The Poplar Bluff School District was named the 2018 Community Collaborative Program of the Year for its partnership with Family Counseling Center Behavioral Health to help meet the needs of students that extend beyond academics.
Serving as the district’s mediator for community providers and state agencies, the truancy court liaison, as well as foster care and homebound advocate, R-I Attendance Officer Misty Dodson accepted the regional award on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Campbell Community Center.
FCC Behavioral Health Chief Clinical Officer Noble Shaver Jr., who the district has worked most closely with from the Kennett-based nonprofit, said Dodson goes “above and beyond” in her leadership position and is “never afraid to jump in wholeheartedly” to complete a given task.
“Her efforts in securing a solid working relationship with the schools and the FCC has not gone unnoticed,” Shaver said. “She is truly a joy to work with, she’s extremely personable and a huge advocate for the students who wish to better themselves.”
Dodson’s employment at R-I began in 2003 as Junior and Senior High mentoring coordinator. When the program was no longer grant funded through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, Dodson transitioned into district social work and ultimately her current administrative role. She credits her office—comprised of an attendance tracker assistant and two social workers—for helping to connect families to services by eliminating barriers.
“This is a wonderful honor for our district, and I want to take this opportunity to commend my department on all of their hard work to make this effort successful,” Dodson stated. “They have spent many hours knocking on doors and transporting parents and children to appointments in order to ensure that they get services that are so desperately needed.”
Piloted in 2017/18 and fully implemented this school year, Poplar Bluff began offering school-based behavioral health services associated with improving social and life skills for students in small group settings. In an effort to increase access, MO HealthNet no longer requires the services to be linked with an individualized education program.
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Cutline: Displaying the regional award are (from left) Lane Hill, intern; Donna Moore, social worker; Misty Dodson, attendance officer; Carrie Booker, social worker; and Bree Savat, attendance tracker/assistant.