At the start of the Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care meeting Nov. 19, group members were discussing the behavior and well-being of students.

Jeffrey Krempasky, Whitehall-Coplay Middle School assistant principal, and Chad Stefanyak, Whitehall High School counselor, noted discipline problems have been “through the roof.”

Stefanyak mentioned it was chaotic at the high school when students first returned to in-person classes but has since settled down, except for a group of regular offenders. He also noted they are not seeing serious infractions at the high school level but rather a larger-than-normal number of minor offenses.

Conversely, Krempasky reported the middle school is seeing escalated behavior regarding “heavy issues” and more serious offenses. He said these behaviors are coming from a wide range of students. He credits some of this behavior to how much time alone these students have had with unfettered Internet access.

Stefanyak said he is also noticing a lag in socialization and maturity in students, ranging from high school down to the younger students. Denise Continenza, Penn State Extension educator and CTC mobilizer, questioned how this will affect college readiness among the high school students.

Stefanyak reported he is hearing a lot of students mentioning taking a gap year since they do not feel ready to take the step into college just yet. He appreciated the foresight and honesty of those students who recognize they are not ready and are not rushing into anything.

Meghan Lynn Blevins, from Penn State EPISCenter, attended the meeting to see how things were going with the coalition checkup project.

Months earlier, the CTC members took a survey, resulting in a 148-page feedback report detailing the group’s strengths and weaknesses. The group discussed one of the coalition’s areas of growth revolved around leadership positions.

As a result, the coalition reformed different committees based on the coalition’s three main priority areas - mental wellness, hunger and prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs - and expanded its leadership positions to include committee co-chairs who could report back to the group.

In earlier meetings, coalition members stepped up so each of the three committees has at least two co-chairs who can keep the group informed on what is happening.

“It’s been working well,” Continenza said.

She reported feeling like there is less on her plate with these co-chairs assuming some of the responsibilities.

Blevins reported some of the components the group needed to address were creating clear goals and assessing the status of the committees, defining expectations for the members, identifying those co-leader positions and adding the goals to the monthly agenda. She was impressed with how the group took charge of its goal and has already addressed those concrete steps, she noted.

A second round of surveys was sent out to members, and the summary of those surveys is expected this month.

There was discussion on what the next goal should be for the group. Developing a communication plan was mentioned. Continenza noted this might be a good time to shift to the new focus since the coalition recently received $2,000 for that exact purpose.

The group has discussed ways to inform the community about the positive data reported in the Pennsylvania Youth Survey and the other good work the CTC does in the schools. Some ideas include promoting the data on a billboard, sending out information in a newsletter, having a more robust social media presence and more.

Regarding the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs priority, Continenza reported the LifeSkills training is underway in the district. She shared a look at the course curriculum for the group members to gain more understanding of what the students are taught in those classes.

Stephanie Dorney, with the Center for Humanistic Change, noted the Second Step and Too Good For Drugs programs have been implemented in the district. She also reported the group does specific programming for classes that may need an extra hand. For example, one of the Gockley first-grade classes is set to do a “being peacemakers” program.

Michelle Khouri, WCSD registrar and community outreach, presented the hunger awareness report. She mentioned the district received donations of full Thanksgiving meals, which were distributed to 10 families. Additionally, the four homeless families in the district received gift cards to Giant Food Stores, courtesy of funds the district received from the American Rescue Plan.

The Snack Pack Pals program sent 154 students home with extra bags of food for the Thanksgiving break, according to Khouri. She reported the group is looking to move the Snack Pack Pals production back into the middle school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the packing of the bags was moved to the Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Food Pantry, but now that the schools are reopening more, it might be time to move the efforts back to WCMS.

Khouri mentioned her hope to have a little pantry area in each school to assist students who may need food in the moment and allow for greater accessibility. It was noted organizers have trouble with the high school students picking up their bags of food and a pantry might offer students a better option.

Having a pantry for the older students to access gives them ownership of their actions and situation and might not feel like they are accepting charity.

Khouri reported the recent COVID-19 vaccine clinic between the school district and Newhard Pharmacy filled its time slots. This clinic, for 5- to 11-year-olds, was held at WHS. It was noted many of the teachers were there to greet and encourage the students.

Coalition members discussed the pros and cons of meeting in person versus virtually on Zoom. Continenza noted the meetings have better attendance when they are virtual, but group members agreed the discussion is better when they are face to face.

The next CTC meeting is set for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 17 at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3355 MacArthur Road, Whitehall.