A group of three mental health organizations has launched a free, web-based resource to help school districts across the country select and use technology to improve student well-being.
The K-12 Mental Health Tech Navigator, which went live Oct. 3, offers a step-by-step guide on how to choose the right intervention, from assessing student needs to developing a funding strategy to implementing the solution.
It was created by Headstream, an innovation program focused on adolescent well-being, in collaboration with the Jed Foundation (JED), a national nonprofit focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention, and the Texas-based Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
The Navigator comes as educators and policymakers grapple with a persistent and severe youth mental health crisis.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 40 percent of high school students said they had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year.
Meanwhile, fewer than half of public schools—48 percent—report that they can effectively meet students’ mental health needs, according to a March School Pulse survey from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Tony Walker, the senior vice president of academic programs for JED, said he often hears from district leaders that they want to do more to help students’ mental health but they don’t always know how to do it.
The Navigator will hopefully help those districts that are struggling to get started, he said.
It provides “neat and powerful considerations that are built into this toolkit to make sure that from start to finish, all of those details are really thought through,” said David Ball, the senior director for Headstream.
The tool has a roadmap that schools and districts can follow:
- First, assess student needs. This step includes setting up a task force, gathering student data, and cataloging existing services.
- Plan for community engagement. This should be ongoing throughout the selection and implementation process.
- Select relevant products. This includes looking into privacy and safety policies of the tools, whether they have demonstrated evidence of outcomes, and whether they are accessible to all learners.
- Develop a funding strategy. This means assessing the budget needs and understanding what funding sources are available, from the district budget to state and federal grants to philanthropic funding.
- Lastly, implement and evaluate the selected tool. This step walks districts through planning the implementation, training staff on how to use it, and evaluating the tool’s performance.
There are case studies for every step, as well, “to provide real-life insight into what this looks like and sounds like and feels like,” Walker said.
For instance, a case study from Rim of the World Unified, a small rural district in California, shows the importance of conducting a full needs assessment. An analysis of community, family, and student feedback, along with performance data, showed the need for solutions to boost student engagement, build trusting student and family relationships with the school, and provide more mental health support.
Psychologists raise concerns about the new mental health service
But psychologists emphasize that the service must make sure its advice is based on proven research.
“While it is commendable to create innovative ways to provide and organize resources, we must ensure that these efforts are evidence-based and provide only reliable, proven interventions to young people in need of mental health supports,” said a statement from the National Association of School Psychologists.
The Navigator does have a list of products districts can buy, but the organizations that developed the tool note that being on the list shouldn’t be seen as a recommendation.
“Since users may not be trained to discern which interventions are valid and effective for different populations, we would caution schools regarding the use of such platforms without professionals like school psychologists to help navigate this information,” said the statement from NASP.
