Shared trauma can contribute to anxiety, fear, sadness, and lack of engagement among learners leading to poor school attendance and diminished positive relationships. Therefore, it is incumbent on schools to design a supportive learning environment during experiences of shared trauma. The descriptive study presented illustrates a supportive…

As the nation transitions from responding to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to navigating its ongoing impact on youth and their communities, K-12 students continue to experience mental health and wellbeing challenges. In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time, district-employed mental health counselor in each…

Due to the increasing mental health needs of children, schools have been tasked with supporting academic and social emotional needs of students. One component of mental health and wellness that is growing in popularity in the school environment is social emotional learning, or SEL. This qualitative multiple case study explored factors influential…

Recess provides an opportunity to promote physical activity among schoolchildren. There is limited research on the effects of specific recess interventions, such as moveable equipment, physical structures, or painting playground, on motivational and affective-emotional variables. The study investigated the impact of a recess intervention based on…

The FRIENDS Resilience programs provide cognitive-behavioral skills across the developmental spectrum and can be applied as a universal or selective prevention program. In the current study, we assessed whether, relative to the schools' existing counseling curriculum ("guidance"), FRIENDS improved social skills, problem behaviors, and…

State and local officials must establish effective and supportive transition policies that recognize an ongoing process and include collaboration across ECE settings and elementary schools. This toolkit offers immediate steps needed to strengthen children's transition this coming year and beyond. [Additional funding for this toolkit from the…

Background: The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is mandated kindergarten to 12th grade in Pennsylvania schools to address barriers to student academic success. Following student referral, SAP teams use a systematic process to inform recommendations for school or community-based services. To evaluate program outcomes, a review of student SAP…

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the preliminary effects of a curriculum resource on elementary school children's social and emotional skills. In total, 98 Grade 3 children were randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group and evaluated before and after a 3-month implementation period. Experimental group showed…

Mental health, social-emotional disparity, and the woes of not self-regulating or controlling one's mental well-being are significant factors that educational institutions are fighting to manage daily. What common thread can be used to stitch or heal the emptiness that so many urban elementary school students experience on a given day? This…

Physical activity may benefit mental health, yet the potentially protective role of elementary school physical education (PE) on childhood mental health is unknown. The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of a specialist-taught PE program on indicators of childhood mental health. In this cluster-randomized controlled trial,…

Untreated mental health needs can have serious negative consequences for the life outcomes of children, including greater difficulty in performing well academically. Elementary schools have a unique opportunity to meet the mental health needs of students through early intervention. One model for the implementation of mental health services in the…

When evidence-based prevention programs are implemented in schools, adaptations are common. It is important to understand which adaptations can be made while maintaining positive outcomes for students. This preliminary study evaluated an abbreviated version of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) Curriculum implemented by…

School-based mental health services are a promising context for evidence-based interventions to promote early socio-emotional development, yet implementation presents significant challenges. This paper describes the rationale, content and format of a school-based intervention, Starting Strong in Kindergarten (Starting Strong). Starting Strong is a…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of an evidence-based treatment, the Incredible Years® (IY) Small Group Dina Dinosaur Treatment program, as delivered in elementary schools to address the needs of children in kindergarten through second grade with self-regulation difficulties. Adaptations for school-based delivery of 17…

The purposes of this study were to (a) assess the efficacy of a universal classroom-based mental health and social skills program for primary school students in Vietnam, and (b) given the universal nature of the intervention, assess outcomes as a function of risk status (high versus low). RECAP-VN is a semi-structured program that provides…