Casey Schmitt

PBH 684

Needs Assessment

Name of School: Mount Sinai Elementary School

A. Define your target population (Area 1 & Standard 2)

a. Location:
Mount Sinai Elementary School at 118 North Country Road Mount Sinai, NY
11766 (Suffolk County)
b. Who are they:
Mount Sinai Elementary School is a public elementary school.
c. Mission/Vision:
“The Mount Sinai School District will be an exemplary 21st century
learning community. Our students will become lifelong learners prepared and
ready to thrive in the global community as responsible, productive, and
engaged citizens.” (MT Sinai, 2023)

“Our mission is to provide all students with an excellent academic

environment that will ensure all learners reach their highest potential. Our
learning community will provide an academic environment in which each
student will develop curiosity, engage in problem solving strategies, and
employ critical thinking skills. Our goal is to enable each learner to acquire
21st century skills and knowledge, develop strong work habits and a healthy
lifestyle, become independent thinkers, gain an appreciation of the arts and a
proficiency in technology. Our teachers shall collaborate with each other and
professionally develop to meet the challenges of an academically evolving
and challenging environment. We will promote a climate that fosters
tolerance, respect, integrity and which leads students on a path to become
lifelong learners and good citizens.” (Mt Sinai, 2023)

d. What does the school provide to the community:

i. Mount Sinai Schools provides an engaging and high standard learning
environment that offers scholastic opportunities for all students to meet
their individual level of excellence. The school provided opportunities for
free or reduced lunch to students as well as before school and afterschool
programs offered for families and children in need of activity involvement
or care assistance. Mount Sinai also has a multitude of community
resources with websites available on the website. Resources include civic
associations, youth councils, congregations, cub scouts, parks, and
libraries.
 e. Describe what the research showed about your targeted population for assets
(strengths) and area of growth (needs)
Research showed that there are many strengths involved in Mount Sinai
Elementary school for our target population which is grades K-4. Strengths
include the North Shore Youth Council which is a before and after care access for
families. Many students are enrolled. Mount Sinai also has a variety of classroom
settings such as general education, special education, and self-contained special
education classes. More strengths include 1 to 1 Chromebook program for
students in first grade to get involved and learn how to utilize chrome books and
the internet. Another noted strength is our educators. 100% of teachers who are
full time are certified and 97% are with 3 or more years of experience. The
student teacher ratio is 1-11 (US news, 2023) Areas of growth include areas of
performance in the subjects of reading and math. Currently, reading performance
is somewhat below expectations statewide, and math performance is well below
expectations statewide. “At Mount Sinai Elementary School, 47% of students
scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 62% scored at or above that
level for reading. Compared with the district, the school did worse in math and
better in reading, according to this metric. In Mount Sinai Union Free School
District, 58% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and
58% tested at or above that level for math. Mount Sinai Elementary School did
worse in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across
the state. In New York, 47% of students tested at or above the proficient level for
reading, and 50% tested at or above that level for math” (US News, 2023)
Another area of growth is the Mental Health curriculum at Mount Sinai.
Currently, Mount Sinai is creating a mental health curriculum that can be
implemented in all schools to assist students, faculty, and staff with learning about
and understanding mental health. At this present moment, Mount Sinai’s Health
Education program begins at 8th grade and is continued in High School. There is
no program in the Elementary Grades or earlier grades.
f. Contact information (Name, email, phone):
The main contact person for this school is the principal, Rob Catlin. He
can be reached at rcatlin@mtsinai.k12.ny.us or by phone, (631) 870-2603
B. What is the goal of your needs assessment (Area 3)
The goal of this needs assessment is to collect data on the mental health status of
students attending Mount Sinai Elementary School (K-4) and whether they are
aware of mental health and have necessary skills to assist themselves. This data
will be used to create an understanding of the minimum knowledge displayed by
elementary school students. We can create a quality curriculum with the data
collected which can assist students on progressively learning more about their
own mental health and the mental health of others at a rate respectable to their age
and development. Once the curriculum has been implemented and students are
becoming aware of the topic and lessons discussed, we can evaluate the program’s
effectiveness by having formative and summative data as well and constant check
ins to ensure knowledge and understating and skill is taking place. By
implementing this in the 2024-2025 school year, we can ensure progress and
 achievement by the 2028-2029 school year which is when the original
kindergarteners have reached the 4th grade, which is max potential of learning.
The objectives of the needs assessment are to create an understanding of ones
own mental health, be able to define language involved in mental health, be able
to demonstrate proper copping skills and mechanisms to make oneself feel better
and avoid inappropriate responses. Also, students can apply different skills and
tactics to their life earlier on which allows them to go throughout their young lives
with the proper skills of tackling mental health risks early on.
C. Identify the information you need (Area 3):
Data:
Age- 0=kindergarten, 1=first grade, 2=second grade, 3=third grade, 4=fourth
grade
Gender- 1=male, 2=female
Disabilities- 1=no, 2=yes
Poverty- 1=Families above poverty level, 2= families with income below poverty
level, 3=families with food stamp/SNAP benefits
Parents marital status- 1=married couple, 2=cohabitating couple, 3=female
household, no spouse/partner present, 4=male household, no spouse/partner
present
Ethnicity- 1=white, 2=Hispanic or Latino, 3=Asian, 4= black or African American
Mental health awareness: 1= no knowledge 2=below average knowledge 3=some
knowledge, 4=knowledge, 5=very knowledgeable

