Apalachee High School forms partnership to support students, teachers
Efforts to help Barrow County students, teachers
Apalachee High School hopes a new contract will help both students and teachers after a mass school shooting 6 months ago.
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Apalachee High School officials have announced a new partnership aimed at providing mental health support for both students and staff.
What we know:
The school has entered into a contract with Advantage Behavioral to establish two student coalitions focused on mental health and well-being. The first coalition is expected to launch next week.
Additionally, the school maintains an employee assistance program through the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, offering support services for faculty and staff.
The backstory:
The initiatives come six months after a deadly shooting at the school by a 14-year-old student that claimed the lives of two students and two teachers.
"They're expected to support students while receiving little support themselves," one person said. "One teacher told me, ‘We’re expected to be counselors, yet we have no one to counsel us. This is unacceptable.’"
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Parents have expressed appreciation for the school’s improved security measures but stress that mental health remains a pressing issue.