Building Sustainable Support:
How Community Partnerships are Transforming Student Wellness at Susquehanna Valley CSD

Featured Key Practices: 
1. Collaborative leadership, shared power and voice; 3. Powerful student and family engagement; 4. Integrated systems of support; 5. Culture of belonging, safety, and care; 6. Rigorous, community-connected classroom instruction

Susquehanna Valley Central School District has partnered with Broome-Tioga BOCES (BT BOCES) and Broome County Mental Health (BCMH) to increase support for students in response to rising vaping use locally and nationally.

Knowing that vaping puts students at risk for college and career readiness, with increased risk factors such as suspensions and missed class time, BT BOCES and BCMH responded to the regional district’s calls for support. Susquehanna Valley CSD opted to participate in a BT BOCES and BCMH pilot program to provide intentional support around this issue.

BT BOCES, led by BT BOCES Community Schools Director Sara Fontana, hired a Community Schools Preventionist, Rhonda Ruhm, a retired local School Counselor. The Preventionist provided tools, guidance, and ongoing support in partnership with BCMH. Susquehanna Valley CSD educators and administrators worked closely with Maria Fabrizi, Prevention Coalition Director for BCMH, to address students’ immediate needs while intentionally building a sustainable, long-term approach to prevention.

A K-12 strategic planning team was established, and students in grades 4-8 received targeted early education on the science of nicotine addiction, health impacts, and protective mental health strategies. Strong social-emotional learning (SEL) was embedded throughout the work. Additional strategies included student focus groups, particularly with students struggling with addiction, as well as parent focus groups beginning at the earliest grade levels to ensure family voice and engagement. All efforts were intentionally aligned with the Essentials for Community School Transformation Framework, reinforcing coordinated supports for students and families.

What began as a regional call for support has become a powerful example of what strategic planning, committed district leadership, and strong community partnerships can accomplish. The result has been a district-wide success. Dr. Catherine Kacyvenski, Assistant Superintendent at Susquehanna Valley CSD, said, “Prevention work is beginning to shift the conditions for learning across our system. While we are still early in measuring long-term outcomes, we are seeing meaningful indicators of impact, including increased student engagement, improved attendance among participating students, and stronger student voice in decision-making and well-being. This work is helping move us from reacting to challenges toward proactively building environments where students feel connected, supported, and ready to learn.”

The accompanying photos highlight key outcomes of this work: elementary students confidently presenting their learning and findings to the Susquehanna Valley Board of Education, 7th graders engaged in learning the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use and parents of the youngest students gaining tools to support literacy at home – all essential protective factors linked to long-term school success and reduced risk of early substance use.

For more information on this program, contact Sara Fontana, BT BOCES Community Schools Director, at sfontana@btboces.org