School counselors and social worker report conference takeaways, urge mentoring and family engagement

School counselors and the district social worker briefed the Cape Coral Charter School Governing Board on March 10 about lessons from a recent school mental-health conference and recommended specific supports for students across grade levels.

Tiffany Corbin, the system social worker, said sessions emphasized connection and identified barriers for male students, who she said often feel cultural pressures to hide emotions. “Something they talked about a lot is that we need to figure out how to make them feel more comfortable with opening up,” Corbin said, recommending mentor programs and small-group work that connect students with trusted adults.

Caroline Pikiel, a counselor at Oasis High School, highlighted family-engagement strategies and quoted conference data indicating mental-health needs often appear in adolescence: about 50% of students with identified needs report onset around age 14, and roughly 1-in-5 may experience severe anxiety symptoms, she said. Pikiel described school-based strategies — executive-function coaching, one-on-one intervention, and family navigation — as key steps to help students manage stressors.

Superintendent Jackie Collins said the system will work to integrate select practices into the GATE (gifted and talented) program and expand small-group interventions that can reach students who are reluctant to seek help. Board members asked for follow-up when the Cape Youth Council student-survey presentation is available in April and praised staff for pursuing professional development amid limited local mental-health resources.

The board did not vote on program changes at the March meeting but directed staff to continue developing implementation options and return with proposals and resource needs.