Student Support Services

Mental Health

School-Based Services: Compass’ Mental Health Providers provide direct and consultative mental health and behavioral services primarily to students who have been identified as having an educational disability and are eligible for special education (IEP) or Section 504 services. Additionally, they provide assessments and interventions for students who are in the evaluation process for special education or 504 eligibility. 

Compass’ Mental Health Providers support the development of social emotional and behavioral learning through implementation of Tier 1, 2, and 3 supports, completion of Jeffco suicide risk screeners, partnership with principals on threat screeners and safety plans, submission of Child Protection reports, development of student support plans, advisement on trauma-informed practices, provision of gifted and talented supports, and as needed crisis recovery. Mental Health Providers also act as change agents for educational equity, providing relevant interventions and strategies that advocate for and promote social justice for all students. This can include implementing Tier 1, 2 and 3 supports, such as Diversity clubs and Jeffco Student Voice, leading restorative practices, consulting with staff, as well as community bridging, awareness, and advocacy.

Providers offer acute crisis support, as needed, meeting with students informally without parental consent to assist in regulation, conflict resolution, or other social emotional and behavioral support with the goal of the student successfully returning to the learning environment. In limited circumstances, Compass’ Mental Health Providers may provide short term or intermittent services in situations when a student is experiencing acute educational impact. The level of intensity and frequency of need will be different for each individual situation and will involve on-going communication with the parent/guardian.

Outside Counseling: The mental health support provided at Compass is solely applied to educational access and does not take the place of outside counseling or therapy. For a list of recommended Wheat Ridge and Golden area mental health professionals, please contact the Compass mental health provider supporting your students’ campus/level.

Social Emotional Strengths Screening: To support positive school climate and student well being, Compass implements a strengths-based universal social emotional screener, the SSIS-SEL, for all prek-12th grade students. The screener is completed by teachers and reviewed by student support staff. This is used as a preventative mechanism of understanding in a non-prescriptive and non-diagnostic manner, enabling Mental Health Providers to craft SEL curriculum to target the needs of Compass students. Areas screened include: 

• Responsible Decision Making (making ethical and constructive choices about one’s personal and interpersonal behaviors)
• Relationship Skills (establishing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships in groups and dealing effectively with conflict)
• Self-Awareness (recognizing one’s emotions and values, and being able to assess one’s strengths and weaknesses)
• Social Awareness (demonstrating understanding and empathy for feelings of others)
• Self-Management (being able to handle one's emotions and behavior so that they do not interfere with social tasks)
• Motivation to Learn (a state of arousal and activity directed toward learning and completing classroom activities)

To learn more about the SSIS-SEL, you can read here. Parents may contact your building principal to opt out of the SSIS screening or for further questions. 

Releases of Information: Mental Health Providers partner with community resources and refer to outside agencies who offer more intensive services to students and families in need. Compass strives to work in partnership and coordinate care with all community-based professionals who serve our student population. No communication can take place between a Compass employee and a community-based professional until a Release of Information (ROI) form is completed by the student’s parents, available here. Completed ROI forms are securely and confidentially stored by the mental health team. 

Academic Support 

• Multi-Tiered Systemic Support (MTSS): MTSS is a systemic, continuous-improvement framework in which data-based problem-solving and decision making is practiced across all levels for supporting students. The framework of MTSS utilizes high quality, evidence-based instruction, intervention, and assessment practices to ensure that every student receives the appropriate level of support to be successful. MTSS helps organize resources through alignment of academic standards and behavioral expectations implemented with fidelity and sustained over time in order to accelerate the performance of every student to achieve and/or exceed proficiency. Staff may request feedback from a parent or guardian for review of a student in the MTSS process through this family input survey. All information is kept confidential among the MTSS team.

• Gifted and Talented: Compass classroom teachers and other educators work together to identify students, develop Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs), provide appropriate academic and social/emotional instructional support, and monitor progress in the least restrictive environment. Compass partners with Jefferson County Public School District’s gifted and talented department and has been assigned a district GT Resource Teacher, Joanie Farrow. Please contact both Joanie ([email protected] as well as your child’s teacher(s) for more information about GT identification and support

• READ Act: Under the READ Act, teachers in kindergarten through third grade administer an interim reading assessment to all children in order to determine whether they are making sufficient progress toward grade level reading proficiency. When students are identified as reading significantly below grade level, called a “significant reading deficiency” or SRD, teachers administer a diagnostic assessment to determine specific areas of need for reading improvement. Teachers use this information to collaboratively develop an intervention plan, or READ plan, with the child’s family to help bring the child up to grade level. Students continue to receive intervention support and remain on a READ plan until the teacher determines that the child has met the reading skill competencies of their current grade level. Compass continuously monitors students' reading progress using the DIBELS and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments, and these reports can be shared with families any time.

• English Language Learners (ELLs): Compass partners with the Jefferson County Public School District ELL department to provide support for English Language Learners (ELLs) grades K-12 and their families while also supporting the classroom teachers and other educators working together to ensure ELLs acquire English language proficiency and demonstrate grade-level content knowledge and skills. The procedure includes identification, assessment, placement, and monitoring. Please contact your child’s teacher for more information about ELL identification and support. 

• Special Education/Section 504: Students attending Compass may, at any time, be evaluated for special education eligibility if a disability is suspected and/or an evaluation is requested. Compass works to safeguard the rights of all learners by implementing and monitoring IDEA processes through professional learning and consultation from Jeffco Special Education Partners and Directors. Compass has systematic processes to identify student needs, develop IEPs or 504 plans, provide appropriate academic and social/emotional instructional support, and monitor progress in the least restrictive environment. Please contact your campus principal for more information about special education identification and support. 

• Outside Tutoring: Sometimes families are interested in additional academic support for their children outside of their daily school day experience. If you would like a list of current Compass staff tutors, please contact [email protected].   

Body Safety

We educate students about body safety, including their right to privacy, correct vocabulary for body parts, making empowering choices about their body, and sexual education at developmentally appropriate levels. All staff complete a mandatory reporting training each year focusing on how to identify at-risk students and the protocol for reporting concerns. If you would like more information about body safety for your use at home, you can visit www.parentingsafechildren.com. 

For additional questions about our student support services, please contact your building principal: Kymm Garcia for Golden at [email protected] and Amy Fleig for Wheat Ridge at [email protected]