Mars Area School District’s Student Assistance Program (SAP) offer a school-based approach to providing focused services to student seeking support or needing interventions for academics, behavior and attendance often because of deeper concerns. This program is a process — not a curriculum or treatment center — that connects programs and services within and across school and community systems to create a network of supports to help students. As a process, SAP  identifies students in need of intervention, assesses these students’ specific needs and provides them with support and referral to appropriate resources. The overarching goal of this program is to remove barriers to education so that a student may achieve academic success. SAP offers support to those students and their families.

At the core of SAP is a team of school employees, who have received specialized training from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania-approved SAP Training Providers. The Team may include teachers, nurses, counselors and administrators, and is often referred to as the “Core Team” or “SAP Team.” MAHS partners with the Center for Community Resources.  Our representative from CCR meets regularly as a consultant with the SAP Team.

Family & Student Assistance — How Does it Work?

 

It starts with a student referral initiated by a faculty member or parent.  With the family’s permission, the representative from the Center for Community Resources will then meet with the student to gather further information.  They will also obtain feedback from the student's parent/guardian.  Next, the representative from CCR will present the family with options and resources, both in and out of school, which may be of some help to the student. The family then decides on the plan of action they find best suits their child. Whatever the decision, the family and Team attempt to maintain ongoing communication to monitor student progress and success in school.

 

The Family/Student Assistance Partnership

The goal of the Family/Student Assistance Partnership is to encourage and support student success in school. The Student Assistance Team attempts at all times to form a respectful family/school partnership. The family and school share the common goal of supporting and maintaining student achievement.

As in all good partnerships, both parties have rights and responsibilities. The Student Assistance Team provides the family with concrete information regarding observable student behavior in school. The Team also aids in identifying learning barriers and suggests resources and available options. In turn, the family makes decisions for their child, using the information provided by the Student Assistance Team.

For more information, please contact your child's counselor.  If you would like to refer your child to the Student Assistance Program, please complete the attached forms and return them to your child's counselor.