With 42% of Marathon County high school students reporting significant problems with anxiety in a 2019 survey — and considering the additional stressors that the current COVID-19 crisis is placing on our adolescents — the time to address the mental health and well-being of our youth has never been more critical. 

Thanks to the Marathon County School-Based Counseling Consortium, students throughout 57 schools in the County now have access to a school counselor or school psychologist during their school day to support them with school-related or personal challenges, regardless of their age or disability status. With students at home now, such services have been extended in many schools to include TeleHealth sessions via Zoom to help students with anxiety brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other mental health needs. (Click the title for details…)

It’s estimated that Marathon County has around 6 Mennonite or Amish church schools, hosting nearly 360 students in Grades 1–8. Marathon County Special Education respects the religious freedom of the Amish and the Mennonites to educate their children on their own, yet County staff have a legal obligation to offer them their support and educational expertise with children who have special needs to help these communities achieve their educational objectives for all their children. (Click the title for details…)

Marathon County Special Education professionals are working hard to ensure that over 400 local students who are differently abled are prepared with employability, community living, and self-advocacy skills to succeed in life after high school. Hosting a Rural Community Conversation event, attending a Transition Improvement Planning Fair, and securing a Transition Readiness Grant are but a few of the ways MCSE is helping students build bridges to employment and post-secondary options so they may reach their fullest potential. (Click the title for details…)