In January, Marietta Public Schools began a partnership with Lighthouse Behavioral
Health designed to provide the district with a behavior coach, Tina Pope. Although Pope
is an employee of Lighthouse, she is housed on Marietta’s campus and is dedicated to
providing support services for the district.
Lighthouse Behavioral Health offers various services for individuals, families, and
couples, including therapy and help with mental health skills. These services aim to
improve well-being by providing person-centered, evidence-based approaches to treat
issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, and substance use disorders.
On Marietta’s campus, Lighthouse’s services are tailored to provide a fit for students
and the people who work with them, be they teachers, administrators, support staff, or
especially the students’ families.
As a behavior health coach, Pope seeks to provide guidance, help, support, and
encouragement for students who have behavioral issues or problems that prevent them
from having success in the classroom and often result in acting out in emotional or
aggressive ways.
Sometimes Pope’s services may be provided as a one-on-one visit with the student,
although the district tries to keep students in class as much as possible. Other times the
best way she can help is by providing teachers with tools to help guide student
behaviors. Still other times, getting other Lighthouse services engaged to promote
family involvement is the key. But whatever “help” looks like, Pope is willing to provide it.
“When kids just can’t stay in the classroom, we have a referral process that the teachers
go through,” explained Pope. “The process gets the families involved so that we can do
an assessment and put a plan in place.”
The plan considers the behavior that needs attention, then looks at how to prevent it,
including learning warning signs, coping skills, and ways to deescalate situations.
In addition to Pope’s schedule of students that she sees at school, she also responds to
crises that occur in the classroom and says that flexibility is key to success.
“There are times when I can’t follow my schedule,” she admitted. “I have to be willing to
drop it and help when a teacher has a situation that needs my attention.”
Pope finds her job to be very rewarding.
“I love being able to give kiddos and families hope that there are different ways to
handle situations,” she explained. “Just because you’ve always done something a
certain way, sometimes there are different ways to handle things that can result in a
more positive outcome. I’m beyond blessed to be a part of a school that sees the need
for this and does something about it, trying to give the kids what they need to succeed.”
Pope knows that the skills she is teaching kids can make a big difference in their
futures. Coping skills learned in elementary school not only help behaviors today but
can be carried into teenage years and then into adulthood.
“People need to know how to cope with everyday situations that they will encounter
when they have adult relationships and in jobs,” Pope stated. “If I can plant a seed and
a kid learns and uses that, it’s all I can ask for.”
Although Pope works with many staff members at Marietta, there’s no one she works
more closely than Hope Willis, Primary Special Education teacher and Co-Special
Services Director, who is one of Pope’s biggest fans.
“Our student population includes many kiddos who are being raised with trauma, and I
was overwhelmed with trying to work with all of their behaviors along with keeping up
with my own caseload,” Willis insisted. “Tina came in and started working with children
and their families, and the change was amazing.
“It’s a team effort now, with administration, teachers, support staff, and Tina, and it’s
been an absolute game changer. She has literally changed lives. It’s one of the best
decisions our school has ever made.”
According to Willis, the major difference is in the work done with families.
“Lighthouse has a connection with families that sometimes the school isn’t able to
have,” explained Willis. “They have a team outside of Tina who can go to the family and
help them while we work with the student at school. And it has made all the difference in
the world. We are seeing students’ lives changed.”
Pope’s position at Marietta is unique. Marietta is the only school in Love County that has
a behavior coach. There are only two other schools in the area – Dickson and Sulphur –
who have fulltime behavior coaches licensed through Lighthouse.
“Ms. Pope is amazing, and the program is completely free for the district,” said
Superintendent Brandi Naylor. “It’s a win-win for us.”