Mental health needs call for addition of school counselor

By Siara Schwartzlow, Editor –

A staggering 15.2% of middle school students in the Brodhead School District had contemplated suicide in the 12 months prior to their participation in a Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Another 19.7% of high school students had done the same.

“Those are higher than the county average, so that’s pretty significant,” pupil services director Sarah Wadsworth said at the district’s board meeting last week.

Wadsworth, guidance counselor Jennifer Flory, and school psychologist DeAnne Larson presented to the board a plethora of information gathered from two behavior and risk assessment tools: the Social, Academic, Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Pick up this week’s print edition for full story…..