NCSMH Friends & Colleagues,
The National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine was awarded the National Initiative to Advance Health Equity in K-12 Education by Preventing Chronic Disease and Promoting Healthy Behaviors: Priority 2-Emotional Well-Being, Cooperative Agreement. Through this 5-year, $1.9 million, cooperative agreement awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Schools Branch, the NCSMH will work with states and school districts across the U.S. to advance healthy equity in K-12 schools, with a focus on mental health and emotional well-being. This work will use an equity-driven approach, Community of Practice and quality improvement best practices, and multi-level learning and collaboration, including collaboration with youth leaders to elevate their voices and engage them as leaders in advancing emotional well-being for all youth.
Dr. Jill Bohnenkamp, Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, noted that, “now, more than ever, we need to ensure that all students have access to school environments that promote mental health and well-being. We are honored to be awarded this cooperative agreement and work with the CDC Healthy Schools Branch, school communities across the U.S., and national, state and local partners, to support the mental health and well-being of students, educators and families, with a focus on driving equity and youth leadership in this work.”
Dr. Tiffany Beason, Co-Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, expressed that "this is an exciting opportunity to empower youth voice and leadership in health equity work by engaging youth as collaborative leaders in promoting health within their communities."
As a part of this cooperative agreement, the NCSMH will launch the CDC Healthy Schools Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Emotional Well-Being Learning Community (WSCC Emotional Well-Being LC), a network of CDC Healthy Schools SEAs, districts, and schools committed to improving emotional well-being for youth in communities that are socially and economically marginalized, and disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and the risk factors that cause them. The WSCC Emotional Well-Being LC will provide a comprehensive model of professional development, technical assistance, dissemination, partnerships and implementation support. All WSCC Emotional Well-Being LC professional development trainings and resources will be available through an online learning platform for any school system to access in an effort to advance health equity and engage youth leaders around emotional well-being.
The NCSMH is thrilled to be partnering with the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) on this initiative, a leading organization and a trusted source for high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional policy and practices in K-12 schools.
Karen VanAusdal, Senior Director of Practice at CASEL shared, "Social and emotional learning is an essential component of every child’s healthy development and education. I can't imagine a more critical moment to be engaging with leaders from across the layers of the education ecosystem to ensure we are attending to the wellness and thriving of our young people and educators"
We are currently accepting applications for CDC Healthy Schools States to participate in the learning collaborative for the 2022-2023 school year. If you are a CDC Healthy Schools state, please contact the project manager, Dr. Katie Trainor (Ktrainor@som.umaryland.edu) for more information about applying to the learning collaborative.
Thank you,
The NCSMH Team
