Student Well-Being
On this page, find resources and strategies for implementing a systems-level approach to student well-being, early intervention, tiered supports, and more.
Comprehensive Student Well-Being
Student emotional well-being starts with understanding the whole spectrum of supports – from universal to targeted to treatment. At its heart, it’s about creating a school environment where every student feels safe, valued, and able to cope with life’s ups and downs.
This approach combines school-wide strategies that support all students with individualized services for those who need extra help. Together, these supports develop emotional intelligence, build resilience, and respond to challenges as they arise. This approach means every student, not just some, has access to the tools, relationships, and support to thrive emotionally, socially, and academically.
Find information about understanding different school-based frameworks and how alignment can support a broader picture in the Aligning Frameworks section of our resource library.
(CDC) Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: An Action Guide for School and District Leaders
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/mental-health-action-guide/pdf/DASH_MH_Action_Guide_508.pdf
This action guide describes six in-school strategies that are proven to promote and support mental health and well-being. For each strategy, the guide also describes approaches, or specific ways to put the strategy into action, and examples of evidence-based policies, programs, and practices.
(Baker Center for Children and Families) Mental Health and Schools: Best Practices to Support Our Students Implications for Policy, Systems, and Practice
This report was developed to summarize the evidence to support mental health best practices in schools. It covers frameworks, evidence-based programs, and more.
Universal Student Supports (Tier 1) and Early Intervention
Universal supports are designed to reach every student, providing a foundation of mental health education, awareness, and prevention strategies to promote well-being across the entire school population. These supports aim to create a positive environment that nurtures students’ emotional and social skills and serves as a foundation for prevention and early intervention. This could include:
- Screening: Brief school-wide tools that help identify students who may need a closer look or additional support, like taking a temperature check.
- Social-Emotional Skills Development: Classroom activities that build emotional awareness, empathy, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
- Mental Health Literacy: Lessons and messaging that help students recognize signs of mental health concerns and know when and how to ask for help.
- Social Connectedness and School Climate: Enhancing connection and building community within the school through activities that promote respect and understanding among students and staff and encourage positive interactions across the school community.
(NCSMH) SHAPE School Mental Health Quality Guide: Mental Health Promotion Services & Supports (Tier 1)
https://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/media/som/microsites/ncsmh/documents/quality-guides/Tier-1.pdf
This guide provides background information, strategy recommendations, best practices, examples from the field, and more for health promotion and tier 1 services and supports.
Screening
Universal screening is a proactive way to check in on all students, like taking a temperature to see if something is off. It gives a broad view of who may be struggling with emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues that aren’t visible.
Find information and resources about screening in the Data-Driven Decision-Making section of our resource library.
(NACDD) Screening and Assessments Workbook
Coming soon!
This workbook is designed to help school teams plan, implement, and track both universal mental health screening and broader school health assessments. It guides teams through key decision points, timelines, and follow-up steps, and each tab provides structured space for collaboration, documentation, and accountability, making it easier to stay organized and aligned throughout the process.
(NCSMH) SHAPE School Mental Health Quality Guide: Screening
https://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/media/som/microsites/ncsmh/documents/quality-guides/Screening.pdf
This guide provides background information, strategy recommendations, best practices, examples from the field, and more for mental health screening and assessment in schools.
Social-Emotional Skills Development
Social-emotional learning equips students with the skills needed to name and respond to emotions, strengthen their sense of connectedness, form and nurture healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions for themselves and in support of others.
(CASEL) Guide to Social-Emotional Learning
https://schoolguide.casel.org/
This comprehensive guide equips school administrators and staff with the information, resources, and tools needed for systems-level implementation of SEL.
(CASEL) District Resource Center
A resource hub for research, information, strategies, and examples from districts across the country for effective SEL integration and implementation
(CASEL) 3 Signature Practices
https://signaturepractices.casel.org/
Three evidence-based practices that serve as an on-ramp for integrating SEL into daily practices that foster collaborative and supportive learning and working.
