Empower counselors, support students: Dr. White-Springfield's vision for care
At Pottstown School District, Dr. Latanya White-Springfield, Director of Student Services, leads with a deep passion for supporting students’ behavioral and mental health. With a background in psychology and addiction studies, Dr. White-Springfield’s path has always been centered around helping others.
“I've always been engrossed in behavioral health,” she shared. “As a school counselor, I really gravitated towards some of the students who were a little bit more at risk, who needed a little bit more guidance.”
Her dedication to data-driven and equitable student care inspired the district’s transition to August Schools. It’s been a move that’s transformed how her team collaborates, tracks student wellness, and plans interventions.
Before August Schools, Pottstown used Google Forms to document counseling and behavioral health interactions.
“It wasn’t bad,” Dr. White-Springfield said.
“It did allow for us to collaborate if need be on a smaller scale. But we wanted something that gave a more comprehensive picture of each student.”
As students transitioned between schools or moved through the district’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), continuity became increasingly important.
“We needed a one-stop shop,” Dr. White-Springfield explained.
“August allowed us to put all of our forms there, log parent communication, and have multiple people collaborate on incidents in realtime.”
Each month, Dr. White-Springfield’s department reviews data from August to identify behavioral and mental health trends. These insights guide everything from board reports to staffing decisions and grant writing.
At Pottstown, transitioning students from one grade to the next used to involve juggling spreadsheets, emails, and manual updates. Since adopting August, that process has become far more efficient.
“It’s been extremely helpful with building transitions at the end and start of the school year,” said Dr. White-Springfield.
With August as the central hub for student visits, assessments, and communication, every counselor involved in a student’s care can contribute to a consistent record over time.
“So it has been time saving for us,” she added.
Cross-building collaboration has also strengthened.
“If something’s happening in one building, chances are it’s happening in another,” Dr. White-Springfield explained.
“We can compare resources, share what’s working, and have those authentic conversations.”
“Sometimes you’ve got to identify where the gaps are to know how to spend the money,” she said.
Using August data, Pottstown identified a need for additional behavioral support at the middle school level.
“We were able to use TSI funds to hire two contracted counselors whose only job was to do check-in/check-out and small group work.”
August has made it easier for her to ensure fidelity and accountability across programs.
“Fidelity has been bigger because I can easily go back and look at the time stamp. If I see something missing, I can ask, ‘Have you not been able to do the threat assessment?’”
Dr. White-Springfield sees August Schools continuing to play a vital role in Pottstown’s behavioral health strategy.
“This is a tool—and when used well, it helps us plan, read the data, and support students who need us most.”
The results speak for themselves: more collaboration, better data, stronger interventions, and time saved for staff to focus on students.
“As of now, we’ve been pretty pleased with the product. The interface is user-friendly, and the support has been great.”
And when asked if she’d recommend August Schools?
“I actually have! I really like having that one-stop shop for counselors and behavioral health staff.”