Student Assistance Program

The Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning. SAP is designed to assist in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and mental health issues which pose a barrier to a student’s success. The primary goal of the Student Assistance Program is to help students overcome these barriers so that they may achieve, advance, and remain in school. While Student Assistance Programs exist in other areas of the country, the structure and operation of the program in Pennsylvania is a unique expression of an integrated model serving the needs of Pennsylvania families and students. Every middle, high school and some elementary schools in the state have a Student Assistance Program (SAP).

The Camp Hill School District has a SAP team for the middle school and high school. The team is made up of teachers, counselors, administrators, a nurse, and community liaisons from drug/alcohol and mental health service agencies. These members have been through an extensive training program to become part of the team. Students are referred to SAP for a variety of reasons, which include: withdrawing from friends and family; change of friends; talking of suicide, unexplained physical injury, depression, aggressive behavior, lying, sudden drop in grades, refusal to come to school or experimenting with drugs/alcohol. Additionally, some students require services as a result of the recent death of a loved one, a divorce, relationship problems, family relocation or any other traumatic event.