The Boulder Valley School District is partnering with the Renee Crown Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder to research the effectiveness of its mental health programs as it grapples with increased needs coupled with reduced funding.
The school board heard an update at its Tuesday meeting on mental health and social-emotional supports, including the new research partnership. District officials said about $1.4 million in grant funding for mental health supports is ending, while Mental Health Partners and the district are ending a longstanding partnership to provide services.
Deputy Superintendent Lora de la Cruz said the district is looking to “pause, reflect and learn” through the research partnership as it makes decisions on the best ways to continue to meet student needs.
“We are really at a critical juncture right now,” she said.
Superintendent Rob Anderson added that he’s heard varying ideas on how to address mental health needs, but the consistent message he hears is a need for more support.
“This is a problem that school districts across the country are facing,” Anderson said. “You have increased needs in social-emotional health, mental health, mental wellness. My assumption would be many districts, just like us, have jumped to the solution because the need was so great post-pandemic without having a real design to decide what works and what doesn’t work.”
Tammy Lawrence, a Boulder Valley student support services director, said the district relies heavily on grants and community partnerships to provide mental health support.
Those partnerships include working with RISE Against Suicide, which provides therapy sessions free of charge to low-income students. Impact on Education also is paying for four mental health advocates at schools impacted by the Marshall Fire, as well as providing the funding for the district to open wellness centers in six high schools.
CU Boulder’s Renee Crown Institute is currently evaluating the wellness centers. So far, students have visited the centers 11,279 times. Generally, students report an improvement in their moods after visiting.
“It’s a universal level of support for our students,” Lawrence said. “It’s open to anyone who would like to visit them.”
She said increased costs combined with a reduction in funding from Boulder County Public Health led to the decision to end the prevention intervention program through Mental Health Partners. Mental Health Partners provided the staff for the program, which is funded mainly by the school district, Boulder and Boulder County.
“Financially, it just became challenging,” Lawrence said.
This school year, the program provided services to students in 10 schools. Services included educational presentations, peer counseling, restorative justice, suicide prevention, mediation programs, assessments and crisis intervention.
Lawrence said the district is continuing to work with Mental Health Partners on ways to collaborate for the coming school year.
“All of us want to support students in the best way possible,” she said.
In other business, the school board approved a $1.8 million contract to buy security cameras to install inside K-8 and middle schools.
The district previously installed security cameras inside its high schools, at the request of principals, using money from its 2014 capital construction bond issue. Based on positive feedback from the high schools, district officials said, middle schools principals also requested cameras.
High school principals reported fewer student discipline issues, saying cameras deter misbehavior. Cameras also helped identify bullies and students in altercations, reducing the time it takes to investigate issues and helping separate fact from fiction, according to high school principals.