Student Questionnaire:

1. What is mental health to you?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Circle the followings that are emotions:

a. Fear
b. Love
c. Sadness
d. Anxiety
e. running
f. Disgust
g. Happiness
h. Surprise
i. Jumping

3. Do you ever get very sad? If so, why?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4. Who is someone you can talk to when you are having very sad or mad
emotions?
 _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
5. If you are very mad, what are two ways you can calm yourself down?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
6. If you are very sad, what are two ways you can make yourself feel better?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

D. Determine a timeline (Area 3):

Timeline: This needs assessment will be implemented for the 2024-2025 school
year.
Beginning of school year: Needs assessment board team will be created. Students
& Parents will complete a survey.
Beginning of October 2024: Survey data will be discussed with members of needs
assessment team.
End of October 2024: Team will determine the current knowledge and skill of
elementary school students regarding mental health and health education. They
will create a baseline for the curriculum. Professional developments for teachers
and staff on mental health will be given.
Beginning of November 2024: Present the needs assessment to the Board of
Education and administration. The focus is on the inclusion of mental health
education and the subject health education to be incorporated into the units and
grade curriculums. The emphasis on the need to educate elementary school
students at this age is important. Give data to back findings.
End of November 2024: Mental health program is approved.
December 2024-Febuary 2025: Create yearlong health education curriculum that
focuses on many topics including mental health.
March 2025: Involve classroom teachers in seminars, professional developments
to learn about including health education in their classroom. Reach out to certified
k-12 health education teachers who can potentially be hired and implemented into
the new program for the following year.
April 2025: Work with the new Health education teacher(s) to develop lesson
plans that are standards based and have large focus on mental health and other
important topics needed to learn at the elementary school level.
May 2025: Advocate for the new health education class by holding assemblies
and workshops for students to embark in this sneak peek new class. Also hold
meetings and opportunities for parents to learn about the class and the curriculum
and what is to come in the new year.
September 2025: Begin the program with the focus on mental health and evaluate
the program every few months with assessments and surveys for students and
faculty.
E. Decide where, how and from whom you will obtain the information (area 1 and
Standard 2)
a. What did the professional literature say about your site and their needs?
 The professional literature I used was through a secondary source. As my needs
assessment is based on the need and improvement of health education at the
elementary school, data can be used from high school students to show that
students are experiencing negative health effects like mental health during the
high school and middle school ages. The data can be proven to say that beginning
health education as early as middle school can potentially decrease the negative
effects that may occur to students in the adolescent years being they are more
familiar with health education and all the topics included. According to the CDC,
at the high school 29.3% of students reported that their mental health was most of
the time or always not good. 40.8% of students are female and 18.1% are male
(CDC, 2021) This data also shows an increase in the number of students who
report this behavior from 9th grade to 12th grade. (26% at 9th grade – 36% at 12th
grade, (CDC,2021)) What this means is that slowly but surely, overtime, as
students grow up through the years in school, students progressively feel as
though their mental health is not good. With that, by starting health education and
making students more aware of their feelings and emotions earlier on, they can
delay the progression from skyrocketing and lower the stats.
b. What type of data will you be collecting? Primary, secondary, qualitative,
quantitative?
i. I will be collecting primary data from surveys and questionnaires from
both students, parents, and teachers at Mount Sinai Elementary school. I
will also utilize secondary data from online sites that include evidence-
based research on implementation of the health education programs and
success. Quantitative data can show me scores and skills developed by
including rubrics and checklists to ensure students learning is taking place.
c. Who do you need to collect data from?
i. I need to collect data from the students attending Mount Sinai Elementary
School (K-4) and the parents of those students. Including a sample of each
grade with different gender and ethnic backgrounds is also important.
d. How will you collect data?
i. I will collect the data by using online surveys and printed out questionaries
which can be done by students at home or in class, and for parents, it can
be online via email link or mailed paper. I will create an excel sheet with
answers from all candidates.
As many students at the elementary school are beginning to understand
chrome books, it is important to conduct either paper and pen surveys or
even group/individual interviews of students to recognize reactions and
real understanding of the questions asked.
Windshield tours are another effective way to assess both assets and issues
pertaining to mental health. By observing students in their day-to-day life
and recording what is being observed may be the most reliable source for
outcome.
e. Where will you collect this data? At your site, online, etc.
i. Online via excel is a great source to use. All the information can be saved
and easily created into reports.
F. What resources are needed to implement your needs assessment (Standard 2 & Area
I?)
Resources needed to implement my needs assessment include excel software, I
will need certified and qualified personal to be able to observe, interview and decipher
the behaviors of students and their responses to interview questions. These individuals
can be taken from within the district who are already trained or can be hired from outside
who have more experience. Also, utilizing rooms and stations for where in person
interviews can take place is important. A place with minimal distractions for the student
is best. For parents, email availability and addresses are vital resources needed for them
to access necessary surveys and questionaries being mailed to fill out and submit back.
G. Who will be responsible for obtaining the information (Standard 2 & Area 1):
a. Myself, Rob Catlin (principal), Meghan Tepfenhardt (Assistant Principal),
Michael Kolmer (Physical Education Teacher), Scott Reh (Director of athletics,
PE, Health, nursing, and security), Kathy Pantino (Nurse), Sheila Moran (School
Psychologist) Marcella Viscosi (school social worker) Parent in the community,
PTA President
H. Develop test data collection instruments using Excel software (Area 3):

