Cheney High grant comes to an end

CHENEY – Cheney High School students having problems at school or at home have had an opportunity to chat with a mental health specialist at school the last couple of years. There has also been a drug and alcohol specialist at the school to help at-risk students in a confidential environment.

The specialists were at the school under a grant that ended Sept. 30.

The Safe Schools, Healthy Students grant came to the area via Educational Service District 101 and Spokane Public Schools. It served six school districts in the county: Cheney, Deer Park, Medical Lake, Nine Mile, Riverside and Spokane.

Part of the grant brought Officer Lisa Rosier to Cheney. Rosier served as the head of the safety initiative in the grant. She came to Cheney in the fall of 2005 and has been the liaison between the schools, the first responders to emergency incidents and social services.

Chief Jeff Sale of the Cheney Police Department said Cheney was chosen because it was outside of the metro-Spokane area and the city was reimbursed for Rosier’s work with funds from the $9 million federal grant.

First responders such as police, fire and ambulance services worked with the schools to figure out response plans in case of an emergency at the school. Updated maps of the buildings were completed and several first responders took tours of the schools to familiarize themselves with the entrances, the rooms and the layout of the building. They also learned the names and faces of contacts within the schools – principals, teachers counselors and other employees. The groups also talked about making sure the responders had current maps and contact lists when changes to the buildings were made and new employees came to the school.

The information was put into a computer program called Rapid Responder, which school officials and first responders can pull up in case of an emergency.

Sale said training covered several scenarios, such as shootings, bombings and other emergencies. They discussed how each unit will respond depending on the incident. The groups want to eliminate that confusion.

Sale added that the next phase of the grant discussed ways to involve mental health, social services, the schools and law enforcement to recognize the signs of at-risk children and get them the help before the police need to arrest them.

The West Plains Interagency Network (WIN) was formed through this phase of the grant.

“We’re all looking for a win,” said Troy Heuett, vice principal at Cheney High.

The groups also want to start to work with the students to learn about their concerns and what they need to make it through school without getting into trouble.

“We tend not to go to them and say, ‘What do you need?’ ” Sale said. Rosier added that often at-risk students may need help from social services, but they also just want to feel loved.

The group is now looking into ways to share information with each other without violating any confidentiality laws.