What started in 2007 as a Hutchinson Public Schools mission to provide support for at-risk students who were struggling academically has spread across the state of Minnesota — and beyond.
“I had always had a hope to be able to give back to this school district,” said teacher Chad Harlander, “which had wrapped its arms around a young man when life was really hard.”
Harlander was tapped by the school to helm the program, which would come to be known as REACH, after data showed academic success with an at-risk program in Dassel-Cokato.
“At the end of the day what we wanted to do was create a safe space for all kids, wherever they are at in their journey, to give them the support they needed — whether that support was academically, or emotionally, or socially,” Harlander said. “Sometimes kids fall through the cracks or can go unnoticed in the hallways. Our kids come from all backgrounds. We have kids with the 4.0 GPA, (who are) three-sport athletes, who have challenges with mental health or emotional health. At the end of the day, we all have a story.”
Since its implementation, Hutchinson’s REACH program has expanded from the high school to the middle school. With the help of a chemical dependency counselor, a teacher and an educational support staff member, students are taught life skills, given a space to reflect upon and find support for their struggles, and held accountable academically.
But the program is no longer Hutchinson exclusive. More than 60 schools across the United States have reached out to Hutchinson’s REACH team to learn about its methods, and results. Minnesota now has 40 schools with their own REACH programs, with another two nearby in South Dakota.
In 2018, 20 of those schools joined together for a REACH conference at the Crow River Winery. Among the speakers visiting the 450 students was Chris Hawkey, co-host of KFAN radio’s “The Power Trip Morning Show.”
“He had just come out a couple of months before that, about dealing with his own mental health,” Harlander said. “When that came out in the Star Tribune, I sent an email to him, and he responded quickly. I think in a manner of a half hour I had heard from him.”
This year, Harlander heard from Hawkey again. This time, instead of agreeing to speak at a conference, he said he wanted REACH programs across the state to be the beneficiaries of an upcoming fundraiser.
“When I got the call, I was honestly taken aback,” Harlander said. “I think it’s a huge compliment to what we’ve started here, to be recognized by someone of that stature. Chris Hawkey is a name that’s well known in Minnesota.”
The First Annual Chris Hawkey and Friends Bowling Night is Friday, Feb. 24, at Shakopee Bowl. Social hour is fom 4-6 p.m.,with Faydra performing on stage from 4-7 p.m. The event will continue with bowling from 6-8 p.m., followed by a night of music from Hitchville from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. The event will include a buffet from 5-9 p.m., and a pizza buffet from 10 p.m. to midnight. Tickets range from $400 to $100, depending on the time, and bowling reservation. More information, and a link to buy tickets, can be found at tinyurl.com/hawkeyfundraiser.
Leading up to the fundraiser, a number of REACH programs wrote to Hawkey, sharing the experiences of REACH staff and students.
“Some of the biggest challenges our students face each day are working through past or ongoing trauma in their lives and their struggles with mental health such as depression and anxiety. We know that trauma changes the way our brains work and our capabilities to learn so it makes perfect sense that the students who have these challenges in their life also struggle to focus on academics because their focus is on survival,” wrote Marissa Waldner, REACH counselor at the Garretson, South Dakota, school district. “We place a lot of emphasis on teaching and learning accountability. At times, the accountability might seem like we don’t care but I have seen that the relationships we have built in our classroom allows students to know that we still care and support them through the uncomfortable things.”
Garretson Superintendent Guy Johnson, saw the work at Hutchinson’s program, and was inspired to try it at his school as well. COVID funding for mental health, and to address learning loss from the pandemic, helped make it possible.
”At times, some of the insecurities and possible mental health issues — those we’ve seen most frequently are anxiety and depression — one of the most common responses to that has been students aren’t willing to take the shot,” he said this past week. ”A couple of students last year questioned if they would graduate. Their anxieties got in the way at times, external factors outside of school got in the way at times. ... I would attribute the fact that both of those kids graduated on time to the fact they got the support they needed through the REACH program.”
Marie Techam, a social worker and REACH instructor at Delano High School, said the program’s biggest impact has been providing a sense of belonging for students.
“Throughout the past eight years of having our REACH program, our class has implemented a school wide Suicide Prevention and Awareness Day, Unity Day, Inclusion Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month to name a few,” she wrote. “We have worked hard to raise awareness of inequities within our school and try to ensure our school is a safe place for every student. It has given students who in the past did not have a voice — a VOICE. That’s powerful.”
Reflecting on how much REACH has grown, Harlander saw how much work was left to do.
“It’s going to take a lot of people wrapping their arms around our youth,” he said. “I think this is what we’re supposed to do. Everyone always asks me what it takes to run a REACH program. And I say, ‘You’ve got to have a person that has the right passion, and desire, and the heart to lead it.’ It’s around the clock if you’re truly invested in our youth.”
There are always daily challenges, he said, and distractions in life. COVID and the struggles of separation only added to the pile and made building relationships that much more important.
“At the end of the day, relationships pull our youth back,” he said.
Harlander knows the lesson well. It wasn’t just the school that wrapped its arms around him as a youth, but the people in it.
“Home wasn’t always safe. I went to school for it to be safe and because there was a connection with a handful of teachers,” he said. “Jean Schultz, a second-grade teacher, provided grace, a calm during the storm. And at the high school level, Mike Carls, who was a social studies teacher, opened the weight room at night. And the sense of connection I got through Hutchinson High School football and Grady Rostberg.
“What they did — the old saying is, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ At that time, that was my village.”
