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March Counselor Spotlight: Janie Waugh Fort Supply Schools
Our featured school counselor for month is Jannie Waugh, a 7th-12th grade school counselor at Fort Supply Schools. Janie has been a school counselor for 29 years and an educator for 53 years! Thank you, Janie, for being so dedicated to the students and families in Oklahoma and for the positive impact you have made.
What is your favorite part of being a school counselor or the most rewarding aspect of your position?
I am able to associate with caring, inspirational individuals who can take children and adults who are having a bad day and help turn it into a good day--day after day, year after year.
Why is creating a comprehensive school counseling program important to you?
A comprehensive school counseling program makes it possible to work with the "whole child." It allows me to not only work with the students' academic potential but also their career possibilities and their social-emotional growth. I am motivated to do better when I witness the obstacles that students have overcome and the achievements they have earned before high school graduation.
What quote inspires you?
"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
What do you do when you need inspiration to tackle another day working on behalf of students?
I think of my grandchildren and my great grandchildren and visualize what I want for them throughout their educational journey. I want to offer that to all students.
What do you do to decompress and refuel for the next day?
My drive to school consists of driving 22 miles to school and 22 miles back home. The road has very little traffic, so I get the time to relax, "crank" my radio up, and enjoy the beautiful landscape of Northwest Oklahoma.
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 Funding Opportunity for MEB Programs
These grants are a direct funding opportunity to schools who are looking to fund their MTSS programs and assist in the following:
- Develop a districtwide, comprehensive MTSS plan for MEB (mental, emotional & behavioral) health.
- Train school staff and educators how to recognize the risk factors and warning signs of developing MEB health problems and how to respond to mental health crisis.
- Offer learning-focused opportunities for families on student MEB health.
- Decrease stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors related to MEB health.
- Implement evidence-based primary and secondary prevention strategies with students.
Funding amounts per LEA are as follows:
- Up to 500 students enrolled – up to $100,000
- 501-1,000 students enrolled – up to $150,000
- 1,001-5,000 students enrolled – up to $225,000
- 5,001 or more students enrolled – up to $300,000
Find more information at: MTSS--RFI-2024.pdf (oklahoma.gov)
Deadline for submitting application is April 15th, 2024
Warning Signs a Child Is Being Cyberbullied or Is Cyberbullying
Many of the warning signs that cyberbullying is occurring happen around a child’s use of their device. Since children spend a lot of time on their devices, increases or decreases in use may be less noticeable. It is important to pay attention when a child exhibits sudden changes in digital and social behavior. March's Prevention playbook has warning signs and resources if you suspect cyberbullying.
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Bullying and Cyberbullying on the Rise
The incidences of both cyberbullying and adolescent suicide are rising in the United States, with recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showing that 14.9 percent of adolescents have been cyberbullied and 13.6 percent of adolescents have made a serious suicide attempt. Cyberbullying has been associated with suicide of a victim in several recent cases, a phenomenon that has been newly termed cyberbullicide.
Even though not all cyber bullies or victims think of (or consider) suicide, they clearly appear to be at an increased risk.
A recent study by the NIH showed that participants who experienced cyberbullying were more than 4 times as likely to report thoughts of suicide and attempts as those who didn’t.
Another study has shown that effective, evidence-based cyberbullying intervention programs involving communication and social skills, digital citizenship, empathy training, coping skills, as well as education on cyberbullying for both the individual youth and parent can help overcome suicide risk in young people who experience cyberbullying.
It is not an easy answer, but if we address it properly, we can find success in helping minimize the factors that cause the increased risk that cyberbullying can cause.
You can find an array of resources on the stopbullying.gov website.
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