During the April 17 Catasauqua Communities That Care meeting, coalition members were introduced to the new CTC coordinator, Chrissy Confer.

Confer holds a master’s degree in social work from Marywood University and a master’s in clinical counseling from Moravian Theological Seminary. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in strategic leadership and administrative studies from Marywood University.

Before joining the Center for Humanistic Change staff, Confer was an academic adviser at Lehigh Carbon Community College and Lehigh University. She assisted students with academic planning and served as a student-to-professional facilitator, assisting with individual student career planning.

Confer served on and contributed to many committees, including the leadership committee, undergraduate advising committee and the SEED selection committee, where she also served as an adviser for students with special needs pursuing higher education.

In other business, the coalition is planning to start looking at the Pennsylvania Youth Survey data in June. The analysis of the PAYS report will occur during the summer months and will inform programming and other initiatives for the future.

Wendy Texter, of the Center for Humanistic Change, asked if there would be a vaping presentation at Catasauqua Middle School. Amy Dymond-Jones, Catasauqua Middle School counselor and CTC coordinator, said she would like to, but scheduling is difficult at the moment with PSSA testing and the end of the year. She said they can potentially look at holding the program in late May.

Additionally, Dymond-Jones said she would like to bring in a program to address social media usage before the end of the year. It was noted Valley Youth House has a social media curriculum.

Dymond-Jones also reported Salisbury Behavioral Health hired a new therapist. She added this new addition is a male.

“This is a different opportunity for our boys,” Dymond-Jones said. “It’s helpful for them developmentally to have someone of the same sex to talk to.”

It was reported there are currently 111 students receiving counseling in Catasauqua Area School District, with 35 on the waiting list. It was also noted the students who are receiving counseling services are encouraged to continue with sessions during the summer months. Not only would this avoid a lapse in services, but the students would not need to redo their paperwork for the new school year.

Shelley Keffer, coordinator of student services, reported the Pupil Attitudes to Self and School surveys will be distributed to students in all the school buildings. Keffer said she will gather the information and bring the data to a future meeting.

In regard to supporting economically disadvantaged families, it was noted Catasauqua Community Cares Program is working to do more to support homeless families in the district.

Additionally, it was noted C3P is still having trouble getting food from Second Harvest Food Bank. CASD did a few special dress-down days during the year to help support C3P. Keffer reported she would like to see the dress-down days continue on a monthly basis.

Whitehall Rotary Foundation also donated $250 to C3P.

There was discussion about the borough’s Fun in the Sun summer program. It was noted organizers are still working on details, such as people to run and coordinate the program. A number of potential names were mentioned. It was reported they would look into it and make recommendations if the borough needs them.

Pastor Brian Riedy, from Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, reported the church’s band camp is happening this summer at CMS.

Looking ahead, Texter said it was a good idea to start thinking about CHC programs the district might want to implement during the next school year. She noted the more time they have to plan and set things in place, the better.

The next meeting will be 7:30 a.m. May 22 at the district administration board room, 201 N. 14th St.