The vision of the Urbandale CSD is “teaching all and reaching all” which includes welcoming all students, supporting all students, and believing in all students. We do this knowing that no two students are exactly the same; each student has her/his own unique gifts, abilities, challenges, and talents. Ultimately, our role is to help students discover, define, and develop their natural aptitudes and passionate pursuits on their journey of lifelong learning.
A significant part of a student’s academic growth is impacted by a student’s social and emotional well-being. All students move at their own pace along the continuum of mental health and well-being depending on events and circumstances in their lives. For students facing behavioral or emotional challenges, we provide additional support for students by helping students learn the content of their classes, improving students’ connections to school, incorporating family and community support in the educational process, and promoting students’ social/emotional growth.
Our Coordinator of Student Family and Community Services and our Facilitators of Family Outreach (FFOs) provide many of these services. We’d like to share more about the outstanding individuals in each of these important roles and welcome you to contact them:
District-wide Coordinator of Student Family and Community Services
Michele Hamilton is the Coordinator of Student Family and Community Services which serves students and families by coordinating mental health services for children and families. This includes assisting administrators and teachers as they support students who have mental health issues. This is Michele’s eighth year with the district as an employee, but as a graduate of Urbandale, her experience in the community assists her in understanding the unique needs of our students. Michele’s office is in the high school counseling office and she can be reached at
hamiltonm@urbandaleschools.com
UHS Juvenile Court School Liaison and Facilitator of Family Outreach
Christy Stroope also works out of the high school counseling office and she is the Juvenile Court School Liaison and Facilitator of Family Outreach services. Students involved with Juvenile Court Services will work with Christy to maintain those expectations along with school expectations. As a Facilitator of Family Outreach services, Christy also provides long term coordination of community support services to students at the high school. In her approach with students Christy states, “I truly believe every student can be reached if they are treated on the same level as an adult. Students want respect, they want to be heard, and want adults to listen.The same thing we, as adults, want.” Christy can be reached at
stroopec@urbandaleschools.com
UMS Facilitator of Family Outreach
The middle school also has a Facilitator of Family Outreach, Abby Schueller. This is Abby’s third year with this position in the Urbandale CSD, and she has previous experience in the Iowa City School District and teaching in Arkansas. Abby shared, “Education has always been a passion of mine but I chose to take more of a social services role because I wanted to have time to support students and families, outside of a classroom. I am a firm believer that academic success for students is impacted by factors outside of their control, and I love making my work about helping relieve those barriers for them and the families of UMS. With that said, it is important for me get to know students and their families on an individual level because they bring so many strengths and interests that we could use to build success. I look forward to coming to work every day, knowing that I can work together with students and families on various goals.” Abby can be reached at
schuellera@urbandaleschools.com
Karen Acres, Rolling Green & Webster Facilitator of Family Outreach
Brittany Cooley is the Facilitator of Family Outreach at Karen Acres, Rolling Green and Webster Elementary schools and this is her fourth year in Urbandale. Brittany has been married to Craig for seven years and have three beautiful children. Brittany expresses that everyday she looks forward to going to work as the passion she feels for the position doesn’t make it feel like work, “The most important thing to me in my role is building positive meaningful relationships with students and families. I am available to talk, listen, help come up with solutions to challenges, advocate, empower, provide resources, and just be a support to students and their families. I want the absolute best for each student and want to do whatever is necessary to make sure students are successful in school.” Brittany can be reached at
cooleyb@urbandaleschools.com
Jensen, Valerius & Webster Facilitator of Family Outreach
Tiffany Braxton is the Facilitator of Family Outreach at Jensen, Valerius, and Webster Elementary schools. Tiffany is starting her third year with the district and has enjoyed learning about her students and her families. Tiffany comes from a background in employment development and is looking forward to applying those skills in helping her students and families achieve their personal goals. Tiffany can be reached at
braxtont@urnbandaleschools.com
If you would like to learn more information about FFOs, please contact Michele Hamilton or your building Principal. #WeBelieveInU
Michele Hamilton
Coordinator of Student Family and Community Services
