Cedar Hill ISD To Offer Free Tele-Counseling to Scholars

Cedar Hill Independent School District Scholars will soon have a telecounseling program, free of charge, available to all scholars, Pre-K through 12^th grade.

“It is a valuable addition to what we’re already doing for mental and behavioral health,” Cedar Hill ISD Executive Director of Counseling Services Dr. Courtney Jackson said.

Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (T-CHAT) is a state funded program through Children’s Health that’s offered to school districts, provided they sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which CHISD did recently.

CHISD school counselors will provide referrals for scholars to connect, for mental and behavioral health, who are either Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) or Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs).

“Each of our campuses have a quiet space where the scholars can conduct their session during the day,” Jackson said.

CHISD elementary campuses have one school counselor per campus and middle schools have two counselors per campus. In addition to working with scholars’ mental and behavioral health, the school counselors have a variety of other responsibilities.

“These services will be beneficial for many scholars who endured the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Jackson said. “We are also confident that it will help decrease the number of disciplinary referrals in the district.”