Strategic Screenings Group
Nassau BOCES
Welcome

Nassau County BOCES

Long Island, New York
Nassau County BOCESLong Island, New York
56DISTRICTS
240,000STUDENTS SERVEDNASSAU BOCES
1967ESTABLISHED
1SHARED MISSION
Strategic Screenings Group
WELCOMES
WE’RE HONORED TO PRESENT TO
Nassau BOCES
ESTABLISHED 1967•THE LARGEST BOCES IN NEW YORK STATE•56 SCHOOL DISTRICTS

“…to partner with school districts and communities to provide premier educational and support services that ensure equity, opportunities and access for all.”

YOUR MISSION, IN YOUR WORDS
Strategic Screenings Group
Nassau County BOCES × Strategic Screenings Group

ARE YOU
OK?

Not “What’s wrong with you?”

A countywide framework for identifying needs earlier, while giving each of Nassau’s 56 districts the flexibility to respond in the way that works for its students, families and staff.

56
DISTRICTSONE SHARED MISSION
IDENTIFY EARLIER  •  CONNECT SOONER  •  SUPPORT BETTER

The Need Is Big, and It Doesn’t Look the Same in Every District

Nassau’s strength is its diversity. The challenge is building one framework flexible enough to meet different needs.

240,000

students served across 56 districtsNassau BOCES

34%

economically disadvantaged2024 NYSED

9%

English language learners2024 NYSED

15%

students with disabilities2024 NYSED

What Districts Are Managing Now

  • Chronic absenteeism & disengagement
  • Anxiety, stress & emotional wellness
  • Post-COVID social / learning disruption
  • Social media, screen time & sleep disruption
  • Behavior, attention & school functioning
  • Parent engagement & family support
  • Teacher stress, burnout & response readiness

It Doesn’t Look the Same for Boys and Girls Either

High school girls report poor mental health at twice the rate of boys. New York State, 2023.

Mental Health Not Good Most or All of the Previous 30 Days

16%Male
33%Female
2xTHE RATE

Sad or Hopeless for at Least Two Consecutive Weeks, Affecting Usual Activities

26%Male
44%Female
1.7xTHE RATE

Bullied on School Property During the Previous Year

15%Male
26%Female
1.7xTHE RATE
Source: New York State 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (CDC), NYS Center for School Health. Students in grades 9–12.

The Question Changes the Conversation

From “What’s wrong with you?” to “Are you OK?”

WHAT’S WRONG
WITH YOU?
→
ARE YOU
OK?

Screening gives students a structured, age-appropriate opportunity to tell us what may not be visible in attendance records, grades or behavior referrals.

ASK→LISTEN→CONNECT→SUPPORT

One Program. Multiple Touchpoints.

The student is not the only source of insight, or the only person who needs support.

1

Students

  • Age-appropriate check-ins
  • Emotional wellness
  • Sleep, attention & belonging
2

Parents

  • Parent perspective
  • Family support needs
  • Parenting engagement classes
3

Teachers & Staff

  • Observation tools
  • Mental-health response training
  • Burnout & wellness
4

Schools

  • Automated scoring
  • District-defined workflows
  • Aggregate insight
5

Community

  • Existing local resources first
  • Referral coordination
  • Optional additional support

A Universal Framework Built Around What Schools Are Seeing

Not every student gets every instrument. We configure by age, district priorities and referral capacity.

Emotional Wellness

Stress • Anxiety • Mood

School Functioning

Attendance • Engagement • Learning barriers

Attention & Behavior

Focus • Regulation • Classroom functioning

Sleep & Fatigue

Sleep routines • Daytime tiredness • Waking

Belonging & Peers

Connection • Bullying concerns • Social functioning

Family Support

Routines • Access • Transportation • Stress

ELEMENTARY: greater parent + teacher perspectiveMIDDLE / HIGH: student self-report + parent / teacher perspective

Chronic Absenteeism: The Number Tells Us Who. Screening Can Help Ask Why.

Attendance can be the visible signal of a less visible barrier.

Anxiety / School Avoidance
Sleep / Fatigue
Peer or Belonging Issues
WHY?
Family Stress
Transportation / Access
Disengagement
The goal is not to label the student. The goal is to identify possible barriers early enough for the district to respond.

Post-COVID + Digital Life: The Context Around Today’s Student

These are national trends, not assumptions about every Nassau student. They help explain why broad early-identification matters.

Post-COVID Disruption

CDC’s 2021 adolescent survey documented widespread disruption to peer connection, routines and mental health during the pandemic.

The effects were not identical for every child, but the context changed.

Anxiety & Emotional Wellness

CDC reports that youth mental-health concerns were worsening before COVID and remain an important school-health issue.

Schools can strengthen connection, coping skills and referral pathways.

Social Media / Screen Time

CDC national data show high non-school screen time is associated with anxiety/depression symptoms, less support and irregular sleep.

Association does not prove that screen time caused the outcome.
SSG response: ask broader questions about sleep, connection, emotional wellness, engagement and functioning, then connect the student to the right support.

You’ve Already Named the Priorities

What Nassau BOCES is publicly working on, and where we support it.

School Avoidance and Attendance

A School Avoidance Team and recurring staff discussions focused on students struggling to attend school.

