A variety of services are available to students at BMS including Guidance Counseling, Health Clinic, Resource Officer, Social Work Services, and Special Education. See the links to the left for more information about the services provided to schools in our school community.

Mrs. Knights is the school counselor for Bath Middle School. The school counselor is a resource available to students, parents, teachers and others who participate in a student's educational process. The school counselor supports the school's mission and the students' learning process by promoting academic achievement, career planning and personal/social development. These services are delivered as part of the classroom guidance curriculum, in small groups and/or on an individual basis.

While at BMS, students will be provided opportunities to increase their awareness and practice the following skills: communication, coping, time management, leadership and decision making, to name a few. As a result, our goal is for each student to increase his/her self-esteem and learn how to become his/her own self advocate while in middle school and beyond. 

Students and parents may schedule an appointment directly with the school counselor, Mrs. Knights. Contact Mrs. Knights by email (bknights@rsu1.org) or phone (443-8270, extension 416) to schedule an appointment.

The Student Health Services at Bath Middle School are provided by the school nurse, Mrs. Hixon. The mission of Health Services is to enhance healthy growth and development and maximize the educational potential of all students. 

The school nurse strives to give students the necessary tools to increase their ability to care for themselves. She is the medical liaison between families and school staff and helps identify and resolve health-related barriers to learning. She collaborates with medical providers and community resources to help  promote and encourage wellness and a healthy lifestyle.  Through health counseling and communication, she provides information and support for BMS students and parents. 

Mrs. Hixon is a full-time, registered professional nurse and certified for school nursing by the Maine Department of Education. 

She can be reached by calling 443-8270 x412 or by email (hixon@rsu1.org). For more information regarding the scope and provision of services, please access the Bath Middle School/ RSU1 Health Services webpage.

Purpose:

1. Provision of professional social work services to BMS students and their families

2. Consultation to staff and administrators

Caseload

The social worker is a member of the Special Education Team. Social work service is prioritized as follows:

1. Special education students with social work in their IEP

2. Special education and non-special education students who need crisis intervention

3. Non-special education students who need individual or group counseling

Scope of Services

1. Individual and group counseling to deal with issues such as peer relationships, family dynamics and social skills

2. Crisis intervention and assessments for possible abuse/neglect, potential for violence and suicidal ideation

3. Psycho-social assessments for Pupil Evaluation Team meetings and other staff in need of a comprehensive evaluation of a student

4. Home visits in order to facilitate communication between home and school

5. Coordination of services between school and outside agencies

6. Participation on a multi-disciplinary Student Assistance Team for review of non-special education cases

7. Coordination of suspension reentry interviews with students and parents

8. Member of a multi-disciplinary crisis management team as needed

Referrals

Referrals to Social Work may come from staff, parents and students themselves. Mrs. Harris is a full-time staff person at BMS and can be reached by calling 443-8270 x413 or by email (mharris@rsu1.org).

The Special Education Services Program provides intensive instruction to those students with an identified disability. Services range from classroom modifications in the mainstream class to small group instruction in the Resource Room. The appropriate level of service is determined at the identified students' Pupil Evaluation Team meetings. Small group instruction is designed to parallel the mainstream classroom as much as possible. Students receiving fifty percent or more of their instruction from Special Services are normally served through the Transition Services Program. Students requiring intensive behavior-based instruction are served through the Intensive Services Program.

Speech/Language, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy services are provided on an as-needed basis. Social Work Services are provided to students who benefit from learning and practicing effective social skills in a nurturing environment. If you have any questions about Special Education Services at BMS, please contact Nichole Hinton (nhinton@rsu1.org).