Strengthening Supports for Teen Mental Health in San Mateo County
What were the study’s key findings? Was there anything that surprised the partners?

One important finding is that schools are experiencing increased prevalence and greater complexity of student mental health needs across all ages (K-12) and across the socio-economic spectrum.

This struck us as important because the public discourse around student mental health often frames it as an adolescent issue connected to academic pressure and the pursuit of admission to a prestigious colleges or university.

While this may be the case for some students, our data remind us that student mental health is inextricably linked to a wide range of school and non-school factors — for example, family economic pressures or immigration concerns. It affects students of all ages and all demographics, and often reflects a confluence of variables rather than one specific issue.

How are schools supporting students with such needs? It varies. We found a number of promising strategies; however, we also found that within schools and across districts they are typically not yet connected in ways that create a comprehensive or integrated system of support.

We also found that most resources dedicated to mental health support tend to go to what participants described as “crisis management” — reacting and responding to students who present with the most acute mental health needs — rather than proactively cultivating the mental health and well-being of all students.

In terms of next steps, the findings indicate that in addition to bolstering schools’ immediate capacity to serve students who need mental health support, there is also a need to develop a more systemic approach to promote the mental health and well-being of all students and strengthen continuity of care across grades, schools, and districts. Our research brief highlights many opportunities for advancing this work and we are already seeing participating districts use the findings to inform their thinking and their planning.

We know from our interviews that those who work with and on behalf of students care deeply about students’ mental health, and we witnessed the urgency that they feel to make sure schools are settings that support student well-being.

While schools cannot meet students’ needs alone, they are an important part of the ecosystem serving children and youth, and so it makes sense that we would invest in strengthening the system of support provided within and across districts. We look to advancing this work with our district and community partners, and discovering together how it will unfold.
['John W. Gardner Center']
['Bay Area', 'Mental Health', 'Youth Development', 'Education Research']