Retiring Eudora superintendent: Mental health services need to be in the schools … because that’s where the kids are

When Don Grosdidier retires June 30, he will certainly have left his mark.

Not only on the school district, which he has been part of for 28 years, but on the Eudora community, which he has been part of for much longer. More than brick-and-mortar projects, and there have been plenty of those during Grosdidier’s tenure, his proudest accomplishment will be the students who go on to lead healthy, happy and productive lives.

One program that had a life-changing impact on students, their families and the community was a $3 million Safe Schools Healthy Students grant the school district received when Grosdidier was a first-year superintendent.

“I think that grant in many ways has transformed the community,” he said. “That’s one thing I feel very good about.”

The district received official notification of the $3 million grant award on Grosdidier’s first day as superintendent — July 1, 2008. Not a bad first day on the job.

A goal of the Safe Schools Healthy Students grant was improved access to mental health services. One way to do that was to provide mental health services where the students are — in the schools. Through the grant, a WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) worker was employed in all three Eudora schools. WRAP is a Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center program that places a master’s-level clinician in the school to assist students who are having behavioral, emotional or psychological problems. Another piece of the grant was to establish a Bert Nash child and family therapist in Eudora.

“One of the goals of the grant was to open more doors to services for our families here in Eudora and bring those services directly to them. I think we've done that."

The original Safe Schools Healthy Students grant was for four years. Two one-year, no-cost extensions were added to the length of the grant.

“We were able to show we were making progress and we weren’t spending the money just to spend money,” Grosdidier said.

The hope is funding will be secured to continue to have a WRAP worker in at least two of the Eudora schools going forward. The caseload of the Bert Nash child and family therapist in Eudora has made that position self-supporting.

Grosdidier’s background is in teaching and administration, not mental health. But he has seen how those issues can affect a student’s performance in the classroom.

“I’m a teacher. I was trained in instructional practices and a little bit in what makes a kid tick in the classroom. I’m not a mental health professional, but those issues had an impact on what I tried to do in the classroom,” Grosdidier said. “Sometimes we have to pull kids out of classes to utilize some of these services and that’s hard for teachers to understand because those students generally aren’t doing well in class to begin with. But a kid who is struggling with mental health issues can be in the classroom but they are not fully present. You have to provide the services to meet that need before you can really begin to educate. That’s why I’ve been so active with Bert Nash. I think these services need to be in the schools.”

Grosdidier will continue to serve on the Bert Nash Governing Board of Directors. He was chairman in 2012.

“There are people who question whether mental health should be part of the mission of a school or whether schools should invest in those services,” Grosdidier said. “I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea that mental health is not, per se, the school’s responsibility. It’s the community’s responsibility. The school is where the students are located. So if you want to provide services and reach those kids the schools become the vehicle.”

Mental health services for students not only improve academic performance, they can change lives.

“If we don’t have these services in our schools, we run the risk of higher levels of attempted suicides and actual suicides,” Grosdidier said. “We’ve had attempted and threatened suicides, but we’ve been fortunate we haven’t had an actual suicide in the schools. I think we run that risk if we don’t have mental health services in the schools.”

Christina Mann, who co-wrote the Safe Schools Healthy Students grant along with Grosdidier, was a WRAP team leader before becoming director of student development and partnerships for the Eudora School District in 2008. Mann, who rejoined Bert Nash in October 2013 as director of Child and Family Services, credits Grosdidier for creating a culture where students could thrive.

“Don is one of the strongest role models I’ve seen for leading and making decisions consistently in line with his values. His perspective is holistic and embraces an approach that creates healthy and strong children, families and communities,” Mann said. “He has been a voice and a leader for ensuring that we create for children a context where they can grow and flourish in all aspects: intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. He has been visionary and welcoming to many partners to create that context together where children spend much of their lives: at school. I have no doubt that in his long career he has made a significant, positive difference in thousands of lives. He certainly has in mine. It has been a true pleasure and privilege to have the opportunity to work with Don Grosdidier.”

Working for the Eudora School District has been more than a job for Grosdidier. He attended Eudora schools from sixth grade through high school, graduating in 1977. He taught, coached and was an administrator in the district for nearly three decades. His two daughters are students in the district. The oldest will be a freshman and the youngest will be a second-grader.

“I’m about as vested in the school district as anybody possibly could be,” Grosdidier said. “It’s very difficult to walk away from something you’ve been so invested in, but I’m excited about moving on to a different chapter in my life.”

Though Grosdidier’s not sure what the next chapter will be, he will remain a supporter of Eudora schools and Bert Nash.

“I’m just really proud of the community and everyone who came together to do these things,” he said.