Catasauqua Communities That Care met Oct. 19 and took the next step in creating the group’s new vision statement.

Members had heard five options for the vision plan at the Sept. 21 meeting. From there, coalition members narrowed the options to three. Amy Dymond-Jones, Catasauqua Middle School counselor and CTC coordinator, then asked the group to vote on their favorite via email.

This work is part of an effort to cultivate a fully developed communication plan. The communication plan is a priority for the group, identified from the recent coalition checkup feedback report.

It was said a clear and understandable explanation of the group, its goals and its efforts would be helpful to keep all members on the same page, especially when discussing the CTC with outside groups.

The next step is to finalize an updated mission statement for the group. Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church Pastor Brian Riedy suggested incorporating the coalition’s three main priorities - support economically disadvantaged students; decrease drug, alcohol and gambling; and focus on the mental well-being of students.

Dymond-Jones will work with Denise Continenza, Penn State Extension educator and CTC coordinator, to put together a new mission statement. They are expected to present a draft to the coalition members at the next meeting.

“You have been making great progress on your action planning,” said Meghan Lynn Blevins, from Penn State EPISCenter. EPIS stands for Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support. Blevins assisted the coalition in putting together its plan to address the data from the coalition checkup feedback report.

It was noted the group is working to plan dates to implement the Pennsylvania Youth Survey at CMS and Catasauqua High School this year. The anonymous survey will be administered to grades 6, 8, 10 and 12. The results will be tabulated and compiled into data the CTC will use to plan for the future.

Dymond-Jones also noted students just finished taking the PASS survey. This is administered to all students in the district and helps take stock of the students’ social/emotional concerns.

Shelley Keffer, coordinator of student services, reported the district paid for the universal screener through a Pathways to Graduation grant and through a partnership with Salisbury Behavioral Health. There are two sessions of the survey, with one in October and the other in May.

These surveys help administration see how the students are doing and will help them plan which programs to implement to best help the students. Doing the survey at two different times will hopefully allow administration to see changes throughout the year.

Catasauqua Area School District Assistant Superintendent Dr. Christina Lutz-Doemling reported she took part in a Life Skills training sustainability workshop. She noted the programs at CMS and CHS are aligned with social/emotional competencies.

There was discussion about future funding for the program, since the program is currently only funded for three years. The programs in CASD started at different times, so some grades are wrapping up their third year of programming, while some are just beginning.

Continenza reported she has the workbooks needed to continue the sixth-grade program for another year. Lutz-Doemling and Continenza reported they are both looking into a potential online option for the program.

In other business, Dalilah Jusino, a mental health therapist with Salisbury Behavioral Health working in the district, reported she is noticing an increase in family discord. She said the staff is currently working to implement more family-based services in the home.

To help support economically disadvantaged children, Continenza reported Whitehall Area Rotary Club partners with Operation Warm to purchase coats at cost for students in need as part of Operation Warm Coat. She noted the Rotary Club received a grant for $2,000 to help buy the coats. According to Continenza, they will be purchasing 100 coats - 70 for WCSD students and 30 for CASD students.

Lois Reed, CASD business supervisor and Catasauqua Community Cares Program organizer, reported the district holds an annual coat drive, which can be used to distribute the new coats. She noted the group gave out 140-150 coats last year.

Dymond-Jones noted CMS was taking part in Red Ribbon Week, held Oct. 23-31. The focus of Red Ribbon Week is help inspire children to be drug free. She said she is hoping they will be able to host a program on vaping through the Center for Humanistic Change.

CMS students had different dress-up day themes for Red Ribbon Week, including wearing red, wearing hats to “put a cap on drugs,” wearing team shirts or jerseys to “team up against drugs” and wearing camouflage so drugs “can’t find us.” These dress-up days culminated in the Halloween dress-up Oct. 29, so “drugs won’t haunt us.”

Dymond-Jones also noted CMS Principal Melissa Inselmann purchased new drug-free-themed lanyards for all the students.

The Catasauqua CTC next meets 2:30 p.m. Nov. 16.