Shout out and thank you to...

Shout out and thank you to educators from Wenatchee School District: Tricia Craig (Special Education Director), Aaron MacKenzie (Washington counselor), Susie Choman (Pioneer Middle teacher), and John Waldren (district administrator) for attending the PBIS Coaches Training on January 27. Thank you notes can be delivered to District Office or by email.

FREE Who Cares About Kelsey? Film Screening Event

You are invited...

TOGETHER! for Drug Free Youth, Wenatchee School District, Children's Home Society of Wenatchee, and Wenatchee Learns are hosting a community event featuring the documentary, Who Cares About Kelsey? on Tuesday, March 4^th at 5:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee.  This free community screening includes a discussion panel and exhibits by local service organizations. Refreshments provided. The film is directed by Dan Habib. Habib is the Emmy-nominated director/producer of Including Samuel, which was broadcast nationally on public television. Who Cares About Kelsey? has been featured in Education Week and has been screening at film festivals, national conferences, and school districts around the country.

FILM SYNOPSIS:

Kelsey Carroll has one goal – to graduate from high school – and plenty of reasons why she shouldn't. She attends a school with one of the highest dropout rates in New Hampshire and has dealt with homelessness, sexual abuse, and ADHD. As a freshman, she didn't earn a single academic credit, but she did get suspended for dealing drugs. Who Cares About Kelsey? is the story of Kelsey's transformation from a defiant and disruptive “problem student” to a motivated and self-confident young woman. Along the way, critical figures in her personal and educational life shape her coming of age and play important roles in an education revolution that's about empowering – not overpowering – youth with emotional and behavioral challenges.

Nationally, more than two million young people in the United States have emotional/behavioral disabilities (EBD). Youth with EBD have the worst graduation rate of all students with disabilities. Nationally, only 40 percent of students with EBD graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 76 percent of all students. Youth with EBD are three times as likely as other students to be arrested before leaving school; are twice as likely as other students with disabilities (e.g. developmental or learning) to be living in a correctional facility, halfway house, drug treatment center, or on the street after leaving school; and are twice as likely as students with other disabilities to become teenage mothers. Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health. (2005/2006). National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Portland, OR: The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI).  

In Washington state, an estimated 24 percent of 10^th grade youth have a physical, emotional, or learning disability. Compared to 10^th grade youth without disabilities, Washington 10^th graders with disabilities are more likely to be bullied, harassed, feel depressed, attempt suicide, never or rarely wear seatbelts, drive after drinking alcohol, fight, and carry weapons at schools. Research has found that youth with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to be at risk for unintentional injuries; have witnessed or experienced physical abuse; have experienced sexual abuse; smoke cigarettes; smoke marijuana or drink alcohol; and report a lower quality of life. Washington State Department of Health, Office of Healthy Communities. (October 2009). Youth with Disabilities: Risk Factors for Injury. Washington State.

Join us on March 4^th to learn how we can improve outcomes for at-risk youth and students with emotional and behavioral needs.

Learn more about the film and view the trailer at http://www.whocaresaboutkelsey.com/home

For more information, please contact Kory Kalahar, WestSide High School, at 509-663-7947