The St. Helena Unified School District is expanding its Student Assistance Program, which helps at-risk students whose academic performance is struggling due to behavioral, emotional or drug and alcohol problems.

The district, which created the program in 2006, received a five-year Safe and Drug Free Schools Grant from the state, which allowed officials to expand the Student Assistance Program and hire Sarah Carpenter, a licensed clinical social worker, to oversee it.

“If we can help students deal with problems in their everyday lives they can focus more readily on their academics, and ultimately be successful in middle school and high school,” said Carpenter. “Our ultimate goals are to keep the kids safe and improve their academics.”

Students are referred by a teacher to Carpenter, who meets with the student and performs a full psychosocial assessment.

Based on the evaluation, students are referred to appropriate services: the Wolfe Center for alcohol problems, school district therapist Elizabeth Ellsworth for emotional issues, the St. Helena Family Resource Center for long-term mental health therapy, juvenile diversion officer Heather Plottel for criminal behavior, and a variety of other services.

Precise statistics aren’t available, but Carpenter estimated that St. Helena’s Student Assistance Program served 150 students before it was expanded.

One of the biggest problems is binge drinking, which can crop up as early as sixth grade, said Carpenter. Students with recurring drinking problems are referred to the Wolfe Center’s prevention and early intervention services, but students who got sick after their first episode of binge drinking might be sent to school drinking prevention groups.

Bullying is a frequent problem at RLS Middle School. Those students are generally referred to services within the district, such as a girls’ group at RLS run by a licensed clinical social worker.

At the high school level, prejudice and discrimination based on race or socioeconomic status are common, said Carpenter.

The school district is developing an anger management group to deal with those issues, she said. A gang prevention group for the middle school is also in the works.

Students could be labeled at-risk for depression, eating disorders and stress stemming from pressure to perform in school. Those kids are generally referred to therapy.

The expansion of the Student Assistance Program will allow for more community outreach to parents and local nonprofits, said Carpenter.

More information about the St. Helena and Calistoga Student Assistance Programs is available at a March 11 presentation at 7 p.m. in the high school library. The high school Parent Group and the St. Helena Partnership on Teen Substance Abuse will collaborate on a program to address three topics: the expanded Student Assistance Program, the legal implications of the transition to the International Baccalaureate program and the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain.