if needed, making them highly accessible.

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“We want to ensure our schools are safe and caring spaces for all students and staff and this funding will help us support students with the highest level of complexity,” said Golby. “This team will support students with complex mental health and behavioural needs by building the capacity staff who work with these students and following up with families, as well. They will also be available to assist on site during challenging situations.”

In addition, RDPSD says they will partner with the Primary Care Network who will be providing them with a free two-day training workshop called Youth Anxiety to Calm.

Nicole Buchanan, Board Chair, said the funding is welcomed news.

“We are very thankful to Alberta Education for this funding as it will help ensure we can support our students in the best way possible so that they can succeed in the classroom,” she said.

The Behaviour Support Team is scheduled to begin working in Red Deer Public on December 1.

READ: Chinook’s Edge, Red Deer Catholic receive funding for joint mental health pilot