Shenango SChool District
Based Services
What is Wellness for Wildcats??
Wellness for Wildcats is a mental health and wellness initiative run in collaboration between Shenango School District & Angelus Therapeutic Services to provide the students of Shenango with support & resources for their mental health in a school setting.
Angelus/ Shenango Wellness for Wildcats provides two levels of care:
School social work/mental health support &
Compass school-based outpatient counseling
School mental health & Wellness support
- Work closely with families, school personnel & administration to develop mechanisms for early identification of children and families with specialized behavioral and mental health needs.
- Facilitate small groups for students.
- Classroom presentations on area’s of concern Ex: bullying, self –harming, social media use.
- Make, develop, coordinate and provide presentations to families during school-based family nights on child mental health needs and strategies of care.
Family Outreach
- Link students and families to community resources to address social determinant of health concerns.
- Address issues of truancy and external factors that are blocking ability to get full benefits of educational opportunities
Community Outreach:
- Coordinate services with involved behavioral and mental health service providers and other systems of care such as schools, juvenile probation, child welfare, Children and Youth services, Early Intervention, drug, and alcohol, etc. Acting as a liaison between SASD and involved agencies
What is Compass??
Compass is our School-Based Counseling Program based in Shenango Schools. It provides Licensed Therapists in the school that are trained and specialized to work with children Pre-K thru 12th grade for issues related to:
- Anxiety
- ADHD
- Anger MGT
- Communication
- Coping Skills
- Depression
- Family Issues
- Grief
- Health Issues
- LGBTQI
- Mindfulness
- Panic Attacks
- Parenting Skills
- Peer Relationships
- Trauma
- Mood Issues
- School Issues
- Self Esteem
- Social Skills
- Stress MGT
- and more……..
How does Compass Work?
With the insight of making services more convenient for students & families, Shenango offers space to Angelus for counseling services within their school buildings. Counseling sessions are provided by Angelus during the school day & billed through the student’s health insurance benefits just like they would be if you came to our New Castle or hermitage offices.
This ensures that your child can get the services that they need, without the worries of timing time or transportation to get them to appointments.
What Insurances are you able to accept?
We are actively working to panel with additional insurances but at present we are able to accept the following commercial insurance plans;
- Aetna
- Apostrophe (OON)
- Centivo (OON)
- Cigna
- Highmark/ Blue Cross/ Blue Shield
- United Healthcare/Optum
- UPMC
We are not able to accept medical assistance based plans but Shenango is blessed with also having Human Services Center at the school one day a week with students with MA/Beacon health plans. They can be reached at: 724-658-3578.
How do I Start Compass?
School Based Counseling Sessions with Angelus may be initiated 3 ways;
- A referral from the Shenango’s Wellness for Wildcat’s Program
- By Calling our office @ 724-654-9555
- Or by completing the intake request form on our Get Started page HERE!
Meet Our Team:
Diana McClure
Licensed Social Worker
Ryleigh King
Masters Level Social Work Intern
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sign up for Compass
You can initiate Compass by either discussing your interest with your guidance counselor, a phone call to Angelus at 724-654-9555 or completing the New Client tab at the bottom of this page. Please identify yourself as interested in the Compass program at Laurel when you make contact so that we can streamline the process for you.
What information do I need when I call
To simplify the process please have the following information available when you reach out to Angelus. We will need your child’s name and birthday, your phone number/ address, insurance information (company & ID#), email address, child’s grade & teacher, and presenting symptoms
Why do you need my email address
To increase ease and accessibility of services Angelus utilizes a full electronic medical record system. Each client is set up with a personalized ‘Patient Portal’ where they can complete their opening paperwork and signature forms prior to their child’s intake. These decreases the formality of the intake process and helps decrease anxiety for the kids. It also will offer an instant messaging feature between the therapist and parents to ensure positive communication is ongoing within treatment.
This is not an optional process and is necessary for our systems operation.
Who Pays for Compass Counseling
Compass counseling is provided by therapists from Angelus Therapeutic Services and is billed through your behavioral health benefits of your medical insurance. You will be responsible for any copays or deductibles that may apply. This is not a product of the school district and they do not provide payment for these services.
What insurances do you take
Therapists are able to accept either Private Pay & Most Major Medical Insurances; including Aetna, UPMC Commercial, United Healthcare, Highmark/Blue Cross/Anthem
*Coverage Subject to Change & Varies by Clinician
Will this interfere with my child's schoolwork
We make every attempt to schedule your child during down times of the day, such as class specials, study halls, and/or lunch. When this is not possible we will vary your child’s appointments so that they will minimally interfere with core classes. By not having to pick your child up and drive them to an appointment and back this dramatically cuts down on the amount of missed class time.
Who has to be present and agree to counseling for my child to participate
In situations with shared legal/medical custody of a child under the age of 14 both parents have to be in agreement to counseling and willing to sign consents and participate in counseling as needed. If an adolescent is between the ages of 14-18, either the student or one parent may initiate and sign for services. Both parents do not have to be in agreement to treatment this this circumstance.
How often are my child's sessions
Each child’s situation is unique. Your therapist will work with you and your child/adolescent to decide their level of care needs. Typically sessions are once every 1-2 weeks for 45 min-1 hr.
Have a question not listed here
Send us an email at hello@angelustherapeuticservics.com
and we will be happy to answer it and add it to this section to help others.
Shenango School District Contact Information:
Shenango Elementary:
- Phone: 724-658-5566
- Fax: 724-658-7871
- Principal: Mr. Adam Vincent
- Assistant Principal: Mr. Derek Sumner
- 2501 Old Pittsburgh Road
New Castle PA, 16101
Shenango Junior- Senior High School:
- Phone: 724-658-5537
- Fax: 724-658-7584
- Principal: Dr. Joseph McCormick
- Assistant Principal: Mr. Todd Anthony
- Shenango Area Jr/Sr High School
2550 Ellwood Road