Across the United States, the number of children with mental health conditions has continued to rise. However, access and utilization of mental health services vary greatly. School-based mental health complements comprehensive school counseling and provides an opportunity for K-12 students to receive needed treatment they may not otherwise have…

In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time, district-employed mental health counselor in each of its twelve schools in order to bolster district capacity to support student mental health and wellbeing. Stanford's John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (Gardner Center) conducted a Year 1…

Social/emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices have gained momentum across the state of Indiana in recent years in response to the changing needs of students and families. Many school communities have adopted SEL due to the heightened challenges posed by students impacted by trauma or chronic stress. As schools began to adopt SEL programs…

In response to a gap in the literature and to inform school counseling practice, we conducted a phenomenological study of school counselors in five states and 10 school districts, examining their experiences with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in pre-K--12 schools. Overall, school counselors communicated challenges in their…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to the current incidence of mental health challenges among youth by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs. The plan…

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…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to this moment of crisis by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs." The plan for achieving this goal includes…

This descriptive, intrinsic case study explored a transformative leadership professional development opportunity designed for school counselors in a large, urban school district. Interviews with 19 participating school counselors provided increased understanding of school counselors' beliefs, skills, and agency regarding leadership and…

Scholars have explored the impact of comprehensive school counseling programs on student outcomes, including those programs that garnered the RAMP (Recognized ASCA [American School Counselor Association] Model Program) designation. A surfeit of empirical examinations of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) outcomes also are…

The preceding articles provide important examples and guidance for the provision of high-quality behavioral health services for children and adolescents in schools. In this article, we discuss (a) the conceptual framework that underlies the need to develop comprehensive integrated care, (b) the foundational implementation issues that need to be…

Government guidance in 2008 endorsed the "Targeting Mental Health in Schools" (TaMHS) agenda, which sets out to promote mental health in schools through the delivery of universal and targeted interventions. This paper initially defines mental health and outlines the TaMHS initiative. It then offers empirical findings from four focus…

Homeless youth in the United States is rapidly increasing with more children living in unstable or temporary environments. They may encounter difficulties meeting enrollment requirements, have poor attendance, low academic performance, and experience behavioral and emotional issues. The reauthorization of McKinney-Vento Act (MCKV) in 2002 was…

Although writing plays an important role in the academic, psychosocial, and economic success of individuals, typical writing instruction and assessment in the United States generally does not reflect evidence-based practices. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a great deal of emphasis on written expression and may encourage an increased…

This packet of materials was developed for workshops provided to teams of school counselors and administrators for the purpose of developing knowledge and competencies in the delivery of a comprehensive, sequential, developmental guidance program. Section I contains a rationale, definition, and description of program components. In section II…

The ASCA National Model reflects a comprehensive approach to program foundation, delivery, management and accountability. The model provides the mechanism with which school counselors and school counseling teams will design, coordinate, implement, manage and evaluate their programs for students' success. The publication provides a framework for…