Parents of students in grades PK-12th grade are invited to submit screener information for their students via the following link https://bit.ly/3Akh3ml. Parents will need their student’s student ID number to complete the BASC-3 BESS parent form.

How students engage socially and emotionally with their peers, educators, and their school impacts learning and long-term success in life. Schools are teaching and creating contexts that promote social and emotional skills and wellness for all students. Across all content areas, educators use assessments to determine the strengths and areas of growth for their students so they can plan how to best teach and support them. Just as students participate in screenings for vision, physical health, reading, and other academic areas, SEB screening provides an indicator of whether a student’s SEB health is on track or if there might be a problem. Screening is a proactive approach in that it provides important information to ensure help is provided before little problems become big problems.

Atlanta Public Schools is committed to creating a culture of student support, and supporting the needs of the whole child. One way we are addressing the whole child is by identifying student strengths and areas for growth relative to social, emotional, and behavioral well-being. In our continuing efforts to support the well-being of all students, we will administer a universal screener of social, emotional & behavioral health.

The universal screener that was chosen by the District to help identify student strengths and areas for growth is the BASC-3 Behavior and Emotional Screening Scale (BASC-3 BESS).

Atlanta Public Schools will be collecting universal screening data two times per school year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. The administration windows for the 2022-2023 SY are as follows: 

• Fall Window: September 19 – October 7
• Spring Window: February 6 – March 3

The assessment consists of a brief rating scale that will be completed by the homeroom, advisement, or other designated teacher to aid in identifying students who may be at risk of developing academic or other school-related concerns. In addition, students ages 8-18 (3^rd – 12^th grade) will be invited to complete a self-rating. We acknowledge the importance of parent input into this screening process, therefore parents of students grades Pk-12 will also be invited to provide screener data for their student(s).

The BASC-3 BESS is currently being administered to students who are enrolled in traditional or non-traditional APS schools and programs. At the present time, students who attend charter and partner schools are not eligible to participate; however, parents are encouraged to inquire with their child’s charter or partner school to learn how student risk is screened for and supported once identified.

During the screening administration window, students ages 8 - 18 (3rd – 12th grade) can access the BASC-3 BESS student self-assessment via MyBackpack, and will take the assessment at their school during homeroom, advisement or other designated times during the school day.

Parents can obtain their child’s student ID number from the parent portal within Infinite Campus by accessing the information Bar (3 lines at the top) > Select the ‘Today’ tab > Student Number is located under your child’s name. If a parent does not have access to their parent portal account, they can contact their child’s school to obtain the student number.

Digital access to the BASC-3 BESS is available to parents in English and Spanish. Parents who have a native language other than English or Spanish can obtain a translated paper copy of the BASC-3 BESS from their student’s school. The paper copy of the parent form has been translated into the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Russian, Portugese, and Spanish. If a paper copy of the BASC-3 BESS is utilized, it must be returned to a designated school staff member prior to the closing of the screener administration window.

Teachers/parents may complete a form in <five minutes; students may complete in 5 – 15 minutes.

Parents should expect to receive the consent notification/opt-out form for the BASC-3 BESS a minimum of 5 days prior to the school administering the screener to students. Any parent of a student ages 8-18 who does not wish for their child to take the student self-assessment portion of the BASC-3 BESS should return the opt-out form to their child’s school. Parents only need to opt-out of the screener once during each school year. If a parent opts their student out of the Fall administration of the screener, but would like for their child to participate in the Spring administration they must submit in writing a signed and dated statement to the school noting their active permission for their student to be screened.

Schools may offer 1:1 administration or group administration opportunities to any student who requires support to successfully take the screener.

The screener is a starting point for next steps in determining the best course of action to support students identified as being at-risk. After schools review data screener reports, school-based student support staff will meet with students, determined by the screener to have extremely elevated or elevated risk, to confirm risk and/or identify need. Student support staff will contact parents to discuss risk, and recommend a strategy of school support. The student, parent, and school will identify and agree on the interventions, strategies, and support that will be utilized to better support the student at school. Progress monitoring will allow the school and the parent to assess whether recommended strategies are effective in supporting their student.

The World Languages and ESOL department will work in conjunction with schools to support the screener notification of parents who have a native language other than English. A hard copy of screener reports will be available in English or Spanish. Parents should expect to receive a score report by October 28^th for the Fall administration and by March 24^th for the Spring administration.

Students ages 8 - 18 will take the assessment at their school during homeroom, advisement or other times during the school day. Students who are currently enrolled in the Atlanta Virtual Academy (AVA) will receive additional information on the administration of the BASC-3 BESS.

Each APS school has designated staff members to support the screening implementation process. At the school level, designated staff members (e.g. principals, assistant principals, counselors, social workers, Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) specialists, and designated teachers may have access to screening data. At the district level, only staff members directly involved in the support of schools for the BASC-3 BESS administration will have access to screening data; only those educators granted permission can access individual student data.

Screening data is housed and stored within Review360, the secure digital platform companion to the BASC-3 BESS which enables students, teachers, and parents to provide screener data.

Screening data will be utilized for the purpose of identifying and supporting identified student risks. Screening data is not and will not be linked to your student’s permanent educational records.

Parents can inspect the screener from two weeks prior to the screener administration window opening through the day the screener administration window closes. To inspect the screener parents should contact Dr. Shannon Hervey, Director of Student Support at Shannon.hervey@atlanta.k12.ga.us. 

Should you have any questions, you can contact your school counselor or Dr. Shannon Hervey, Director of Student Support at Shannon.hervey@atlanta.k12.ga.us.