At the April 22 Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care meeting, coalition members learned more about the CBITS (Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools) program, hosted by Valley Youth House.

A recent coalition feedback report indicated the group members might not have a full awareness of all the programs offered for students and what they entail. Denise Continenza, CTC coordinator and Penn State Extension educator, suggested they pick a different program for each meeting and have someone describe it for the group.

Nicole Parker presented on CBITS, which targets students who have experienced trauma. The program has been shown to reduce PTSD and depression symptoms, as well as psychological dysfunction, in those students. It covers grades 5-12.

She noted the program was implemented in the Whitehall-Coplay School District in March 2021 at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School. In January 2022, it started at Whitehall High School.

Additionally, there is an elementary school version of the program, called Bounce Back, which was implemented in the fall for kindergarten through fourth grade.

The CBITS program in WCSD goes under the name ZTT, which stands for Zephyrs are Tougher Together. Parker reported renaming the program helps the students connect with the program.

The program generally consists of a number of group sessions, and they try to keep the numbers limited to five people per group. There are also individual sessions built into the program to allow the students a safe space to really open up.

Parker reported there were nine CBITS groups between WCMS and Zephyr Elementary School and 21 Bounce Back groups. Additionally, there has been an increase in referrals.

Parker said some of the common traumas she deals with are divorce or separation in families, the death of a loved one, absent fathers or single-parent households, new implants to America, sexual abuse and more.

She noted one new problem she is seeing since the COVID-19 pandemic is separation anxiety. It was mentioned the students got used to being home with their families and may be experiencing separation anxiety being in school all day.

CBITS is an evidence-based program started 20 years ago at UCLA and includes pre- and post-testing to track efficacy. Parker noted students reported a 70-percent decrease in PTSD symptoms after last year’s program. The data for this year is not ready since the program is ongoing.

In other business, Tatiana Berrios, WCSD supervisor of educational equity, recognized Michelle Khouri, WCSD registrar and community outreach, for her recent efforts helping families displaced by fires. Khouri noted she works with the families to identify what they need and helps connect them to resources.

Additionally, the school district received grant funding to help homeless families, so WCSD was able to help those families who might not have insurance get hotel rooms or other needs.

Khouri thanked the administration in the district for offering her the support she needs to help the district families. She noted it is important for the families to see that the school district cares.

Khouri also reported they recently distributed 152 bags in the district through the Snack Pack Pals program to help support and feed families over the spring break.

To continue the CTC’s communication and marketing efforts, coalition members took time to clarify specific details for the group’s brochure. Continenza has been spearheading the efforts to make sure the updated brochures were ready for the district’s May 4 family night event.

There was also discussion about getting yard signs printed with positive data points from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey to be placed in area parks and on the trails. The 2021 PAYS data will be available soon.

The next CTC meeting is 8:30 a.m. May 20.