When a student experiences emotional difficulty that limits the student’s ability to participate in the educational process, the student may benefit from counseling to overcome the difficulty. Counseling typically requires the student to be able to identify feelings and follow a train of thought to make connections related to coping strategies. School level counseling may be provided by a school counselor or by a counselor who provides services at some of our schools on a contractual basis. When a student continues to struggle despite school level counseling or the student’s difficulty is beyond what is typically provided by school level counselors, the student may be referred for counseling from a district mental health counselor. Referrals to the district mental health counselor are made by the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Team. The MTSS Team reviews any concerns and verifies that less intensive counseling services have been exhausted or would be insufficient. The district mental health counselor assesses the student’s need and collaborates on an “as needed” basis with the student’s support network (school, home, community). When the student has made sufficient progress, the more intensive support is faded back to school level supports.