Berlin schools launch new student support system

We know the pandemic has had a huge impact on education. With virtual learning, social distancing, and mask wearing, school has been tough for students these past two years.

There are 690 students in the entire Berlin Central School District. Superintendent Joseph Dhar says they do their best to give students as many opportunities as they can to keep them engaged and prepare them for their future. 

He says the pandemic has made it challenging for students and educators. That’s why the Berlin district has worked to develop their own multi-tiered system of support. It’s a transition above response to intervention academics, and focuses on the student overall, not just their education.

“When you look at the whole child, you’re looking at academics, you’relooking at  attendance, you’re looking at behavior, you’re looking at mental health and social-emotional wellbeing. You cannot just focus on academics and not look at the other areas,” Dhar said. “Multi-tiered basically goes back to it takes a village to raise a child. And what it does, is it looks at the overall aspect of what a child needs. And what it does is, it looks at the overall aspect of what a child needs in order to be successful in school.” 

He says it’s important for students to know that of course school is a place of learning, but they also care about the students and want the best for them.