By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
After more than three decades of students with mental health and emotional issues in the Westside program, the district is considering changing its model.
Instead of students attending classes at Westside school, the Westside programs for high school students would be housed at Hays High School starting this fall.
When the change was presented to the Hays USD 489 school board on April 22, at least one member of the board expressed questions and concerns.
Currently, students who are able are bused to their home schools for at least part of the school day. The Westside program has 24 students in grades K-12, five of whom are high school students.
"Ninety-three percent of our 24 students have opportunities to be in their base buildings because we know that students need to be part of pro-social experiences," said Lindy McDaniel, assistant special education co-op director and Westside principal.
"When they are in a building by themselves, they aren't getting what they need."
McDaniel said students are losing much instruction time making the transitions, yet they still need time with their peers.
As it exists now, the program lacks many resources, including a school nurse and a library. Food has to be brought in from another school. The program also has about 35 buses in and out daily.
McDaniel said it is not an efficient use of resources.
This move to create what McDaniel called a school-within-a-school model comes as the Hays school district is completing work on a $143 million bond issue. A new high school is being built, and the current high school is being remodeled into a new middle school.
The Westisde students would have their own classroom within the high school in addition to the ability to attend classes with general education students.
Once the bond projects are completed, the Rockwell Administration Center and Westside School will be vacated and sold.
Once the bond construction is done, administrative offices will move into the former Wilson Elementary School building. Wilson will also house a portion of the Westside program, including some high school students who need more assistance.
"There will be some kids who just can't access our buildings, but what we know is the more that they can and the more they are able to, it's better for all involved," McDaniel said.
McDaniel said moving Westside students into their home schools was a part of the bond planning—one the additional space at the new schools can make a reality.
Westside students' access to the greater high school will be determined by the Westside program staff. The Westisde rooms will be accessed through a badge system.
McDaniel said times have changed since the Westside program was created in 1991.
"This provides a different opportunity. We need to think about it differently. We need to think of it as a community," she said.
She said the district has children entering kindergarten who don't know how to play and interact with others appropriately.
Sixteen percent of teens 12 to 17 had at least one major depressive episode in 2022.
Hays High has had students leave for acute or long-term psychiatrist treatment and immediately return to the general education population, which has 1,000 students.
She said she hopes the change will allow the district to serve more students and urge parents to allow their students to receive services through the program.
If a child has an emotional issue, they can be referred back to the school-within-a-school rooms without being bused back to Westside.
"This provides kids access so they can come and go as they need to," McDaniel said.
McDaniel said high school students in the Westside program can now access the grade-level curriculum. Previously, the program had to rely heavily on online programs.
Board member Jayme Goetz expressed concerns about the changes to the Westside program.
Goetz, a former Hays USD 498 teacher, said she worries about the children in the program receiving the support they need in the new model, especially in the elementary schools.
"I feel like it is splitting up the resources that are available to them," she said. "I'm in no way saying that I support seclusion."
"I also worry that it's going to put that extra stress on the general education teachers that already have growing class sizes and will have students who have new behavioral issues with trauma. ... Do we have a plan in place to remedy that?
"Twenty-four kids isn't a ton, but one kid with huge needs could be a downfall," she said.
McDaniel acknowledged that the co-op's resources will be stretched when and if the school-within-a-school model is expanded to elementary schools.
The co-op is offering a trauma-informed education book study to general education teachers this summer.
"I think this is work we owe to do if we are truly every student every day," McDaniel said.
Goetz said, "I think there is going to be a lot of stress because there is so much unknown. Open transparency of what is going to be available to [teachers] in terms of training and support, I think, would put a lot of that to rest and allow [teachers] to bring up questions that we haven't thought about."
She asked if students who were prone to outbursts and were unable to regulate their emotions would be placed in general education classrooms.
McDaniels said no. Those students would be in Westside classrooms full-time.
Goetz said she doesn't want the general education students to act out with fear and resentment if a student who is having behavior problems is placed in a general education classroom. She said she also wants to ensure teachers have the supports they need.
McDaniel said, "The reality is some of these kids are never going to have great behavior, but they need access to music, to STEM, to art, to things that are really going to help them."
Goetz said, "Overall, I think the intent is very good. I think the intent is to be an advocate for every student every day. I admire that. I just really think that it's very important that this is taken to the teachers for discussion. I think they need to be heard on it."
Kyle Carlin, special education co-op director, said the process will be discussed with the school leadership teams, and teacher education and feedback can happen through that process.
He said the co-op wants to learn from the high school's school-within-a-school model before finalizing any details for expanding the program to middle or elementary schools.
Shawn Henderson, Hays High School principal, said Westside is not a place; it's people.
"Those students are our students. They come and go all of the time," Hendersons said. "The question of what support we put behind this kid or that kid, we do that every day. I think for me, it is that they are our kids."
He said he thinks the new model will increase resources for students and teachers because they will be down the hall and not in another building.
"Right now, I think there are a lot of logistics that pull us apart," Henderson said.
Goetz said, "I just want to make sure we aren't piling too much on teachers' plates. It seems like we put on and put on, and they are all good things to put on, but if we aren't balancing that, then one more good thing for the students we all support could tip a teacher."