WRAP workers deal with variety of student problems / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, January 23, 2006

January 23, 2006

Not a week goes by that Carice Riemann doesn't confront the cruel consequences of domestic violence.

She's not a police officer.

She's not a volunteer at the battered women's shelter.

She's a WRAP worker stationed at Central Junior High.

"I've been here three years now, and I've dealt with domestic violence every week, literally," Riemann said.

"It may be as simple as a student coming to see me because 'The police were at my house until three o'clock in the morning. I didn't get any sleep. I can't focus, and now my teachers are yelling at me.'

"Or it could be something that happened three years ago, and they're still dealing with it."

WRAP, an acronym for Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities, is a Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center program designed to help children deal with issues that interfere with their doing well in school.

Domestic violence is only one of many issues facing students. Others include coping with death or divorce, depression, eating disorders and thoughts of suicide.

"A lot people assume that children are pretty resilient and that if they're given enough time, they'll be OK," said Julie Heatwole, the WRAP worker at Quail Run and Langston Hughes schools. "And it's true. They are resilient - but the right kinds of support systems have to be in place. If they're not, these issues get in the way of learning."

Heatwole said she's helped students cope with "everything from the loss of a puppy, to being homeless, to a parent being in jail."

Last school year, WRAP workers met one-on-one with 2,602 students.

WRAP workers do more than counsel. "(Heatwole) is a child advocate, a family advocate and an advocate for learning," said Paulette Strong, principal at Quail Run. "People don't realize that a lot of families either don't have or don't know how to get the supports they need. They're on their own and to make it, they need an advocate."

At Sunflower School, WRAP worker Valerie Giedinghagen counsels as well as referees.

"Teachers can't fix everything," said Saydee, a fifth-grader at Sunflower. "They say things like 'Don't do that' or 'You have to apologize for that,' but they don't help you come up with better ways to handle it - things like name-calling, fights and cliques."

"That's what you go see (Giedinghagen) for," said Saydee's friend, Megan.