▼
Where We HelpUnderstand Barriers to Attendance

Mental Health Staffing Shortages

The October 2026 program addresses shortages of counselors, psychologists, social workers and other behavioral health professionals.

▼
Where We HelpConnect Students With Follow-Up Support

Crisis Preparedness

Crisis-team exercises and training for school mental health staff.

▼
Where We HelpIdentify Emotional Concerns Earlier

Parent Support

The parentEDU catalog covers children’s stress and anxiety, emotional needs, home routines, focus and study habits.

▼
Where We HelpEngage ParentsCourses and education for parents, including first-time parents
Source: Nassau BOCES public program listings.

Child Engagement: Education They Will Actually Watch

Screening should feel approachable. Education should feel relevant.

Cartoon + Video-Based Education

Short, age-appropriate educational videos can introduce topics in language students understand, before or alongside a check-in.

Engage First

Reduce the clinical feel and create a more welcoming entry point.

Educate

Pair identification with practical, age-appropriate learning.

Connect

Reinforce that asking for help is a normal next step, not a punishment.

“Are you OK?”“Who can you talk to?”“What can you do when you feel overwhelmed?”“How can sleep, stress and social media affect your day?”

Parents Become Part of the Solution

Parent engagement is not an add-on. It is another view of the child, and another pathway to support.

Parent & Family Check-In

  • Sleep & routines
  • Family stress
  • Transportation / access
  • Basic needs
  • Healthcare / wellness resources
  • Social connection
  • Request for support

Parenting Engagement Classes

Practical, approachable education for families:

  • Communication & connection
  • Routines & sleep
  • Recognizing changes
  • Digital / social-media habits
  • Supporting school engagement
  • Knowing when and how to ask for help

The Message to Families

“We are not looking for what is wrong with your child. We are creating more opportunities to understand what your child, and your family, may need.”

Parents see things teachers may never see. Teachers see things parents may never see. Students experience things neither may know about.

Support the People Supporting Students

Teacher readiness + staff wellness + continuing professional learning

Recognize

Observable warning signs

Respond

What to say / what not to say

Refer

District pathway & escalation

Follow Up

Support without diagnosing

Wellness

Stress, burnout & boundaries

CTLE
Opportunity

Because Nassau BOCES is an approved CTLE sponsor, professional learning it designates and awards as CTLE can count toward eligible educators’ CTLE requirements. The sponsor must issue the CTLE documentation and maintain the required records.

This lets student-support training do double duty: strengthen school response while contributing to professional learning requirements when approved/designated by the sponsor.

The Screening Is Not the Program. What Happens Next Is the Program.

A result should create a clear next step, not another disconnected data point.

1SCREEN
→
2SCORE
→
3IDENTIFY
→
4DISTRICT WORKFLOW
→
5CONNECT
→
6SUPPORT

District Control

You determine access, escalation, referral pathways and responsible personnel.

SSG Role

Identify, organize, support workflow and referral coordination, not diagnose students.

Existing Resources First

Counselors, psychologists, social workers, BOCES and community partners remain central.

56

One Nassau Framework. 56 Districts. Local Flexibility.

Consistency where it helps. Flexibility where it matters.

BOCES / Shared Framework

  • Common implementation approach
  • Professional learning
  • Program standards
  • Shared language
  • Scalable support
→
EACH DISTRICT CONFIGURES
Grade Levels
Screening Domains
Parent Engagement
Access & Permissions
Referral Pathways
Local Resources
Implementation Format
Success Measures
No district has to give up its own policies, resources or priorities to participate in a shared countywide framework.

Easy to Start. Built to Scale.

The implementation is configured around the district, not the other way around.

Select

What do you want to identify?

→

Configure

Grades, domains, consent, access, workflow & referrals

→

Launch

Train staff, engage families and begin screening

DIGITAL SCREENING PROGRAM
$35
per completed screening

On-site / in-person implementation is available as a custom program based on district needs and scope.

What Success Looks Like

Measure more than how many students completed a screening.

Participation

Who did we reach?

Needs Identified

What patterns are emerging?

Referrals

Did identified needs create a next step?

Parent Engagement

Are families participating and requesting support?

Follow-Through

Were defined pathways completed?

District Trends

What changes over time in attendance / engagement indicators?

We establish the district’s success measures before launch, without promising that screening alone will cause changes in attendance, academics or mental-health outcomes.
Strategic Screenings Group
What Being Understood Does

When Kids Feel Understood,
They Feel Like Superheroes.

Strategic Screenings Group
Nassau BOCES
The Opportunity

Be the
Pioneer.

Everyone in education is talking about student mental health. Somebody has to go first and show how it’s done.

Let it be Nassau.

You Saw the Need

You went looking for a better way to reach students earlier. Most are still waiting.

You Set the Example

56 districts on one shared framework is the model other regions will want to copy.

You Get Named First

When people talk about mental health in education, Nassau BOCES comes up with the ones who led.

Q&A: Let’s Talk About the Hard Questions

We would rather design the answers with you before launch.

How do we choose the right screeners?
What happens with moderate / high concern?
How do we engage parents?
How do consent and privacy work?
Who sees results?
What if we already have screeners?
What if we already have counselors?
How much work is implementation?
Can each district customize?
Can we start with one component?
What does $35 include?
How does CTLE work?
IF YOU COULD IDENTIFY ONE NEED AFFECTING YOUR STUDENTS EARLIER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?