When we often talk about underserved students we think of our kids who live in large cities where the separation between the haves and have nots is viewable and apparent.  However rural America deals with a different set of disadvantages that is less about seeing your inequality daily and more about feeling boxed out from opportunity, services, and resources.

An example of feeling boxed out is not having access to mental health specialists, treatment, and programs. The development of mental health support in rural schools has been growing slowly but COVID-19 has accelerated the need.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services created Project ACTIVATE to improve existing mental health services in rural school districts. The three pilot sites in North Carolina that were selected are:

Beaufort County Schools

Cleveland County Schools

Rockingham County Schools

I got to speak with the team at Cleveland County which included Wendy Fitch Executive Director of Exceptional Children, Teri Putnam Project Aware Coordinator, Ryan Etheridge Evaluation and Coaching Coordinator about this innovative opportunity to support the mental health needs of their students during covid-19.

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