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Public Notice
The REGULAR MEETING of the Lodi Board of
Education originally scheduled for Wednesday,
January 29, 2025 has been RESCHEDULED to
Wednesday, January 22, 2025, Thomas Jefferson
Middle School, 75 1st Street, Lodi, NJ PLEASE
NOTE: The Board will meet in Executive Session,
from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm. The Regular Meeting will
commence at 7:00 pm.FORMAL ACTION TO BE TAKEN
Michael Rinderknecht
Interim Board Secretary -
Lodi Public Schools expands Thrive Program to elementary schools
Lodi Public Schools, which has made student mental health a top priority, is expanding its Thrive counseling program to its five elementary schools.
Lodi Public Schools Director of Counseling Christine Orosz said the program started in the high school and middle school last year and was expanded to the elementary schools for the 2024-25 school year. Superintendent Frank D’Amico recognized the importance of having mental health support at all levels for students, and, with his support, and the support of the Lodi Board of Education, the district was able to bring Thrive to all district students.
“We wanted to make it more convenient for our students to have access to mental health services,” Orosz said. “Thrive’s licensed clinicians become part of the school. They are embedded with the staff and work closely with guidance, the administration, and the child study team.”
Thrive Alliance Group also has experience in education as its Executive Director Patricia Hovey is a former school district director of special education. “It is the school’s first and primary goal to educate students, but we really also wanted to bring mental health services to our students, and it really is more accessible to have the clinicians right in our schools,” Orosz said.
Typically, when a school counselor refers a student to an outside program, the student must find transportation and the parent must find a counselor that is part of their insurance. Now, this program is right at the school with clinicians available to offer sessions right during the school day and the service is paid for by the school district.
“When a student is referred to Thrive, the school’s clinician will contact the parents first and ask the parents to talk to their child before the counseling starts,” said Thrive clinician Malki Mori, who works at the middle school.
Hovey commended the Lodi administration and board of education for expanding the program to elementary schools.
“This teaches important skills to younger students,” she said. “Children in the elementary schools will learn how to articulate their feelings as the clinician is teaching kids the abilities and skills that they need which will help them develop social skills and manage stress in school.”
Christina Jelly, senior director of operations and outreach at the Thrive Alliance Group, commended Lodi for having clinicians for each grade level who can give support to students during the school day. Diana Abril started in October as the new clinician for the Lodi elementary schools and spends one day at each school each week. Mark Barzola is the clinician for the high school. Malki Mori is the clinician at the middle school.
The district is already seeing a difference, Orosz noted.
“Students that would typically exhibit certain behaviors are doing that less with the Thrive clinicians in the buildings,” she said. They are establishing relationships with the students and students who would previously experience a mental health struggle are having more conversations with teachers. Last year, there was concern that one student would not graduate due to some issues, but the Thrive clinician helped them overcome challenges and the student graduated with the rest of their class.
Some students also experience social anxiety, which the clinicians also help with. One student who avoided social situations recently attended a school dance which they never would have attended before, Malki noted.
The clinicians also support teachers, offering them strategies on dealing with different student behaviors and a district approach to student mental health issues through professional development.
“It is so nice that our clinicians are a resource for our teachers and help teachers understand the mental health piece,” Orosz said. “We are giving our students and teachers the tools to be successful. Many of these tools and skills will also help our students be successful later in life.”
Next, Lodi Public Schools and Thrive will offer parent engagement workshops and educational information sessions for parents, Orosz said. A mental health resources fair has been scheduled for Nov. 19.
Thrive currently works with 24 New Jersey school districts and 100 schools. Many of its clinicians also speak Spanish.
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Lodi Teacher HonoredVirginia Fasulo, Science Teacher Pre-Med Program Coordinator at Lodi High School, was recognized at the State of NJ Department of Education for receiving the National Milken Educator Award earlier this year. NJDOE Acting Commissioner of Education Kevin Dehmer and State Board of Education President Kathy Goldenberg presented Mrs. Faulo with a Crystal Award in recognition of this outstanding achievement.Congratulations Mrs. Fasulo!
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School Uniforms
Lodi students are required to wear school uniforms.
Embroidery on the uniforms is recommended but not required.
We encourage embroidered uniforms which may be purchased through GEM Sports.
GEM Sports, LLC
M:201.791.1776 ext. 103
D: 201.479.0732
F: 201.791.5472
36-10 Broadway
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
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