TREVORTON, Pa. -- School is underway at Line Mountain Elementary in Trevorton. Children in kindergarten through fourth grade attend this school.
Next month, a new program starts at the school focusing on mental health. It's called Community School Based Behavioral Health.
"We're able to provide services here in the school, also provide services in the community and also provide services in their home," Josh Burns said.
Josh Burns will oversee the program, which will bring three counselors into the school and screen the students to see who would benefit from mental health services.
"Mental health needs for children and adolescents and families have increased substantially. There's certainly lots of reasons for that, aside from social media and access to different types of media," Burns said.
Jeanne Menko, principal of Line Mountain Elementary, says the need for mental health services seems to be growing, and it's important to reach the students at a young age.
"It's society in general. Our children reflect us. They are the mirror we need to look in. What's happening in society is happening with our children," Menko said.
According to Menko. this is a small school district that covers a large geographical area, which can sometimes make it difficult for parents to get their children the services they need.
"A program like this that we're bringing into the school allows all of those issues to go away. It's brought into the school. The children don't lose any time going for services," Menko said.
"Any program would be good," Thomas Hamilton said.
Thomas Hamilton has a daughter at the school and thinks the program is a good idea.
"Bullying and social media, it's easy for kids to be behind a computer and say things they don't mean," Hamilton said.
The mental health program at Line Mountain Elementary kicks off the week of September 16.