Sauk Prairie High School Principal Chad Harnisch addresses students on the first day of school. The district is ramping up its efforts to help students with their mental health needs.
The statistics are troubling. A Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey found in 2021 that 18% of Wisconsin’s high school students seriously considered suicide in the past year. More than one-third of students reported being depressed. More than half of the state’s high school students report struggling with anxiety.
Sauk Prairie is not immune to these numbers. Last summer, a student at Sauk Prairie High School died by suicide, prompting the community to start a “Be Kind” campaign. The campaign was created to remind everyone to be kind to one another, as no one knows what another might be going through.
The campaign has spread regionally, and fundraising efforts have gone toward scholarship funds and local mental health resources.
Sources of Strength student groups have formed in the district as a result, in part, of the local “Be Kind” campaign. The peer-to-peer social network builds healthy norms and culture in regard to mental health. With two Sources of Strength groups in the district, one in the middle school and another in the high school, the groups empowers peers to help prevent suicide, violence, bullying and substance misuse.
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In addition to local help to stem the mental health crises students face, the federal government has recently stepped in to help those in Sauk Prairie.
This past spring the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Sauk Prairie School District a school-based mental health grant of $4,660,083 over the next five years.
The plan for the funds is to increase collaboration and coordination across mental health, healthcare and law enforcement agencies to better meet student and family needs by streamlining service delivery and eliminating redundancies.
The plan is being executed as the school year has begun. Much of the grant funding is being used to hire more health care professionals for the district.
There now will be eight school counselors, two to four social workers, and 2.6 psychologist positions to meet the needs of the students. There are also plans to have therapeutic mentors and clinical therapists.
Sauk Prairie School District’s cross agency team aims to provide wraparound mental health care to students. Clockwise from left are Travis Hilliard, Philip Denis, Kristin Hinze, Stephanie Tarnutzer and Vanessa Thornsen.
Additionally, Travis Hilliard was recently hired as the cross-agency mental health coordinator for the district. Hilliard is now the district’s point person for a team collaborating with local agencies and organizations. Among the organizations he’ll be working with are Sauk Prairie Healthcare, Sauk Prairie Police Department, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin Department of Children’s Mental Health and Wisconsin Office of School Safety.
The priorities of the cross-agency team are to promote students’ academic, emotional and social successes through a student-centered mind frame by providing a wealth of services including crisis support, and connecting families to community resources.
These resources don’t have to be mental health specific. The district recognizes there are a myriad of factors that can contribute to mental health decline in students, including homelessness, food insecurity and unstable home environments.
The district also has been collecting its own data to better meet the needs of its students. Last year, fourth- through twelfth-graders had mental health screenings. Families were notified of the screenings. The information collected could highlight individuals or groups possibly facing more difficult mental health challenges. The district will coordinate further support based on the findings.
The district’s new cross-agency team has set up a referral system. Anyone with concerns about a student’s mental health can anonymously refer the student to the team. Peers, family members, friends and community members can refer a student. Referrals can be made by calling 608-643-5683. Referrals can also be made online at saukprairieschools.org/page/mental-health-resources.
For students and families needing additional mental health care, the district has partnered with Care Solace, a national mental health care coordination service for K-12 school districts, higher education institutions, municipalities and employers.
Care Solace is available 24 hours a day at 888-515-0595.
For emergency services, call 911 for local first responders.
The National Suicide Hotline is 988.
GALLERY – Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk Prairie High School agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor Troy Talford addresses the crowd at the new greenhouse opening ceremony.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Cole Hicken thanked the crowd for their remembrance of his late father as part of his speech during the celebration of the greenhouse named after Jeff Hicken.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk Prairie School District superintendent Jeff Wright and SPHS secretary Marcia Colby participated in the ribbon cutting.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac residents, the late Jeff Hicken’s family, Sauk Prairie High School officials, and others gathered on May 6 for the opening ceremony of Jeff Hicken Horticultural Learning Center, a new greenhouse at Sauk Prairie High School.
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