The Daviess County Public Schools district has announced strategies to provide important supports for students and staff. These positions reflect the DCPS commitment to responding to school and family concerns while addressing the need for increased assistance to help students be ready to learn.
Christina Dalton will serve as the DCPS district social worker, focusing on students and families whose challenges include chronic absenteeism, behaviors and out-of-school factors that may hinder learning.
“I see this position as yet another layer of service that we are providing to our students and families to help them become successful and self-sufficient,” Dalton said. “My goal as district social worker is to be able to work intensively with students who need additional supports and encouragement. I plan to begin immediately to build positive relationships with our families and provide continuous follow-up throughout the school year. This is a newly created position, and I really believe the sky is the limit regarding how beneficial this will be for our families.”
Dalton, who most recently has served as the Family Resource Center coordinator at Burns Elementary School, will work closely with Kristy Brackin, who will serve as the DCPS district services support coordinator. Brackin previously served as academic program consultant at Meadow Lands Elementary School.
In her new role, Brackin will provide support and training for school-level Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports teams (PBIS), as well as interventions that make it possible for students to be successful in the classroom. Brackin will collaborate with the PBIS network to connect students, families, service organizations and district resources, with a goal of meeting individual needs of students and families; and will work closely with DCPS Family Resource and Youth Services Centers and coordinators. This grant-funded position was developed to respond directly to the needs of schools as they strive to service the behavior and mental health needs of students with a more focused approach. Title IV funds will allow DCPS to support safe and healthy students with comprehensive school mental health services while supporting students’ healthy lifestyles and behaviors. “Educators have the privilege, yet challenging responsibility, of molding the minds of our future,” Brackin said. “It is my heartfelt passion to lead with a shared vision by collaborating, inspiring and empowering others in the daily mission of this work, which can be achieved only by creating a culture where all decisions made are centered on what is best intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially for kids. It is my goal within this new role that I can serve the students, families and staff of DCPS by responding directly to the needs of our schools as we strive to support the behavior and mental health needs of students with a more focused approach.”
Jeanette Barreiro has been named teacher induction instructional coach for the DCPS district. Her responsibilities will include an emphasis on helping teachers develop classrooms focused on learning by building the teacher’s competency as an educator. Barreiro, who currently serves as DCPS literacy content specialist, will provide important supports for educators in their first five years of teaching. “The early years of teaching set the stage for a teacher’s entire career, so it is important that they have a variety of supports during these formative years,” Barreiro said, adding that her role will benefit not only teachers, but also the students they serve. “Spending quality time developing teachers in the early stages of their careers will provide assurances for students and families that every teacher in our district is receiving the support they need to be the best teachers for our kids! As a district-level instructional coach for new teachers, I will be one point of contact to provide professional learning, coaching and support for such things as effective teaching methods and strategies, classroom organization and management, curriculum planning and more.”