I. Collect information (Area 3) (even from a sample population – small group):

Data:
Age- 0=kindergarten, 1=first grade, 2=second grade, 3=third grade, 4=fourth
grade
Gender- 1=male, 2=female
Disabilities- 1=no, 2=yes
Poverty- 1=Families above poverty level, 2= families with income below poverty
level, 3=families with food stamp/SNAP benefits
Parents marital status- 1=married couple, 2=cohabitating couple, 3=female
household, no spouse/partner present, 4=male household, no spouse/partner
present
Ethnicity- 1=white, 2=Hispanic or Latino, 3=Asian, 4= black or African American
Mental health awareness: 1= no knowledge 2=below average knowledge 3=some
knowledge, 4=knowledge, 5=very knowledgeable

J. Organize the information into your Excel data collection instrument (Area 3)
 (30 students at Random)

K. Analyze the information collected (Area 3)

DO NOT DO

L. Review and set preliminary priorities based on the data in a similar chart on the
next page (Area 3)
Complete your self-justification on the rubric
 Priority
Ranking: Solutions/
Needs or How Action Evaluation
Current Desired Gaps: important is Steps: Items:
Outcomes: Outcomes: What is the this need What are we How do we
How things How things source of the compared going to do know we’ve
are… should be… problem? with others? about it? succeeded?
100% of 100% of atudents The program has 1 of 2 DO NOT DO NOT
elementary should be yet to be adopted
students are not enrolled in health by Mt. Sinai. COMPLETE COMPLETE
enrolled in education where We will be We will be
health education they learn about Administration
and current working on working on
important topics this for our this for our
covered in health educators do not
feel a high need to next next
so they will have assessment. assessment.
the opportunity to implement the
utilize skills and program as they
prior knowledge believe other
in the case that subjects should be
mental health and the main focus in
other issues can school
be understood Parents do not
and relinquished. know much about
the importance of
health education
at the elementary
school and can
not advocate for
its
implementation
for their students
at the elementary
school.

75% of students 100% of students Health education 2 of 2

do not know what should know is not taught at the
mental health is what mental elementary school
health is where students
learn about
mental health
References:

Mount Sinai Elementary School in New York - U.S. news education. US News. (n.d.).
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/new-york/mount-sinai-elementary-school-250561

2019: Mt Sinai Elementary School - Report Card: NYSED Data Site2. data.nysed.gov. (2019).
https://data.nysed.gov/essa.php?
instid=800000037628&year=2019&createreport=1&OverallStatus=1&section_1003=1&E
MStatus=1&EMindicators=1&EMcomposite=1&EMgrowth=1&EMcompgrowth=1&EMe
lp=1&EMprogress=1&EMchronic=1&EMpart=1

Search for public school districts - district detail for Mount Sinai Union Free School District.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department
of Education. (n.d.). https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?
ID2=3620040

National Center for Education Statistics. ACS School District Profile 2017-21. (n.d.).
https://nces.ed.gov/Programs/Edge/ACSDashboard/3620040

2019: Mt Sinai Elementary School - Report Card: NYSED Data Site2. data.nysed.gov. (2019).
https://data.nysed.gov/essa.php?
instid=800000037628&year=2019&createreport=1&OverallStatus=1&section_1003=1&E
MStatus=1&EMindicators=1&EMcomposite=1&EMgrowth=1&EMcompgrowth=1&EMe
lp=1&EMprogress=1&EMchronic=1&EMpart=1

Education Demographics and Geographic Estimates. ACS School District Profile 2017-21.
(2021). https://nces.ed.gov/Programs/Edge/ACSDashboard/3620040

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.-b). Youth risk behavior survey. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/#/graphs?
questionCode=H85&topicCode=C08&location=XX&year=2021