The Mason County Board of Education met Tuesday and discussed the need for an additional mental health counselor.

Mason County Superintendent Rick Ross and board members Vicky Lowe, Ron Rosel and Karen Osborne along with new board members Lamont Johnson and Dr. Michael Coleman were present.

The board was first updated on the minority programs led by Equity Officer Letressa Graham, who said the new program Black and Hispanic Scholars had its first meeting on Jan. 14.

“The program originated as the black achievers program, we used to travel to Lexington for it, but due to logistics we were no longer allowed to go because they wanted to focus on the schools in the county. We used to just go twice a month. So we decided to start a program here in Mason County with the same access to the same programming,” Graham said.

The Mason County Black and Hispanic Scholars Program is designed to encourage sixth through 12th-grade students that attend Mason and Fleming county schools to explore the opportunities available to them as prospective college students or credential-seeking professionals, Graham said.

“Through the program, students have the ability to delve into a career cluster and acquire the necessary skills to become college or career ready. The program meets at Mason County High School. Typically, we will meet from September through May biweekly on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. However, this school year the program will meet from January through May. The program’s general sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at noon,” she said.

 The career clusters currently offered are arts and entertainment, vocational/technical, culinary, marketing, mental harmony (focuses on mental health and coping strategies), health and medical, college preparation and public service, according to Graham.

“We have been fortunate to have so many community partners. Millicent Thomas, the director of Cultural Diversity at Maysville Community and Technical College has been a tremendous help with getting the program up and rolling,” she said.

Graham said there are currently 70 students in the new program with more applications coming in daily.

Ross addressed the board members with a request for an additional mental health counselor for schools in the district.

“At the beginning of the (school) year we created a position for a mental health professional and she has been so overwhelmed and overloaded because of the need (of services) that we asked for a second position,” Ross said.

The mental health provider serves the entire district along with school-based therapy provided by Comprehend Inc. but Ross said the need is so great additional help is needed.

“District-wide, between Comprehend and our provider there’s hundreds of students in need. These are school-based (counseling) positions, they work hand in hand with Comprehend to make sure the needs of the students are met,” he said.

Some students only need help occasionally but other students need to see the counselor almost daily, for emotional issues, behavior issues and everything in between, according to Ross.

“Behavior is a big part of it, depression, really it’s everything across the board,” he said.

Readjusting after all of the missed school time due to COVID-19 is one factor as well as societal factors and a wide range of things are contributing to the greater need for counseling, according to Ross.

While there is a need for counseling for every grade level, Ross said they see the biggest need in third- and fourth-grade students as well as middle school grades and freshmen. He said he’s not sure why this is the case but the need is concentrated and noticeable in these grades.

The board members approved the request for an additional mental health professional and Ross said the position is being posted and he hopes it will be filled soon.