Dr. Susan Ashcraft, right, discussing best practice strategies for delivering curriculum in the classroom with Christian Barton, left, and Bianca Dayton, center, two of the current school counseling majors participating in the training
Lee University faculty are working with school counselors and graduate-level counseling students at Lee to train them in a Sexual Risk Avoidance Education program through the Tennessee Department of Health.
The university received a federal Title V SRAE Program Services sub award in the amount of $83,700 through the Tennessee Department of Health. This award is being used to provide mentoring and coaching to graduate students and local school counselors.
“The purpose of this grant project from the start was to energize and equip our local school counselors and school counseling students with meaningful resources and experiences in support of their students, schools, and communities,” said Dr. Susan Ashcraft, professor of psychology and human development at Lee. “Our team of school Counselors and school counselors in-training have used the healthy relationships curriculum in 19 different school locations and have impacted over 1,750 students in grades 5-12. That's a big win for both school counselors and the students they serve.”
The Lee faculty members started this project in October. Since then, they have been teaching the SRAE curricula, which predates the graduate school training of most school counselors, to graduate students and local school counselors, with more than 40 having been certified under this program to date.
“This curriculum is extremely beneficial for these high school students as they are navigating the waters of relationships during these teenaged years,” said Katie DelBonis, a Lee alumna and training participant who serves as the humanities counselor for Walker Valley High School. “Encouraging them to learn more about who they are, what fills their hearts, and how to have healthy relationships is one of the most important things we do as school counselors. It’s been so wonderful to have this curriculum as a resource as I work with students every day.”
The project is under the direction of Dr. Richard Albright, associate professor of psychology at Lee. Other Lee faculty involved include Dr. Ashcraft, Professor of Psychology Dr. Trevor Milliron, and Assistant Professor of School Counseling Dr. Jennifer Thomas.
For more information, visit the federal agency’s page regarding the SRAE program at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/programs/adolescent-pregnancy-prevention/sexual-risk-avoidance-education.
For more information about Lee University’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, contact 614-8125.
Katie Delbonis meeting with students Ashlynn Akiona and Ryleigh Green at WVHS