Educators' Guide to School Mental Health

Written for busy K–12 educators, this book is packed with easy-to-implement strategies for supporting students' mental health during everyday teaching and learning. Equally important, it empowers school personnel to care for their own mental health. The book seamlessly integrates research with practical applications. Organized into sections on promotion, prevention, and responding to specific mental health challenges, chapters feature helpful vignettes, reflection questions, and planning tips. Preservice and inservice educators will walk away equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to promote mental health in their classrooms and schools.

Jessica B. Koslouski, PhD, is Assistant Research Professor in the Neag School of Education and Codirector of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Koslouski has specialty training in child and adolescent social, emotional, and behavioral development. She is particularly interested in how contextual assets and barriers affect student and educator well-being and success. Her scholarship focuses on supporting educators in using evidence-based practices, improving school-based assessment tools, and increasing access to evidence-based mental health interventions. Dr. Koslouski partners with schools to create effective, feasible, and contextually relevant solutions to persistent challenges. Prior to a career in academia, she worked in public schools as an elementary special education teacher.

Kristabel Stark, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services, where she teaches courses in undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation programs. Dr. Stark’s scholarly interests include teachers’ emotional experiences and mental health, special education workforce issues, and the development and training of new special educators. Her current research is informed by her prior experiences as a special educator in Chicago and her partnerships with schools in the greater Boston and Washington, DC, areas.

Sandra M. Chafouleas, PhD, is Distinguished Professor in the Neag School of Education and Codirector of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Chafouleas is a licensed psychologist with specialty training in school psychology and expertise in education settings and child development. Her scholarly focus includes social, emotional, and behavioral promotion and risk; evaluating responsiveness to supports critical to learning, health, and well-being; and understanding influences on use of particular strategies. Dr. Chafouleas regularly serves as a national presenter and invited speaker and has received awards including an American Psychological Association Presidential Citation.