The Methow Valley School District has completed staffing for a coordinated approach to student and family support services with the hiring of Melinda Boonstra as the district’s youth and family social worker.
Boonstra will help students and families access community resources and determine how students’ needs affect overall well-being and learning. Her responsibilities include individualized counseling, crisis management, conflict resolution and home visits. She will also ensure that basic necessities, including food, clothing, housing and school supplies, are met.
In addition, Boonstra will help school staff develop strategies for students’ social and personal growth.
Boonstra has worked at a shelter for women and children, provided mental health counseling, assisted adults with disabilities, and provided child and family services for the state of Washington.
In addition to the youth and family social worker, the student and family support services team consists of a counselor at each school; the special education director/psychologist; the school nurse; and a mental health counselor from Okanogan Behavioral Health Care, who will be in the school district two days a week.
Boonstra starts next week.
