“The most encouraging insight I can share with families is that you are never alone in supporting your child – we have a dedicated team of trained professionals who deeply care for every single student in our building and wake up excited to make a positive impact each day.” -Jacqie Spell, Jeremy Ranch Elementary School Principal
For the first time, every Park City School District elementary school will have its own full-time, dedicated Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), expanding the district’s ability to address students’ social and emotional needs earlier and directly within their school.
Previously, two elementary school LCSWs each split time between two schools. Now, each of PCSD’s four elementary schools will have its own dedicated LCSW, aligning the elementary level with the dedicated resources already in place for older students at Ecker Hill Middle School and Park City High School.
“We were seeing rising rates of anxiety and behavioral dysregulation showing up earlier in elementary-age kids, not just secondary students, and our counseling staff was already stretched thin,” Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said.
“From our perspective, academic potential and emotional well-being aren’t separate goals, so providing students with immediate, onsite support directly serves our broader vision for student success.”
From Reactive to Preventative
The expanded LCSW presence adds clinical expertise to the teams already working with students and, importantly, allows that work to happen every day within each school.
“An LCSW adds a clinical layer on top of what counselors, teachers, and administrators already provide,” Superintendent Huntsman said, noting that the value of having an LCSW in each building isn’t limited to moments of crisis.
“It shifts support from reactive to preventive; a familiar, present adult means teachers get real-time guidance, and families get a warm handoff instead of a phone number,” she said.
“It also lowers stigma, since asking for help starts to feel like a normal part of the school day rather than an isolated event.”
Across all four elementary schools, dedicated LCSWs will provide crisis intervention and safety planning, while also helping students develop skills including emotional self-regulation, distress tolerance, conflict resolution, and grounding strategies.
At Jeremy Ranch Elementary, Principal Jacqie Spell is already seeing what having that dedicated presence can mean throughout the school day.
“Having a full-time LCSW at all four elementary schools brings invaluable consistency and relief across our district. By empowering students to navigate big emotions, this support directly transforms our school culture – allowing children to thrive both academically in the classroom and socially outside of it, whether on the playground or the sports field,” Principal Spell said.
“A student’s needs can often exceed what a teacher can manage while leading a full classroom.”
“Having a dedicated team – including a full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker, counselor, and behavior technician – allows us to differentiate support precisely to what each child needs.”
“With our LCSW on site, teachers can stay focused on instruction knowing a specialist is stepping in to provide targeted and specialized care, often working directly with families to connect them with vital community resources.”
The Bigger Picture
The expanded LCSW presence fits into a broader whole-child approach centered on relationships, prevention, and giving students tools they can carry with them.
At Jeremy Ranch, this year’s school motto, “Hawks Fly Higher with Dignity – Lifting Each Other Up One Interaction at a Time!” came to life at a kickoff assembly where students met Zephyr Selah, a red-tailed hawk, and Dylan, a Harris’s hawk. Their handlers highlighted dignity, resilience, and working together – traits that reflect how the school and community care for one another.
Principal Spell said, “The most encouraging insight I can share with families is that you are never alone in supporting your child – we have a dedicated team of trained professionals who deeply care for every single student in our building and wake up excited to make a positive impact each day.”
For PCEF, the LCSW expansion is an early example of what our new Innovation Grants are intended to do: give schools greater flexibility to respond to emerging student needs and put resources in place when they can make a difference.
According to Superintendent Huntsman, timing matters. “PCEF funding was essential; Utah’s school funding is among the lowest in the country, and Park City sends most of its local tax dollars to other districts under the state equalization formula. Community philanthropy through PCEF let us move forward with this expansion now and meet students at their level of need rather than waiting for the next budget cycle, whether that be state or local dollars.”
With four LCSWs in place this school year, Huntsman said, the district will look for fewer escalated behavioral incidents, more students practicing self-regulation, and faster turnaround from flagged concern to support received as measures of impact.
Principal Spell shared a similar hope for students throughout the elementary schools: that they begin using those skills independently, becoming more resilient and ready to learn both in and outside of the classroom.
PCSD Elementary LCSWs
Diane Morris, Jeremy Ranch Elementary School
Jeremy Footer, McPolin Elementary School
Cydnee Williams, Parley’s Park Elementary School
TBD, Trailside Elementary School
If you’d like to learn more about the support available at school, please reach out to your building principal or school counselor.
PCEF funding makes programs and grants possible thanks to generous donors like you. When you donate to the Annual Family Appeal to Build the Foundation, you support innovative programs throughout our schools. Donate $360 today, or join or renew Scholar Circle by September 18. When you donate to Build the Foundation, your school’s PTO/A can earn The UPS Stores Park City grant money up to $5,000 and grade-level prizes.
