Darien School Board Receives Update From Director Of Mental Health

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Board of Education this week received an update from the district Director of Mental Health Dr. Alycia Dadd, who was hired in March to oversee and support the mental health and social and emotional needs of students and staff.

Darien Public Schools created the position following three unexpected student deaths last year.

Dadd gave the board a 30, 60 and 90-day outlook on what she has accomplished and what she has planned in the area of mental health going forward. Dadd is approaching day 40 on the job.

The first 30 days were filled with listening and learning, Dadd said, and getting a feel for what students go through in their schools.

"Day one, I left with a sense of inspiration," said Dadd, who toured all schools and met with school psychologists and social workers in her first 30 days to assess current climate and needs for students in PK through 12th grade.

She also met with lacrosse coaches to identify potential needs related to grief and loss, identified student groups/clubs to speak to to further understand the student experience, and attended every Parent Teacher Organization meetings for each elementary school.

"I got to get a sense of the schools, the caliber of the staff you have, the connection, the commitment to the students. It was really a pleasure to see those relationships and just the talented staff you have," she told the board.

Also in her first 30 days, Dadd provided training to the district's new School Security Officers regarding social-emotional learning, bullying prevention and childhood adolescent mental health needs.

She also consulted with Darien's Director of Human Services Ali Ramsteck and Assistant Director Cynthia Hall to discuss a continued partnership with Darien Public Schools.

Now moving toward her first 60 days, Dadd said she wants to have more thorough conversations on assessing needs and meet with smaller groups to gain more insight into the DPS student experience.

She will also assess the need for and make a recommendation on bringing Teen Talk to Middlesex Middle School.

On the family front, Dadd plans on giving a presentation to families with Julie Droller, director of elementary education, regarding social emotional learning and student wellness.

Dadd wants to reach out to families who have experienced loss, and attend PTO meetings at all buildings.

The 90-day outlook comes at the end of the school year. During this period, Dadd will attend a variety of student events at each school; consult with faculty, clinicians and administrators regarding specific student needs; and develop a series of parent workshops/coffees for next year.

"Whether the topic is around school avoidance or how to talk to my child so they'll actually speak with me, how to regulate our own behaviors as parents — just some topics that might be really applicable to engaging with your students and what we're doing," Dadd said.

Long-term goals include working on professional development and staff recruitment and retention; creating a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of support for the social, emotional and behavioral health of all students; creating more "consumable, digestible" parent workshops; and establishing school/community partnerships.

Dadd said she's looking forward to having more conversations with not only sports coaches and student-athletes, but the heads of clubs or organizations around mental health needs.

You can view Dadd's entire presentation to the board of education here. The presentation begins at the 18:30 mark.