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…

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) spent over two decades researching the importance of social and learning (SEL). CASEL's (2020b) research revealed that the implementation of evidence-based SEL programs led to an 11% gain in student achievement, fewer behavior issues, reduced dropout rates, and decreases in mental…

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…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events occurring in the household or community that hold painful or distressing outcomes for children immediately and in their future (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). School counselors work with children and young adolescents suffering from negative mental health…

As California's elementary schools reopen after prolonged physical closure due to COVID-19, attention to healing the school community will be essential. Although there is wide variation in the timing and formats with which schools plan to reopen, it is clear that when students reenter school buildings they will be eager to reconnect with friends…

Background: The experiences of youth with intersecting LGBTQ+ and Asian American (AA) identities have been largely unexplored. This study explored these experiences of LGBTQ+ AA California youth with mental health, school climate, and school victimization. Methods: Drawing from the 2016-2017 California Healthy Kids Survey (N = 326,124), this study…

Universal screening for mental health in preschools provides the opportunity for early identification and early intervention, but guidance regarding which informants to use is needed. Preschoolers' (N = 535) parent and teacher reports across two screening forms were analyzed to determine similarities and discrepancies for classification results…

The current study explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived work-related stress and coping strategies among K-5 public school teachers in the state of California. A phenomenological approach was used to examine the unique experience of public-school teachers during the 2020-2021 pandemic school year. Criterion sampling included…

The purpose of this collective case study was to examine elementary music teachers' mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research questions were: 1) What factors influenced music teachers' mental health and well-being during COVID-19; 2) How did music teachers support their own mental health and well-being during…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to shift to virtual or hybrid instruction, thrusting young adolescents into a very different educational environment. Stage-environment fit theory outlines ways in which educational contexts may, or may not, meet the developmental needs of young adolescents. Yet little is known about how virtual environments…

Introduction: The investigation of school belonging is crucial due to its established significant associations with mental health, academic achievement, and risky behaviours coupled with the limited research documenting the configurations of children's school belonging experiences. Objective: This study sought to better understand elementary…

To understand how parents adapted to virtual learning expectations during the initial COVID-19 school closures in spring 2020, this study investigated families' daily activities, including parents' emotions and their appraisals of the value of daily activities across two timepoints. Thirty-two parent-child dyads (Mean child age = 78 months, 50%…

Utilizing a school-based sample of 895,218 students aged 10-18 years old, we examine differences in students' school functioning, substance use, and mental health in schools with and without Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). In addition, we examine whether GSA presence is associated with these outcomes for students of color and LGBTQ students.…

The research featured in this paper is part of the CORE-PACE Research Partnership, which is focused on producing research that informs continuous improvement in the CORE districts as well as policy and practice in California and beyond. Since spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been abruptly interrupting regular instruction in almost all…

To address lingering pressures in the aftermath of the pandemic, California public schools received record funding, largely bolstered by nearly $60 billion in federal and state one-time stimulus funds. This report takes a comprehensive look at the allocation and uses of these federal and state educational recovery funds in California.