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Principal Joel has been at Binns Elementary in Columbus’ Southwest Hilltop Community for over 10 years. In his time working with youth and families at the school, he’s been privileged to support many children along the way, but has always seen a deep need for mental health support in the school setting. That’s why as Principal, Joel worked with Binns Elementary’s social worker to bring in The Buckeye Ranch to provide School-Based Mental Health services.  

Throughout his tenure, he’s noticed the deep need for mental health support in the classroom to help set students up for long-term success. He shares, “Youth we serve experience many challenges at home that inevitably impact their ability to learn at school. Some youth come to us from homeless shelters, some are experiencing violence in their homes, and many of our families have experienced deep trauma.” 

Building the Tools to Support Mental Health 

When youth and families don’t have the right tools to navigate their trauma, it inevitably shows up in the classroom. While Principal Joel and his staff at Binns are tremendous, they recognize the value in the expertise of a mental health provider partner to support the needs of their students.  

He shares, “A belief that guides me as an educator is that we all have a collective responsibility to provide kids with an opportunity for success in life. We’re responsible for providing them with an environment that is safe and supportive so they can learn, receive instruction and have mental health supports wrapped around them to heal – this opens doors for them later in life.” 

That’s where The Buckeye Ranch comes in. The Buckeye Ranch’s School-Based Mental Health program partners with schools to increase resiliency and strengthen social-emotional learning skills for students experiencing impairment in multiple areas. 

The Buckeye Ranch clinicians are integrated into the school setting and aim to decrease the gap in access to mental health services and build trust. Intense treatment services are provided to students and families to address individualized mental health needs of youth such as depression and anxiety.  

Binns Elementary’s lead School-Based Mental Health Services clinician, Jacqueline, works with dozens of students throughout the school year, setting them up with the tools they need to be successful in the classroom by regulating their emotions and ultimately increasing time spent learning. 

“That started with mental health sessions to help them regulate while they’re in a learning environment, and then extended to teaching them coping skills and practicing those skills in repetition so that no matter what four walls they’re in, they can begin to understand how to manage their emotions,” explains Principal Joel.  

The trauma-informed model provided by The Buckeye Ranch’s School-Based Mental Health Services program has helped staff support students in areas they simply did not have the training to address before. Principal Joel adds, “The team at The Buckeye Ranch, and most importantly our clinician Jacqueline, came in and truly changed our families’ lives.” 

Supporting Youth in Every Setting 

A critical component of Jacqueline’s work with youth and families at Binns Elementary is ensuring that they’re set up to manage their mental health long-term. That means helping them learn skills that help them regulate both inside and outside the classroom. It means giving them tools they can share with family members and the community, ultimately building brighter futures for everyone. 

A critical part of supporting youth is ensuring access to care. With The Buckeye Ranch’s Same-Day Access program, Jacqueline is able to work to get youth the support and coverage they need to be connected to care quickly.  

On-site care is another critical component to healing. By providing on-site clinicians, The Buckeye Ranch’s School-Based Mental Health program creates a constant supportive resource for youth in the school setting. By seeing Jacqueline’s face every day and knowing where to find her, it allows the children at Binns Elementary to know her, rely on her, and ultimately, trust her to help them heal. 

Principal Joel emphasizes the impact that Same-Day Access has on students, “I cannot stress how this builds trust and opens doors for our kids later in life. A school year is only 9 months, so gaining access to services in real-time, instead of going through a 6-12 month wait list process can mean the difference in advancing to the next grade level.”

Other key elements to healing include connecting families with information about how to support their child’s healing journey outside the classroom and connecting them to wrap-around support and community resources that help parents manage their day-to day challenges so youth can have a stable home environment.  

From aiding families in the complicated Medicaid process, to finding them access to bus passes to get to treatment or doctors’ visits, or even uncovering funding to help support things like electric bills so children can feel safe and warm at home, The Buckeye Ranch believes it all makes a difference in their mental health and how they show up in the classroom and in their communities. 

Creating Safe Spaces for Youth to Thrive 

Creating a safe space where students know that they are supported, loved, and accepted no matter what is foundational to healing.  

Before starting treatment with School-Based Mental Health Services, one youth Jacqueline has worked with couldn’t spend more than 10-15 minutes in a classroom. Today, he often gets through four straight days of engaged learning! 

“We work with him to reward that, and often he will catch me in the hallway and say, ‘Hey Mr. Grant, I’ve got three days of focus – one more and I get my prize!’,” reflects Principal Joel. “And what’s more special? When he misses a day, he knows it’s okay. He knows that he’s safe and in a space where he can fail and learn that way.” 

Principal Joel adds, “Failure is a key component in learning. It’s necessary, and we must ensure that children know it’s okay to fail. When kids constantly hear they’re a ‘bad kid’ from mistakes and failure, they start to think that’s what they are, and it hinders their learning experience.” Working to ensure youth know that they are good, smart, and kind is vital. When youth are assured, they embody these qualities by a trusted adult, they start to believe that about themselves. This child is the prime example of that.  

“That belief will change his entire life. He’s just one story of how The Buckeye Ranch has touched our students,” reflects Principal Joel. 

High Hopes 

In the two years of working with The Buckeye Ranch, students at Binns Elementary have increased overall time spent learning and instructional time has been maximized. The school has proven that just a few counseling sessions can pay dividends to improve learning bandwidth down the road.  

“Most of our kids aren’t struggling academically. They’re struggling to manage their trauma and outside life factors out of their control,” explains Principal Joel. “They just need support. They need to feel understood. They need to learn they can trust adults. Because of the Buckeye Ranch, many of our kids now do.” 

It takes a village to raise hope and restore healing for youth and families in our community. Together, by acknowledging all needs of the youth in our community, we can open doors and build brighter futures for families in our community.   

To learn more about The Buckeye Ranch’s School-Based Mental Health programs, visit our website. If you know of a school in the Central Ohio community that would benefit from School-Based Mental Health services, we’d love to help. Reach out today and take the first step in building a brighter future for youth.