Meet Nancy Turner, director of Rock Hill Schools’ newly formed mental health department
As the Rock Hill school district’s special education department head, Nancy Turner spent years spearheading mental health programs for Rock Hill students, faculty and families. Doing so fell under her “umbrella” of job responsibilities, she said — and more importantly was something she was passionate about.
It turns out the district also was passionate about her work.
Rock Hill Schools has established a Department of Mental Health ahead of the 2021-22 school year. It’s led by Turner, and its goal is to bring all of the district’s mental health resources together in one place, under one person’s direction.
“The growth of the innovative programming and services has gotten so big (that) it’s important to make sure there is one person with expertise that has oversight to ensure we’re continuing with these great efforts for our community — and then expanding, and seeing what we can do next,” Turner told The Herald in a phone conversation earlier this week.
Rock Hill spokesperson Lindsay Machak told The Herald in a statement that Turner’s position as director of a standalone, school district-wide mental health department is unique to the region and is among the first of its kind in the state.
Turner’s new role appears to be the culmination of decades of work: The Detroit native, who attended Eastern Michigan as an undergraduate before earning her Doctorate in Special Education Administration at USC, has served in education for 40 years. In that time, she’s been the director of special education departments in different districts in the Carolinas, from Union County Public Schools, to Spartanburg School District Two. She arrived in Rock Hill as the Director of Exceptional Student Education for Rock Hill Schools in 2015.
In her six years in Rock Hill, she’s had a hand in a variety of programs and projects that will fall under her supervision as Director of Mental Health.
Among them:
▪ The Mental Health Resource Hotline. Students, parents and other community members can call 803-324-7464 any time and receive help from mental health therapists, Rock Hill School psychologists and qualified staff members in crisis situations. This tool was established earlier this month. (There is also an after-hour voicemail with resources and immediate contacts in case of emergencies when psychologists aren’t on call.)
▪ The Parent Academy. The district — in partnership with Winthrop University, the South Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Keystone Substance Abuse Center and other mental health experts — launched this program last fall. In its first eight months, the programming included expert presentations on resources available for parents navigating the pandemic. But because of the interest in the academy, Turner said, it has expanded to include other wellness initiatives, including “Jazzercise” (something Turner loves to do in her free time, she said), Yoga and regular Q&A sessions with the public.
▪ The Mental Health Advisory Council. The council features 40 “stakeholders” — a mix of community members, staff and parents — meeting three or four times a year to offer input to insights to school and mental health issues.
▪ Behavior Management Assistants. There is now at least one BMA in each elementary school and preschool. A BMA’s purpose is to “work with our children during crisis situations and get them back to class,” Turner said. This, along with continuing the district’s partnership with Catawba Mental Health, is among Turner’s responsibilities as well.
Turner said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the “growing need” to address the issue of deteriorating student mental health. The district, in creating the department, clearly agreed.
“For those students who were already challenged with mental illness, there have been significant issues, not only with our students, but with families and the community as a whole,” she said. “So in saying all this, our Board of Trustees, our Superintendent and those who make decisions in the Rock Hill Schools, they recognized it right away.”
It’s also the goal of the district, and of Turner, to make these programs available to the community.
“While the primary focus is to address families’ needs in a way that is easily accessible and at no cost to our community,” Machak said, “we think it is important for all of our neighbors to have access to these resources too.”
For Turner’s full job description, visit the Rock Hill Schools website.
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