New systemwide role designed to help students missing school due to anxiety immediately booked solid through October
BROOKLYN A newly appointed school anxiety liaison, part of the city’s new systemwide effort to support students missing class due to anxiety or depression, reports her calendar is fully booked through October after only one week in the role, a demand level she says “honestly tracks with everything else happening in the world right now.”
The Actual Scope of Demand
Liaison Patricia Owusu says referrals arrived from nearly every grade level within days of the program’s launch, considerably exceeding what she’d anticipated based on the district’s initial planning estimates for a single-liaison pilot model.
What This Reveals About Pre-Existing Need
Owusu believes the overwhelming response reflects genuine, previously unaddressed need rather than any sudden new crisis, suggesting many students and families had simply been navigating school-related anxiety without any formal, dedicated support channel until this specific role existed to catch it.
How She’s Prioritizing Her Caseload
She’s currently triaging based on severity and immediacy of need, a system she describes as “genuinely difficult” given how many cases feel urgent once you actually sit down and hear each family’s specific situation.
What the District Is Saying About Expansion
Officials acknowledge the pilot’s demand suggests additional liaison positions may be needed considerably sooner than originally planned, though budget conversations for expansion remain in early stages.
One Parent’s Experience Getting Connected
A parent who successfully connected her son with Owusu described the intake process as “the first time anyone at the school actually had a formal plan,” rather than informal, inconsistent accommodations handled differently by each individual teacher.
Where This Program Goes From Here
Owusu says she’s optimistic the demand data itself will make the case for expansion more effectively than any planning document could have, given how quickly her own calendar filled without any real promotional effort beyond basic internal district communication. Further New York City coverage continues at bohiney.com.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com