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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Patty Glaser, MCD, Mike Binder, LCSW, Michelle McCrary, MS, Candace Schott, MEd, Elizabeth Clark, MEd, and Susan Stokes, LCSW. Holy Rosary Schools, 2505 Maine Avenue, Metairie, LA 70003, 504-464-4747, pglaser@hra-hrhs.org

Holy Rosary Academy (HRA) and Holy Rosary High School (HRHS) serve school-age children with learning differences in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Families with children in HRA/HRHS span the racial and socioeconomic spectrum; 100% of these families were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. As of January 2006, over 50% were still not in their pre-Katrina homes. HRA, located in the heart of New Orleans, itself had to be relocated to the HRHS campus in Metairie. Both schools re-opened in early October 2005. Drawing on the expertise and experience of faculty and administrators with training in mental health and curriculum development, Holy Rosary schools created the Holy Rosary Healing Team (HRHT) “to empower students, teachers and parents of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to recover, renew and restore in order to inspire healing throughout our community.” HRHT provides an evidence-based model for school-centered, mental health prevention and early intervention response to community disasters. The HRHT model includes school empowerment, faculty training, curriculum infusion, and experiential groups for children covering 8 topics in 45 weekly sessions. The primary goals of the HRHT include guiding school communities through the healing process; giving school communities the skills to cope with their current situations; healing school communities through a multi-faceted program including spirituality, curriculum and adjustment skills; identifying and addressing long-term individual student's educational and mental health needs through a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach. This presentation will describe the evidence basis, the Healing Team strategy and protocol, needs identification and evaluation strategies, and experiences to date.

Learning Objectives: