Prevention & Wellness
Healthy, Happy Comets
At Mason City Schools, we believe in educating the whole child - helping students believe in who they are and who they can become by providing supports to foster their educational and social-emotional learning. We believe in building meaningful relationships with every student and helping them take care of themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Our prevention and wellness department is a multidisciplinary team ready to support the needs of all students. Our team works to promote student, staff, and community wellness through resource and program development as well as continuing to build community wellness partnerships. Supports and services provided by our counselors, mental wellness designers, and clinical team are available to all Mason City Schools students.
Our partnerships with Mindpeace, 1N5, Grant Us Hope, Joshua's Place, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital support these goals by providing access to therapeutic supports and services for students and families.
Help for Families
- If your child is at immediate risk for harm to self or others call 911 or take them to the nearest emergency room.
- If your child is not at immediate risk, however you are unsure how to proceed.
- Looking for non-emergency resources?
- Looking for Student Wellness Opportunities and Support?
- When are school counselors available to my child?
- If my child needs Clinical Mental Health Support during the school year, who should I contact?
- How can I help my child remain calm while home?
- What community resources are available for families?
- Where can I regularly get food?
- Where do I go to get my child assessed or evaluated?
If your child is at immediate risk for harm to self or others call 911 or take them to the nearest emergency room.
Children's Hospital Liberty Campus (closest emergency room specializing in those 18 and younger)
7777 Yankee Road, Liberty Township, OH 45044, P: 513-803-9307
If you have an emergency call 911, otherwise use the resources below:
Crisis Text Line (Warren County) Text “4Hope” to 741 741 www.crisistextline.org
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No cost (standard rates apply) 24/7 crisis counselors provided anywhere in the U.S.
Warren County Mobile Response & Stabilization Services Crisis Hotline (877)695-6333
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Trauma Informed mobile response for youth (0-21)
Warren County Crisis Hotline (877) 695-6333 www.mhrsonline.org
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A trained professional is available 24/7 365 days to answer your call and talk with you
If your child is not at immediate risk, however you are unsure how to proceed.
- Children's Hospital Psychiatric Intake Response Center at 513-636-4124
- Warren County Crisis Hotline at 1-877-695-6333
Looking for non-emergency resources?
- Your child's School Counselor
- Cincinnati Children's Psychiatric Intake Response Center 513-636-4124
- Lindner Center of Hope 513-536-4673
- Talbert House 513-932-4337
- Beech Acres Parenting Center 513-231-6630
Looking for Student Wellness Opportunities and Support?
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Resources for child and teen anxiety:
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1N5 - Resources by age and need (anxiety, depression, etc.)
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National Association of School Psychologists - Information for caregivers
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Resources for caregivers of children with anxiety (websites and book lists for caregivers and children)
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Strategies and activities for caregivers to engage in with children
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Resources for child and teen depression:
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1N5 - Resources by age and need (anxiety, depression, etc.)
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
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SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
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Visit these activities and resources curated by our Prevention and Wellness team.
When are school counselors available to my child?
School Counselors are available to students in need during regular school hours on regularly scheduled school days. If you need more immediate assistance, you can also reach out to the Mental Wellness Supervisor Nicole Pfirman at 513.315.6775.
If my child needs Clinical Mental Health Support during the school year, who should I contact?
How can I help my child remain calm while home?
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Keep a consistent schedule by designating work and break times throughout the day. Maintaining modified schedules over breaks can also help children and teens.
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Listen to relaxing music
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Access MCS Mindful Music at: citysilence.org/learn
Password: mindfulmason
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Check out the Virtual MindPeace Rooms designed to provide a space to listen to relaxing music, go on a virtual walk, and practice intentional movement while at home.
What community resources are available for families?
Mason Food Pantry
Provides food, healthcare products, household items, and toiletries
406 4th Avenue, Mason, OH
513.229.3191
Hours: Mon 6:30-7:30 PM, Wed 9:30-11:00 AM, Sat 9:30-11:00 AM
Schuh Center at St. Susanna Provides food, clothing, and school supplies
616 Reading Road, Mason, OH
513.398.3821
Hours: Tues 9:00-10:15 AM, Wed 9:00-10:15 AM, Fri 9:00-10:15 AM
St. Vincent De Paul
Provides support with a variety of financial assistance as well as clothing and household items
616 Reading Road, Mason, OH
513.398.3821 ext. 3500
FAITH Ministries
Provides rent assistance and grocery gift cards
513.445.9810: Call and leave a message for a request
Warren County Division of Human Services
Provides financial assistance, medical, food, and child care assistance
416 S. East Street, Lebanon, OH
513.261.1420
Warren County Health District Provides affordable clinics, vaccinations, and health information
416 S. East Street, Lebanon, OH
513-695-1228
Kinship Care
Resources for families providing care for relatives
Beech Acres
Warren County Community Services
Information and referral program that also assists with energy needs
513.695.2100
Where can I regularly get food?
Where do I go to get my child assessed or evaluated?
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC)
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PIRC - 513.636.4124
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Services include:
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Admission and evaluation center for children and adolescents in acute crisis at both Cincinnati Children's Burnet and Liberty Campus Emergency Department
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Expert assessment and recommendation to help you determine the next steps in treatment for your child
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Learn more about MCS Wellness Supports & Partners
- School Counselors
- Prevention & Wellness Designers
- School-Based Therapy
- School Psychologists
- Hope Squads
- Therapy Dogs
- SafeSchools Tipline
- Partners
School Counselors
Mason City Schools have 21 school counselors throughout our district who are available to work with students and families on an ongoing basis. Each school provides counseling services to help students with social-emotional issues, problem-solving, healthy decision-making, crisis intervention, conflict resolution and substances abuse prevention. School counselors help keep students emotionally healthy and ready to learn. Counselors also regularly engage in college and career planning with students and their families.
SCHOOL COUNSELORS
Mason Early Childhood Center- 513-398-3741
Sarah Bowser bowsers@masonohioschools.com
Katie Brown brownk@masonohioschools.com
Cassie Cobbs cobbsc@masonohioschools.com Ashley Goheen goheena@masonohioschools.com
Mason Elementary- 513-398-5821
Sara Kranson kransons@masonohioschools.com
Shannon Tipton tiptons@masonohioschools.com
Michelle Krugh krughm@masonohioschools.com
Mason Intermediate School- 513-459-2850
Joy Hicks hicksj@masonohioschools.com
Nikki Montgomery montgomeryn@masonohioschools.com
Michelle Krugh krughm@masonohioschools.com
MMS School Counseling Department - 513-398-6012
Cheryl Hayes hayesc@masonohioschools.com
Karen Long longk@masonohioschools.com
Shannon Norman normans@masonohioschools.com
Lindsey Sweat sweatl@masonohioschools.com
MHS School Counseling Department - 513-398-7896
Tony Affatato affatatot@masonohioschools.com
Phyllis Bell bellp@masonohioschools.com
Sally Clark clarks@masonohioschools.com
Linda Dumstorff dumstorffl@masonohioschools.com
Katie Hicks hickska@masonohioschools.com
Seth Johnston johnstons@masonohioschools.com
Michelle Kohler kohlerm@masonohioschools.com
Megan Pay paym@masonohioschools.com
Marty Zack zackm@masonohioschools.com
Prevention & Wellness Designers
Your Prevention & Wellness Designers evaluate building level needs, create and align programming with district rocks, analyze program effectiveness, build capacity of staff, train staff in a variety of mental health topics, and are a front line of support for students in crisis. They work in collaboration with building counselors, administrators, intervention specialists, and contracted clinicians to build a tiered system of intervention to increase access to care. In addition, the Mental Wellness Coordinators assist building teams in developing plans for transitioning students back from clinical care to help ensure a successful reintegration within the school environment.
Nicole Pfirman |
Prevention & Wellness Supervisor |
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Laura Martin |
Prevention & Wellness Coordinator |
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Carla Himmelwright | Behavior Prevention & Wellness Designer | Mason Early Childhood Center | himmelwrightc@masonohioschools.com |
Breanna Lynch |
Prevention & Wellness Designer |
Mason Elementary & Mason Intermediate |
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Dawn McCorkle |
Prevention & Wellness Designer |
Mason Middle School |
mccorkled@masonohioschools.com |
Kalia Marcelle |
Prevention & Wellness Designer |
Mason High School | marcellek@masonohioschools.com |
Allyson Aubry | Student Success Coordinator (7-12) | Mason Middle & Mason High School | aubrya@masonohioschools.com |
Jackie Hunter | PK-12 Resource Coordinator | hunterj@masonohioschools.com |
District Prevention & Wellness Supervisor 
Nicole Pfirman, M.Ed., OTR/L- Nicole currently serves as the District Mental Wellness Supervisor. Nicole has been at Mason City Schools for the past 17 years. She started her career in outpatient psychiatry and adult rehabilitation working both in the hospital and prison setting. Nicole worked on an interdisciplinary team as a therapist to help teens and adults who had been incarcerated reintegrate into the community setting. After spending time working with adults, Nicole decided to focus and begin to specialize in working with students with severe behavioral disorders as a pediatric occupational therapist both in outpatient and in the school based setting. At Mason City Schools, Nicole worked in the SCSF environment for 13 years supporting the sensory and behavioral needs of students with severe to profound autism. During this work she designed and implemented a Snozelen multi-sensory environment as a proactive way to de-escalate behaviors. It was during this time that Nicole began to see a need for behavioral services and support to address the increasing mental wellness needs in young children. After implementing several interventions and programs, Nicole moved into the role of District Behavior Coach, working with teams to develop systems of support and individualized behavior plans to address the behavioral and mental health students across grades K-12. Nicole then moved into the role of Special Education Behavior Supervisor providing supervision to special education and support staff within the district. In 2018 Nicole wrote a proposal for a Mental Wellness team at Mason City Schools. The Board of Education accepted the proposal and the Mental Wellness team was implemented during the 2019-2020 school year. The team currently consists of 3 mental wellness coordinators, 21 school counselors, 1 resource coordinator, 10 clinical mental health therapists, and 1 psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Prevention & Wellness Coordinator (PK-12)
