A confidential screening tool that helps track students’ mental health and wellness will soon be available for Fayetteville-Manlius School District students in grades 7-12.
During the timeframe of Nov. 28 through Dec. 23, students (ages 12 through 18 years old) will have the opportunity to complete the Behavior Intervention Monitoring Assessment System-Second Edition, also called the BIMAS-2. The one-page questionnaire asks students to self-report their recent behaviors and emotions.
The screening tool was adopted by the district’s mental health support team to help assess student social-emotional wellness, learning, and development, and help school officials make effective plans to meet students’ social emotional learning needs at the school, class and individual levels. The tool will also help identify students who might be at risk or in need of further assessment and monitor the effectiveness of district and schoolwide interventions that are already in place.
Responses are confidential and will only be accessible to the student support team, which includes school counselors, psychologists, family-school liaisons and administrators. Data will not be shared with any third parties.
Students are encouraged (but not required) to participate in the screening. Parents and guardians who wish to opt their child out of the screening must notify their child’s school building principal.