At the Catasauqua Area School District Board of Education meeting Oct. 8, board member Donald Panto reported Robert Spengler, superintendent of schools; Shelley L. Keffer, coordinator of student services; himself; and representatives from Salisbury Behavioral Health were invited to present during a recent Pennsylvania School Boards Association conference.

He noted they had been invited to discuss the success the school district has had with implementing a school-based outpatient service addressing the mental health of students and their families.

Panto reported several other districts have tried to do a similar program but have not had the same level of success as CASD. He noted one of the biggest factors to the district’s success has been augmenting the behavioral health services with additional resources, such as having the school resource officers involved in the schools. It was also noted the SROs spent the summer at the parks to continue their relationships with the students.

Among the approvals before the board was the approval of additional bus stops at Hoover Avenue and Ulster Road and at Hoover Avenue and Sherwood Street. These bus stops had previously been removed at the request of Hanover Township.

At the Sept. 10 meeting, concerned parents in the area asked that the bus stops be reinstated. The board agreed to look into the situation and confer with the township.

The reinstatement of the bus stops was unanimously approved.

In other business, board member Jason Bashaw mentioned representatives from the River Central Comprehensive Plan requested having school board input for the plan. The comprehensive plan is a joint effort by Catasauqua and North Catasauqua boroughs and Hanover (Lehigh County) and East Allen townships. The plan allows all communities involved to determine long-term development goals - both as individual municipalities and as a region - and then find ways to reach those goals cooperatively.

Bashaw noted he would be happy to represent the board but requested another board member join him. He will send more information, including meeting dates, to the rest of the board for consideration.

Sheckler Elementary School Principal Eric Dauberman introduced the September Students of the Month. The honored students are Issac Tomecek and Pierre Sankari, first grade; Olivia Phillips and Ethan Zimmerman, second grade; Mareli Santiago and Andrew Mclhaney, third grade; and Brielle Dorn and Dylan Smith, fourth grade.

Catasauqua Middle School Principal Melissa Inselmann named the Star Players of the Month for September. They are fifth-grader Tabarek Algburi, sixth-grader Shamiya Roberts, seventh-grader Clarissa Simmonds and eighth-grader Nasir Mclean.

The school board next meets 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, 4500 Education Park, Schnecksville.