Children's health and educational achievements are influenced by many of the characteristics and conditions of the environments in which they live, such as a family's socioeconomic status, food access, access to social services, and experiences with racism or discrimination. Schools, together with school-based health centers (SBHCs) and comprehensive school mental health systems (CSMHSs), are well-positioned to help overcome these obstacles in order to promote children's achievement, social-emotional development, and overall well-being.

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, the School-Based Health Alliance, and the National Center for School Mental Health are pleased to announce the release of "Understanding Social Influencers of Health and Education: A Role for School-Based Health Centers and Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems." This new brief highlights the impact of social influencers on student learning and well-being and outlines important ways that school health service systems can work to address these factors in order to support the needs of students and their families and improve their academic and health outcomes. 

You can find the brief and learn more here.

For any questions or correspondence related to this brief, please reach out to chhcs@gwu.edu.

-National Center for School Mental Health