ARLINGTON, Texas — Through an alliance Texas Health created, an initiative implemented in more than a dozen North Texas school districts in 2022 to help them develop and improve their mental health programs is now expanding to other districts in the region.

In 2022, Texas Health provided a $200,000 grant to help the Meadows Institute launch its first ELC.

Texas Health and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (the Meadows Institute) have developed two new School Mental Health Executive Learning Communities (ELCs). These ELCs bring senior school district officials together for monthly training sessions, in-depth discussions, and important collaborations to effectively implement school mental health programming and improve student outcomes, wellbeing and academic achievement.

“Schools are on the front lines dealing with the impact of this youth mental health crisis, so it’s vital that we equip districts with the tools, training and the networking needed to adequately support these students and educators,” said David Tesmer, chief community and public policy officer for Texas Health. “Texas Health is committed to our Mission of improving the health of the people in the communities we serve, and by expanding this initiative, we’ll be able to reach, help and support these students earlier in their lives when they need it most.”

Participants in the newest North Texas ELC, which began in February, are Allen ISD, Bland ISD, Community ISD, Farmersville ISD, Kaufman ISD, Kemp ISD, Lovejoy ISD, McKinney ISD, Mesquite ISD, Princeton ISD and Wylie ISD.

Discussion topics include recognizing signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses, preventing suicide, addressing trauma and grief, implementing evidence-based depression screening tools and school interventions, multitiered systems of support and staff wellbeing and support.

In May, Texas Health and the Meadows Institute will launch a new Advancing School Safety and Student Wellness ELC in Tarrant County focused on school discipline reform. That ELC will teach strategies for addressing challenging behaviors in a way that supports student mental health, rather than focusing on punitive responses, like removing children from the classroom, which can inhibit their continued learning and socialization.

“By joining forces in the Executive Learning Communities, district leaders throughout North Texas are sharing best practices and working together to build more inclusive and supportive school environments so that all students can thrive academically and benefit from more effective, equitable and non-exclusionary approaches,” said Andy Keller, president and chief executive officer of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.

Background on ELC

Studies have shown the mental health of children and teens has increasingly worsened in recent years, with suicide rates on the rise for some ages. One in five U.S. children has a mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental disorder, and half of all mental health conditions manifest by age 14, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In 2022, Texas Health provided a $200,000 grant to help the Meadows Institute launch its first ELC in 19 districts in North Texas: Dallas, Grand Prairie, Richardson, Rockwall, Uplift Education, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Coppell, Crandall, Garland, Golden Rule Charter Schools, Greenhill School, Highland Park, International Leadership of Texas, Irving, Royce City, Sunnyvale, Trinity Basin Preparatory, Waco and Waxahachie.

Richardson ISD leaders said the program provided invaluable expertise and resources, fostered a culture of positive collaboration among departments and allowed the district to develop community alliances to better support students’ mental and behavioral health challenges.

"Through our affiliation with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and Texas Health Resources, we've undertaken a transformative journey, examining our systems of practice, uncovering gaps and effecting real change for our students,” said Summer Martin, Richardson ISD’s executive director of counseling and prevention services. “Engaging in the Executive Learning Community, we've forged invaluable connections with colleagues from diverse districts, exchanging ideas and strategically planning both immediate and enduring solutions."

The initiative’s success and the increasing demand for student and educator mental health support later prompted the Meadows Institute to launch other ELCs across the state in 2023.

The two new ELCs in North Texas are supported through a fundraising campaign by the Texas Health Resources Foundation. Texas Health’s Community Impact team helped identify high[1]need school districts for inclusion in the ELCs and will also lead some of the training sessions and discussions.