Merrick School District unveils partnership with South Oaks

At the Merrick School District’s Board of Education meeting on Feb. 11, district officials announced a partnership with South Oaks Hospital, a member of the Northwell Health system, to provide expanded mental health services to elementary students.

The new partnership will bring additional benefits to the district’s existing focus on mental health, which includes the presence of a psychologist and social worker at each school building during the day. When the arrangement with South Oaks begins next school year, district staff will be in closer connection with mental health providers, offering greater access to mental health support.

“Our mental health team is continuously making improvements in our ability to support not only students but our teachers, our parents and our larger community,” said Salvatore Dossena, the district’s director of student services.

Typically, Dossena said, wait times for mental health treatment can be months. The partnership creates a “direct connection to a network of mental health providers,” Dossena said, including neurologists and developmental pediatricians that can follow up within days. Their professional feedback may be received by the district “within a week or so,” he added.

South Oaks can also provide medication prescriptions and direct family or individual counseling. If needed, parents will be referred to mental health support anywhere on Long Island. South Oak psychiatrists would also meet with district staff once a month to train faculty on how to tackle mental health issues in the classroom.

The plan mirrors the deal already in place between South Oaks and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, which started the partnership last year. A psychiatrist from South Oaks is present in each building once a week to provide students and parents access to a psychiatric social worker. District families can also be connected to care elsewhere on the Island.

“I have to give credit to the high school district,” said Superintendent Dominick Palma. “They originated this model, and now there are about a dozen districts on Long Island” that are partnered with South Oaks.

The Central District partnership with South Oaks was approved at the end of 2018, and it has been “fantastic,” said Emily Paluseo, the Central District’s assistant director of special education and pupil personnel services, who was also instrumental in forming the relationship. “It’s a huge benefit to get kids and families connected to care.”

Each of the three high schools also has a wellness center that is open once a week, where students have an after-school outlet to talk about issues they may be facing. Last year, wellness centers also opened at the district’s two middle schools.

With Bellmore and Merrick schools receiving quality mental health care, students and staff can “work collaboratively together,” Paluseo said. South Oaks’s professional development training with teachers, which occurs quarterly, ensures that all parties are speaking a “similar language” on how to best help students in need.