Mental Health Literacy
Mental health literacy supports students in understanding how to care for their minds, recognize signs of mental health conditions, and how to treat them, and let go of the shame often linked to these issues.
(CDC) Increasing Students' Mental Healthy Literacy
Returning soon!
Information, strategies, considerations, and example programming to support mental health literacy in schools.
(Mental Health Literacy Collaborative) Resource Center
https://www.themhlc.org/resources
This organization has several resources to promote mental health literacy, including an advocacy toolkit, low-cost trainings, and opportunities to network with others working on promoting mental health education.
Additional Tools and Resources
(Mental Health Instruction) Mental Health Literacy Programs: This resource library highlights high-quality mental health education curricula, tools, and other resources for educators focused on mental health literacy.
(Mental Health Technology Transfer Network) Classroom WISE – Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators: Classroom WISE is a no-cost 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators and school staff in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom.
Social Connectedness and School Climate
A safe and supportive school environment, where everyone feels welcomed and connected, gives students a space to grow, play, and learn, creates the conditions for students to build confidence, form positive relationships, and develop the skills they need to thrive both in and out of the classroom.
(CDC) School Connectedness
https://www.cdc.gov/youth-behavior/school-connectedness/index.html
School connectedness reflects students’ belief that peers and adults in the school support, value, and care about their individual well-being as well as their academic progress. It is an important protective factor that promotes the health and well-being of students. This webpage provides data and best practices to promote school connectedness.
(Foundation for Social Connection) Action Guide for Building Socially Connected Communities
https://action4connection.org/
An interactive tool for building knowledge of social connection, assessing the condition of social connection in your context, and convening a team to advance meaningful actions towards fostering connection.
Additional Tools and Resources
(National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments) School Climate Resource Package: This package includes resources for schools and school districts to support improving school climate.
(National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments) Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package: The Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package offers school and district administrators and staff a framework and roadmap for adopting a trauma-sensitive approach school- or district-wide.
(EdResearch for Action) Strengthening School Connectedness to Increase Student Success: This report summarizes research on the value of school connectedness and provides evidence-based strategies for schools to build within their own communities.
Tiered Student Supports (Tier 2 and Tier 3)
Tiered supports introduce additional layers of intervention that are progressively more intensive, based on the specific needs of students. Tiered supports typically include targeted support for students who show signs of struggling and intensive support for those with significant mental health challenges. This approach ensures that while every student benefits from a baseline level of support, those who need more specialized or intensive help receive it in a timely and effective manner. This could include:
- Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) Programs: A targeted intervention where students start and end the day checking in with an adult mentor, helping them to set and review goals for their emotional and behavioral progress.
- Social Skills Groups: Organizing sessions that focus on building specific social skills, such as making friends, managing conflict, and understanding social cues.
- Individual Counseling: Providing one-on-one counseling with a qualified mental health professional to address specific emotional or behavioral issues.
- Wraparound Services: Coordinating a comprehensive support system that involves school professionals, families, and community resources to address the multifaceted needs of the student.
Find information and resources for identifying evidence-based clearinghouses and interventions that meet your needs in the Effective Implementation section of our resource library.
(NCSMH) SHAPE School Mental Health Quality Guide: Early Intervention & Treatment Services & Supports (Tiers 2 & 3)
This guide provides background information, strategy recommendations, best practices, examples from the field, and more for early intervention, treatment, and tier 2 and 3 services and supports.
Additional Tools and Resources
(American School Counselor Association) The School Counselor and Student Mental Health: Collection of research, resources, and reports on the impact of school counseling on student well-being.
(National Wraparound Initiative) Wraparound Basics or What Is Wraparound – An Introduction: Introductory information on wraparound services, including videos, resources, and more.
Contact Us
For questions or more information, connect with us.
Heidi Milby, MPH
Associate Director, Center for Advancing Healthy Communities
hmilby@chronicdisease.org