Hello my name is Troy Fender I will be serving as one of your Mental Health/ Crisis Interventionists here at the Barton School District. First of all, I want to say thank you all for allowing me to be part of your community. I am excited to be working with the Barton School District and look forward to serving the students and families. I am looking forward to the upcoming year and meeting new people and working on ways I can help. I find that Mental Health is an obligation we all have to take part in for everyone’s wellbeing while developing skills for one’s self perseverance.

 “Your responses to the events of life are more important than the event itself.” (Virginia Satir)  

A little bit about myself and my back ground: I was born here in Arkansas and raised mostly in Hope, Arkansas. My wife and I are a blended family with seven children, four sons with twins and three daughters. I have honorably served in the Army as an active-duty logistician. After the Army I landed back in Arkansas where I served as a Drill Instructor/ Sergeant at the Boot Camp Unit with the ADC. I then was asked to come back and serve our nation again supporting and training our national guard soldiers nationwide at the Professional Education Center; Camp Robinson, Arkansas. In 2014 I received my undergraduate degree from Central Baptist College in Psychology, while simultaneously working with Families Inc. as a Mental Health Professional, Mental Health paraprofessional, and a Qualified behavioral health specialist. I’ve worked in Jacksonville School District, Cabot School District, Beebe School District,  Searcy School District and Des Arc School District serving students of all ages including their families.  In May of 2020 I received my Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from John Brown University. Again, I’m excited to be here and look forward to being a part of the Barton School District family.