Apply Now: San Antonio Advancing School Safety and Student Wellness Learning Community

Apply for this premier learning experience to advance school safety and student wellness in your district.

Our Challenge

Districts are seeing a variety of concerning trends, including:

• Increases in student aggression, anxiety, depression, grief, and loss
• Challenges with supporting the mental well-being of school staff
• A decline in academic performance among students
• Significant increases in disciplinary infractions resulting in suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to community providers

Challenging student behavior, if left unaddressed, contributes to a multitude of negative educational and life outcomes, including:

• Lower Academic Achievement
• Lost Instructional Time
• Higher Absenteeism
• Lower Sense of Belonging at School
• Decreased Engagement
• Increased Teacher Stress and Burnout

In addition, findings from the most recent 2023 Charles Butt Foundation Texas Teacher Poll found that Texas teachers rated “support for teachers in handling student discipline” as the number one challenge and priority when asked what steps campus administrators could take to create a more positive work environment.

Currently, no space exists for regional district leaders to learn together and collaboratively solve problems related to the impact of punitive and exclusionary discipline practices.

Our Solution

Building a districtwide infrastructure based on prevention, data, and collaboration can help reduce the use of exclusionary discipline and is critical to improving student well-being and academic achievement.

Join the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for a 10-month, premier learning experience that effectively equips school districts with evidence-based tools and strategies to reduce exclusionary discipline. This opportunity is provided free of cost to all participating districts thanks to the generous support of our partner, Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Who Should Apply

This opportunity is targeted toward district executives and student support leaders responsible for the development and implementation of school mental health and school discipline systems. District leaders in San Antonio and Region 20 ESC are invited to come together to learn and solve problems related to student behavior and school discipline. Each district is encouraged to include up to 5 participants.

Submit your application today

Learning Community Details

Timeline

Executive Learning Community members will attend 10 three-hour, in-person sessions from June 2024 to April 2025. The Meadows Institute will work closely with Learning Community participants to develop a meeting schedule responsive to district needs.

Who We Are

Independent and nonpartisan, the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute works at the intersection of policy and programs to create equitable systemic changes so all people in Texas, the nation, and the world can obtain the health care they need.

We are a nonprofit organization that works closely with districts across Texas building sustainable mental and behavioral health systems that serve all students and educators. Our team of school mental health experts includes former school and district leaders, mental and behavioral health systems leadership, licensed clinical professionals, evaluation experts, policy analysts, and more.

Meadows Institute staff support the San Antonio Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative (SAMMWC), which is a school-based mental wellness program that brings local nonprofit organizations together to provide much-needed services to school districts for students, as well as their families, teachers, and staff members. SAMMWC aims to remove transportation, language, and stigma barriers around mental wellness by bringing varied mental wellness services, such as counseling and education, straight to school district communities.

The Meadows Institute is uniquely positioned to put school mental health research, policy, and best practices into action—and into the hands of educators who do the work and need help building systems that support their students and staff.

Executive Learning Community member benefits include:

• A year-long cohort learning experience
• A curated, evidence-based, professional learning curriculum developed by school mental health experts at the Meadows Institute and its network of partner organizations
• Access to an exclusive peer-learning space to collaborate, innovate, and implement with district leaders facing similar challenges
• Support developing an action plan to address district needs

Curriculum topics are tailored to the needs of each learning community. They are addressed from the lens of school discipline and reducing exclusionary discipline. Topics include:

• Brain Science
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
• Harnessing the Power of Data to Reduce Exclusionary Discipline
• Funding and Sustainability
• Trauma and Grief
• Educator Wellness

Questions?

For more information please contact:
Melissa True, M.Ed., Director of the Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative | [email protected]

Special Thanks

We are grateful for the partnership and generous philanthropic support of: