Counselor's Corner

Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 288 (SB 288), also known as “Erin’s Law”, into effect in January of 2023, mandating that school districts notify parents about required curriculum implementation around child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention. Schools must implement these new requirements grades K-12 beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.

SB 288 requires that school districts provide students in grades kindergarten through six developmentally appropriate instruction on child sexual abuse prevention, including information on available counseling and resources for children who may experience abuse.

To meet the requirements of the law, our elementary school counselors will be teaching lessons to our K-5 students from a supplemental component of our current Second Step program, Child Protection Unit Grades PK-5. The Second Step program is a program our District counselors have utilized for many years to provide lessons to students, and the additional Child Protection Unit meets the requirements of the law. Our school counselors will be teaching these topics as part of their regularly scheduled monthly lessons in classrooms. School personnel selected this curriculum due to its age-appropriate content regarding child abuse prevention and healthy relationships, as well as its approval from the Department of Education. Providing this child protection prevention curriculum may help to create a greater awareness of the warning signs associated with unhealthy relationships and prevent abuse before it occurs. More information about the specific curriculum can be found at this link. Utilizing the trained school counselors to present these lessons helps communicate the message in a safe, age-appropriate manner.

This content will be presented this month as part of the counselor’s regularly scheduled classroom lessons. It will be one 30 minute lesson in each classroom.

If you would like Mr. Biehl to touch base or work with your child, please fill out the Google Form below.

Please note: School Counselors do not maintain 24 hour access to email accounts.

In the event of a counseling crisis, please call The Mobile Crisis Team Hotline at 216-623-6888 (available 24/7) or visit www.frontlineservice.org to chat online (available M-F from 3:00pm-9:00pm). Another option would be to call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or text the keyword "4HOPE" to 741741 and expect a reply from a trained Crisis Counselor within 5 minutes.

For immediate safety concerns regarding yourself or others, please call the Strongsville Police Department at 440-238-7373 or dial 911.

Students who believe they have been harassed, bullied, victimized by fellow students, or have other concerns which may jeopardize the safety of students, employees, or school facilities should report their concerns to the "Stay Safe. Speak Up!" hotline. Reporting incidents can be made anonymously online through a toll free number (1-866-547-8362).

If you would like to request that I meet with your student, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Email: cbiehl@scsmustangs.org
Website: https://chapman.strongnet.org/
Location: 13883 Drake Rd, Strongsville, OH 44136, USA
Phone: 440 268 5573