Laura Martin, M.Ed.- Laura has a Bachelors of Science, K-12 certification serving students with moderate-intensive special education needs and a Masters of Education specializing in birth through year 8 early child intervention. Laura has worked for the Mason City School district for 17 years. She began as a preschool intervention specialist. Laura then worked on a multidisciplinary team to design and implement a state of the art program for students with severe to profound Autism that became the SCSF model across the district. During that time, Laura regularly worked with students with significant behavior and mental health concerns who required a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach. Laura served as a support to families in navigating both in school and out of school support services. Laura has been a support to students, staff, and families in her knowledge and understanding of behavioral de-escalation and crisis intervention. She is a member of the behavior response team and the district crisis team to support students throughout the district who have additional behavioral and mental health needs. Laura’s experience includes program design for students with behavior dysregulation, verbal and non-verbal behavioral de-escalation, community resource support and instruction in social-emotional development.
Mason Elementary and Mason Intermediate Prevention & Wellness Designer
Breanna Lynch, MOT, OTR/L- Breanna graduated from Xavier University with a Masters in Occupational Therapy. She is a Nationally Board Certified occupational therapist in the state of Ohio. She began her career as an outpatient pediatric occupational therapist, specializing in sensory integration and trauma-informed interventions. She spent time working one on one with clients, as well as being a part of a multidisciplinary clinical team providing therapy services for children and their families who have experienced complex trauma. All of Breanna’s clients had clinical diagnoses related to their mental/behavioral health for which families sought therapeutic services to provide caregiver coaching, tools and strategies, and connections to other professionals and/or resources, among other goal-oriented, occupation-based interventions. She continues to provide ongoing professional development opportunities about occupational therapists' role in mental health and trauma-informed practices with the American Occupational Therapy Association, Ohio Occupational Therapy Association, and Xavier University’s Department of Occupational Therapy through academic research and presentations.
Mason Middle School Prevention & Wellness Designer
Dawn McCorkle has spent her career working with students and families across the life span in a variety of mental health capacities. She started her work in mental health as an Adult Mental Health Case Manager with Valley Mental Health Services. Her role was to provide Mental Health Case Management for clients and to coordinate medical care, wrap around supports, and community resources. Dawn then spent time working for Butler County Children Services as a caseworker making referrals for community resources to support families and children in their homes and responding to crisis situations when needed. Dawn was then promoted to an adoption specialist and worked to complete foster care and adoption home studies for adults that wanted to provide foster and adoptive homes. After leaving children’s services, Dawn moved into a role with Butler County Education Services Center working with the Success Program. As part of the success program, Dawn worked to coordinate services for parents and children within the school district and the community to eliminate barriers to poverty and increase academic engagement. Dawn was tapped to come to Mason in August of 2020 to provide support to our students and families across the district. She works in collaboration with our mental wellness and building teams to ensure appropriate wrap around services and referrals are in place to increase academic and community engagement.
School-Based Therapy
All types of sessions are billed to the student's medical insurance. CCHMC accepts a wide range of insurance carriers, and families are encouraged to check with their providers about the specifics of their coverage. Assistance may be available for families experiencing financial difficulty.
Parents, teachers, and students can contact school counselors to make student referrals for services. The decision to participate in therapeutic services is ultimately that of the student's family. To discuss services available or with questions regarding services, contact your child's grade level counselor or prevention and wellness designer for assistance.
