Supporting students’ mental health is critical to ensuring that they can learn and thrive. For many young people, the isolation, uncertainty, and trauma of the past year have bred anxiety and depression, with potentially long-lasting effects on their success in school and beyond. Schools must respond to this need by providing thoughtful and effective mental health supports. Offering timely interventions is only one part of the solution, though—investing in a range of isolated initiatives won’t lead to schoolwide structures that address student mental health in meaningful, consistent ways. Instead, schools should seek to build comprehensive mental health systems that allow them to support the wellbeing of all students, now and in the future.

The Rennie Center, the Massachusetts School Mental Health Consortium, and bryt (Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition) have teamed up with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a new initiative, Thriving Minds. Through a series of learning opportunities, educators will receive guidance and support on building comprehensive school mental health systems that address the holistic needs of their students.

The foundation for these learning opportunities will be a series of professional development workshops on the fundamental components of a comprehensive school mental health system—such as data, interventions, and infrastructure—all presented with a racial equity lens. School teams wishing to go deeper will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing learning cohorts with peers engaged in similar work. And for teams with a plan to advance toward a comprehensive school mental health system, we will offer mini-grants to support implementation and shared learning.

Please visit the Thriving Minds landing page for more info on upcoming trainings.

School Mental Health Leadership Institute

MASMHC in partnership with the Rennie Center is co-leading the School Mental Health Leadership Institute, a project funded and facilitated by Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY). This program trains participants to develop the capacity to act as both clinical and mental health leaders and change agents to build comprehensive mental health systems in their district. Through a series of trainings and cohort-based discussions, participants acquire and exercise a new set of skills to help them set and enact a vision for change.

For many young people, the isolation, uncertainty, and trauma of the past year and a half have bred anxiety and depression, with potentially long-lasting effects on their success in school and beyond. Schools must respond to this need by providing thoughtful and effective mental health supports. Offering timely interventions is only one part of the solution. Schools should seek to build comprehensive mental health systems that allow them to support the wellbeing of all students, now and in the future, rather than invest in a range of isolated initiatives.

The SMH Leadership Institute includes ten hours of professional development and training, divided across five sessions to allow for application and practice between sessions. All sessions are conducted virtually. Each session will introduce participants to generally applicable principles of adult learning and change management, and will be grounded in examples drawn from the school mental health context.

Supporting Staff to Support Students (S2S): Collaborating to Develop Group Mental Health Services in Schools