Student Support Services

At The Sharon Academy, we recognize that students learn and perform best when they are healthy in mind, spirit, and body.  To help them be and stay healthy, we provide the following services to support them.

• Academic Student Services
• School Counselor
• Advisory
• Kid Talk
• Health Services
• Mental Health and Food Resources

To learn about how we support students for post-secondary life, visit our College and Career pages.

Academic Student Services

At TSA, we want all students to experience academic success and to perform to the best of their abilities. We recognize that sometimes students may need assistance to achieve their potential. Students who require additional support for academic success will be referred to the Academic Services Director. The student, along with his/her family, will work with the director to develop a plan for academic support.  The plan may include referring the family and student for testing, referring the family and student to a tutor, or developing an appropriate school or 504 Plan. We can serve students with IEPs in the Special Education categories of Specific Learning Disability and Other Health Impaired. 

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School Counselor 

At TSA, we recognize the relationship between academic success and emotional well-being. The School Counselor’s (SC) office is available to all students during the school day as a safe place for all TSA students to engage in open, honest, and confidential conversations.

Our full-time School Counselor is a trained social worker  available to all students to help guide them through their middle school and high school careers. Her office is open to all students, whether they would like to drop by to simply “decompress”, to engage in open honest conversations, or if they need more involved interventions. Our School Counselor often works with families, and can also help families find outside resources that they may require.

The School Counselor supports our students and families with the following needs:

• Psychiatrist/Psychologist referrals
• Student Support Team referrals
• Individual Sessions (weekly, monthly or as needed) to help support students with stress and anxiety, peer relations, time management, identity development, transition to high school
• Group Counseling 
• Creation and implementation of Social/Emotional/Behavior plans

In instances of substance abuse or dependency, students can use the self-referral procedure as outlined in the Drug and Alcohol policy to access the support they need, or they may be referred by another student, staff, or parent.

Staff practice strict confidentiality. This means that trust and safety are absolutely essential to our conversations with students. In any instance where we believe students are at risk of harm we will act to ensure their safety.

If we cannot guarantee student safety, we reserve the right to seek additional help. Examples where we may be concerned about student safety might include: child abuse, sexual assault, domestic or dating violence, suicidal thoughts or actions, threats of violence against self or others, or driving under the influence. For suspicions of child abuse or suicidal thoughts or actions, TSA is required by law to contact the appropriate authority.

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Advisory 

Janice Stumpf’s Advisory carves pumpkins.

The Advisory Program at TSA exists to support students in making the most of their experience as members of the TSA community. TSA’s Advisory Program allows students to connect with at least one teacher in the school with whom they maintain contact throughout all four years and from whom they can receive academic and social/emotional support. It is our intent that students will remain with the same advisor for both Middle School years or all four High School years so that they can build a relationship. However, there is an advisory selection process if students do not feel that their advisor meets their needs.

The specific purposes of advisory are:

• Academic: to monitor student progress, make sure graduation requirements are being met, set academic goals and help students reach them. Discuss progress reports with students and parents, and help them develop a greater understanding of TSA’s mission;
• Social/Emotional: to provide another touchpoint between students and adults to monitor students’ social and emotional well being;       
• Community Service: to support students in selecting and performing meaningful Community Service;
• Community and Communication: to converse about community issues, including school governance, while also strengthening communication between students, staff and parents and to share school-related announcements and information;
• Recreation: to play games and learn to work together as a group.

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Kid Talk

Every week, TSA faculty and staff meet with the sole purpose of discussing the wellbeing of students. Throughout the year, advisors share updates on individual students (celebrations and concerns). In preparation for parent/teacher/student conferences, advisors present profiles of each of their advisees to the rest of staff, highlighting each student’s strengths, opportunities, personality, and learning style.

Together, the staff learns of each student’s accomplishments and growth, and discuss strategies for supporting and teaching each student. Where appropriate, a plan may be developed for further supporting a student’s academic or emotional goals. Additionally, time is set aside at each of these meetings to address any students who are in crisis – academic or personal – and to develop a plan for their support.

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HealthHUB Services at The Sharon Academy

We welcome HealthHUB’s nurse practitioner Ellen Gnaedinger, APRN, to our school.  Ellen comes to our school from a collaboration with South Royalton Health Center and HealthHUB. . Learn more about HealthHUB.

Ellen can see your child for well, acute and chronic care visits, immunizations like flu shots and other concerns that require medical care. If you wish your child to be seen by Ellen, please send in your 2019 Health Hub Student-medical-enrollment-form-1 to the school and contact South Royalton Health Clinic at 763-7575 for appointments.

Ellen has lived in Vermont for more than 30 years. She has worked in pediatrics throughout her nursing career, initially on the in-patient unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock while teaching pediatrics for Colby Sawyer and more recently in school nursing and with the school clinics. She completed her Doctor of Nursing practice/family nurse practitioner degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2017 and finished a year-long residency at the VA in White River Junction in 2018 before coming to work at South Royalton Health Center.

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