Cross-State Collaborative to Support Schools in the Opioid Crisis
Students who are exposed to family and community opioid abuse face acute and chronic stress and trauma, including unmet basic needs (e.g., lack of sleep or food, unstable housing circumstances), as well as a range of psychological difficulties. These challenges often interrupt school functioning, and stakeholders in Appalachia report that schools need more resources and strategies to effectively support these student needs. REL AP is partnering with stakeholders from state and local education agencies, community-based organizations, and universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia to form a collaborative focused on addressing trauma-related consequences of the opioid epidemic in schools.
- Enhance the capacity of state and local education agencies, as well as community-based partners, to identify, select, and effectively implement evidence-based practices that can support students and educators experiencing consequences of the opioid crisis.
- Identify high-priority unmet needs/gaps in information that would be most helpful for educators to respond to the opioid crisis and outline the necessary steps to provide relevant information and resources to educators (including evidence-based policies, products, tools, and related resources).
August 16, 2021 | Virtual
January 26, 2021
Virtual
Our partners include stakeholders from state and local education agencies, community-based organizations, and universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. For more information, contact the Project Co-Leads Nancy Perez and Michelle Woodbridge.
| Name | Title | Organizational Affiliation |
| John Boskovic | Director | Barbour County Family Resource Network |
| Theresa Nicholls | Assistant Commissioner, Special Populations | Tennessee Department of Education |
| Kathy Reutman | Executive Director of Student/Community Services | Boone County Schools |
| Tena Robbins | Executive Advisor | Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities |
| Ronda Devine | Branch Manager | Kentucky Department of Education |
| Marianna Linz | Psychology Department Chair | Marshall University |
| Conrae Lucas-Adkins | Assistant Professor of School Psychology | Marshall University |
| Sheila Jones | Coordinator, Department of Teaching and Learning | Virginia Beach City Public Schools |
| Andrea Darr | Executive Director | West Virginia Center for Children's Justice |
| David Lee | Director of Student Support and Well-Being | West Virginia Department of Education |
| Lori Bumba | Program Director | Youth Services System, Inc. |
| Nancy Perez | Partnership Co-Lead | SRI International |
| Jenna Rush | Partnership Staff | SRI International |
| Michelle Woodbridge | Partnership Co-Lead | SRI International |
| Shai Fuxman | Partnership Staff | Education Development Center |
| Tracy Desovich | Partnership Staff | Education Development Center |