A new county-wide goal has been set to make a much more united, caring community. In order to accomplish this, FCPS implemented that all staff in middle and high schools complete the interactive online Kognito program, which will potentially connect distressed students to the help they need.
According to Kognito, “At the core of everything we do is a challenging conversation about health. Kognito drives positive change in health behaviors through the use of immersive learning experiences with virtual humans”.
In this program, the pupil is taken through a step-by-step process of how to identify a student exhibiting signs of psychological distress, how to approach them, and how to refer them if needed.
It is role play of the pupil as a teacher, who has three different choices of struggling students. Once they have chosen a student, it then gives information such as grades, participation in class, behavior, extracurricular, friends, family, and appearance. These are all things a teacher would be able to see in their students, so it truly gives a real life situation. The pupil then chooses what to say to the student, and advice is given to the pupil throughout the program on how to improve their strategies.
“The great thing is that Kognito is not over reactive. It doesn’t jump to the worst conclusion every time, but still prepares the teachers for anything. It’s very respectful to the kids,” said Charles Grausz, school counselor, “As a refresher course for those who don’t practice [counseling], Kognito covered the great majority of things”.
Teachers are trained as teachers, and the County believes that is important for them to be there beyond the content of their class. FCPS staff wants to build a strong, supportive community, and they believe that Kognito will help to do this.
Oakton’s psychologist Erica Bauer has been happy to receive positive feedback about Kognito, “I think it puts everything in the forefront of [teacher’s] minds. It keeps them more alert for possible situations”. She continued to say that more teachers have come to her about students, and she is already seeing Oakton become more of a caring community.
Even though Oakton is already seeing results, the program doesn’t stop after the one-time online interactive session. Counselors plan to hold meetings and follow-up sessions throughout the rest of the year to ensure this process is going smoothly.
Although Kognito is a great program for teachers, Grausz, Bauer, and Rachel Cherian, the school social worker, all mentioned that students should be watching out for each other as well. They each understand that it is hard to be there for someone in distress, and that it may be even harder to speak up, but it will be worth it.
“If you tell an adult about someone, it can be confidential that you’ve said something,” said Cherian.
Bauer noted, “Often times teens turn to other teens, but they really should go to an adult. If a situation comes to any type of self harm, you must tell an adult. Offer to go with your friend if that comforts them more.”
Possible signs to look out for of someone in distress are depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Grausz, Bauer and Cherian all urge to come forward about any situation, big or small. They would “rather be safe than sorry,” said Grausz. This is the same thing the newly trained teachers are doing. If students start to look out for each other, FCPS will be much closer to achieving the final goal of becoming a community that truly cares for one another.
