Student Assistance Program (SAP)

What is the Student Assistance Program (SAP)?

In Pennsylvania, every school must have a Student Assistance Program (SAP) in place. At Freemansburg, our SAP program’s primary goal is to identify any issues that may pose a barrier to a student’s learning, and help them overcome these barriers in order to succeed both in and out of school. 

If your child is having any trouble either in school or at home, our SAP team is here to help! Our team consists of the school principal, the school counselor, the school psychologist, classroom teachers and community agency staff. A SAP “referral” can be made by a school staff member or family member, which simply means that someone noticed your student is struggling in an academic, behavior, or social-emotional area of development and wants to ask for extra help. This referral does not diagnose, treat or refer to treatment, or immediately result in special education services; however, after the SAP process is complete, the team may cooperatively agree to refer the student for a screening or an assessment for treatment or special education services.

With Freemansburg’s SAP team, as well as you or another parent/guardian, our process is to bring everybody to the table to brainstorm and propose ideas that could help minimize any present barriers through interventions and supports. Through this cooperative process, we are here to help navigate your family through finding extra help for your student, such as connecting your child to any additional help in school, and/or connecting your family to any services in the community. 

Here are some examples of possible issues/barriers you could see with your child:

Academic

• Frustration over failure
• Struggling to pay attention
• Not wanting to attend school
• Sudden drop in grades or decline in academic performance

Behavior

• Defying authority (at home and at school)
• Change in behavior or moods
• Acting aggressively or acting out
• Experimenting with drugs or alcohol
• Change in sleep patterns

Social/Emotional

• Withdrawing from friends or changes in friend circles
• Unexplained physical injuries
• Noticeable change in appearance or personality
• Talking about suicide or self-harm
• Depression

 Concerning Reactions To:

• Recent death of a loved one
• Separation or divorce of parents
• Bullying
• Family relocation
• Traumatic event
• Please note. If you are concerned about the immediate health, safety or welfare (i.e. signs of suicidal ideation, possession of a weapon, etc.) of your child, please call 911 for assistance.

Our primary goal is to support your child and your family in any way possible, and the SAP program allows us to do that! Anyone can make a referral to our SAP Team, and all referrals are confidential. To make a SAP referral or ask any questions, please contact Tanya Francis (school counselor) at tfrancis@basdschools.org.