Inside a former elementary school north of Kaiser, small pink handprints adorn the blank walls.
They were placed there by students who walked the hallways over the summer. They are the first students to leave a new program that local leaders hope will help address the crisis facing local schools.
In June, leaders from the Salem-Keizer School District and Portland-based mental health provider Trillium transformed the shuttered Eldridge Elementary School on River Road into the Meadowlark Day program.
Here, young people can receive intensive mental health treatment not available in the community.
Due to a lack of resources, such students often face long waiting lists or struggle to progress through outpatient treatment, which does not occur as often as necessary. Before Meadowlark opened, the closest such facility was in Corvallis.
Serious mental health problems in students often lead to conflicts within the school, including disruptive or aggressive behavior that can halt classes. This leaves teachers and classmates frustrated and students with mental health issues without the support they need.
Meadowlark is just one part of the solution, its leaders say.
“This is a huge gift to our community,” said Chris Moore, the district’s mental health director. He’s referring to the donors and partners who helped run the program.
He said Meadowlark was born out of a “belief that we can and must do better” to help children battling severe mental illness.
A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for October 9th.
Salem-Keizer School District Mental Health Director Chris Moore, left, and Trillium’s Vice President of Willamette Valley Community Services, stand outside the newly opened Meadowlark Day Program facility in a former elementary school north of River Road. Chihar Blatt of Kaiser. The program will launch in June 2024 and will provide children with intensive mental health treatment. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
A safe place to learn
The Meadowlark campus, which once had more than 150 students, now has just 11, divided into three classrooms. Colorful posters line the walls, and the classrooms look like those students will find at other schools in Salem.
However, the hallways are relatively empty and the doors inside the building are locked during the day.
The facility is designed to minimize staff intervention when children become agitated and potentially aggressive, said Chihar Blatt, vice president of community services for Trillium Valley Region. It is said that there is. With nothing on the walls to grab onto and no room to enter, Blatt said children can safely vent their anger and aggression without staff intervention or injury. Let me explain.
The guest rooms are designed with comfort in mind, including swing chairs and bean bags. Stuffed animals are one of the accessories in the sensory room. The foam floor provides a soft seating experience.
The outdoor area at the back of the school remains overgrown with weeds and blackberries and must be cleaned before students can use it.
Meadowlark is nestled between a hazelnut orchard and a field home to several sheep, goats, and a curious cow that the students named “Milkshake.”
“This cow was amazing,” Blatt said.
The cow, which the students named “Milkshake,” lives in a pasture next to the Meadowlark Day program north of Kaiser. The animals had a spontaneous therapeutic effect on the students. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Milkshake is intrigued by the students and frequently wanders toward the fence to meet them, she said. This provides students with time to talk to and pet the animals without a script.
Otherwise, a day at the center includes time to interact with staff and colleagues to practice individual and family therapy, medication management, and socialization. The staff is approximately 10 people and includes skills trainers, child and family therapists, and psychiatric nurses.
Children are referred through their school social worker or outpatient care provider. Seven of the current students attend Salem-Keizer School District and others attend neighboring school districts.
Blatt said students will be transported from their home districts to Meadowlark using school buses, medical transportation and other services.
unusual school format
Meadowlark is first and foremost a medical facility, not a school. The goal is to improve students’ mental health during the two to three months most students spend there. School lessons are also available, but this is primarily intended to ensure that students do not fall too far behind so that they can eventually return to traditional school.
Students are divided into elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms.
It’s not every teacher’s favorite setting, but it’s the perfect challenge for Joanie Short.
In late September, the veteran teacher’s elementary school class had four students ranging from kindergarteners to fifth graders.
With little pressure to adhere to a curriculum and fewer students, Ms. Short gets to know her students, what excites them, and how they are doing well in school. , said he could spend time finding out where he was struggling.
It’s “like trying to solve a puzzle,” she said.
She tailors her lessons to the needs of her students and is often able to work one-on-one with students.
“We’re giving them space and time that I think would be difficult to do in a classroom,” she said.
To participate in Meadowlark, students must have a family member who has a mental health diagnosis and is willing to cooperate with the program by attending therapy and other appointments.
“We need schools, communities and families to work together to deliver great, sustainable outcomes for children,” Moore said.
The sensory room at the Meadowlark Day Program, an intensive mental health treatment facility for children. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
That’s one of the program’s limitations, he said. Many of the students who would benefit most do not have families able or willing to get involved. This may be because the children are in the foster care system or because their parents work multiple jobs.
Opening Meadowlark required the support of several local philanthropists and foundations.
Former Salem-Keizer coach Christy Perry continued to work on the project even after retiring in 2023.
Moore said the company, a joint venture between Mountain West Investment Corporation and the Epping Family Foundation, purchased the building and paid for renovations totaling about $2.8 million. The region’s Oregon Health Plan providers, PacificSource and Willamette Health Council, contributed to the initial cost.
Student Health Insurance pays for the treatment, but the district relies on an annual grant of about $1 million from the state Department of Education to cover operating costs.
Blatt said the facility will treat about 100 students a year. There are currently 11 people waiting.
Moore said he knows one small facility can’t solve all the problems schools face with student mental health.
“We could open five of these programs tomorrow and fill those as well,” he said.
But he is hopeful that Meadowlark will be able to alleviate some of the stress on the system and keep in-school counselors and other resources open to students who need them.
He wants Meadowlark to inform the district’s overall approach to mental health services for students.
“We’re providing a model for how this program needs to grow,” he said.
(Disclosure: Mountain West President Larry Tokarski is also the co-founder of Salem Reporter.)
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander at (email protected) or 503-575-1241.
Please wait a little longer – If you found this article helpful, please consider subscribing to the Salem Reporter if you haven’t already. This work is performed by local experts and relies on community support from our subscribers. Sign up now – it’s easy and secure: Subscribe.
Rachel Alexander is editor-in-chief of the Salem Reporter. She joined the Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers everything from city news, education, nonprofits and more. She has been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for 10 years. Outside of work, she is a skater and official for Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