Emily Meyer |
School Based Clinical Supervisor |
Julia Leary |
Nurse Practitioner K-12 |
Rachael Jones |
School Based Therapist - Mason Early Childhood Center |
Suzanne Takas |
School Based Therapist - |
Ashley Allen |
School Based Therapist - Mason Elementary/Mason Intermediate |
Alechia Bryant |
School Based Therapist - Mason Elementary/Mason Intermediate |
Erika Chiodo |
School Based Therapist - Mason Elementary/Mason Intermediate |
Rachael Jones |
School Based Therapist - Mason Elementary/Mason Intermediate |
Jenny McNiese |
School Based Therapist - Middle School |
Rebecca Flynn | School Based Therapist - Mason High School |
Emily Maiorana | School Based Therapist - Mason High School |
Rachael Stothfang | School Based Therapist - Mason High School |
Amanda Stratton | School Based Therapist - Mason High School |
School Psychologists
The district has school psychologists at each school who provide services to students from preschool to grade 12. School psychologists help youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally and emotionally. They collaborate with educators, parents and other professionals to create safe, healthy and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school and the community for all students. Services provided by school psychologists include teacher and parent collaboration, consultation with administrative staff, individual evaluation of students, short-term counseling, and program development and implementation.
Mason Early Childhood Center
Grades: Pre-K, K, 1 and 2
Julie Cooper
513.398.3741 Ext: 82432
Christen Stidd
513.398.3741 Ext: 81124
Joe Schuh
513.398.3741 Ext: 81125
Regina Stauder
513.398.3741 Ext: 81126
Yu Zhong
Mason Elementary
Grades: 3-4
Sarah Bidwell
513.398.5821 Ext: 50008
Scott Pun
513.398.5821 Ext: 50009
Mason Intermediate School
Grades: 5-6
Jacob Burress
513.459.2850 Ext: 71023
Scott Pun
513.459.2850 Ext: 50009
Mason Middle School
Grades 7-8
Lindsey Hoffman
513.398.9035 Ext: 43050
Brenna Barto
513.398.5821 Ext: 81125
Mason High School
Grades: 9-12
Michaela Kramer
513.398.5025 Ext: 30136
Jeff Schlaeger
513.398.5025 Ext: 30111
Hope Squads
Hope Squad is a mental health awareness and peer-to-peer suicide prevention program at Mason High School and Mason Middle School. Squad members have been anonymously nominated by their peers. Hope Squad's mission is to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and to promote this message to the community as well as within the schools.
Therapy Dogs
MECC
Shiner and Gibson support our students in grades preschool through 2nd grade at MECC. They are cuddly and love being with kids! They love stuffed animals, swimming, and dog treats! Shiner and Gibson visit with many students and classrooms throughout the day and love greeting students as they arrive at school!
Shiner and Gibson were donated by the Shine Like Sable Foundation.
ME
Titan supports students in grades 3 and 4. On especially fun days he walks through the halls to MI to support 5th and 6th graders as well! Titan loves when students ask to say hi and give him cuddles. He enjoys playing with his bones and being outside whenever he can.
Titan was funded through a grant from the Mason Schools Foundation in honor of MHS Class of 2020’s Jake Williams.
MI
Lucy supports students in grades 5 and 6! She even gets to walk over to ME to visit with 3rd and 4th graders sometimes! Lucy enjoys visiting students in class, being read to, and modeling how to stay calm, cool, and collected.
Lucy was funded in collaboration with Circle Tail.
MMS
Coleby supports students in the 7th and 8th grade at Mason Middle School. He is a super sweet and happy dog. Coleby loves to play fetch and is very polite. He also enjoys making new friends with the students and the adults in the building. Coleby assists in the counseling office and will visit classrooms too. When he is off-duty he enjoys fun adventures with his host family. Coleby was donated by the LoveLikeJJ Foundation.
MHS
Mr. Hibbs supports our students in grades 9-12 at Mason High School. When he is not out helping students, Hibbs spends his time in the counseling department. Hibbs loves when students pet him, wearing bowties, and making everyone that he meets smile. He also helps with Hope Squad. When he is off duty, he loves swimming, playing with his stuffed animals, and going for walks at the Cincinnati Nature Center.Hibbs was funded in collaboration with Circle Tail and Mason High School Hope Squad.
SafeSchools Tipline
See Something, Say Something
An important way we practice our Comet Culture belief of “Owning the Moment” is by saying something whenever anyone has a safety concern. Safety concerns can be about someone being bullied, a classmate who has posted something about wanting to harm themselves, an act of racism or bias, or another threat to school safety. The SafeSchools Alert is an anonymous, toll-free tip line that students, parents and staff can access 24/7— any time they need to tip off school administration about a potential crisis. It’s a confidential, anonymous way to keep our schools welcoming and safe. We encourage anyone to submit safety concerns (even anonymously) to our administration in four different ways:
1. Phone: 513-972-4910
2. Text: 513-972-4910
3. Email: 1059@alert1.us
4. Web: http://1059.alert1.us