Mental Health Collaborative supports local schools

The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia School Mental Health Collaborative was established in 2020 to understand and address the critical mental health needs of Redwood City students and their families.

This collaborative — a research-practice partnership among the Gardner Center, the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, the Redwood City School District, and Sequoia Union High School District — grew out of Stanford's long history of partnering with Redwood City and has been funded by Stanford’s Office of Community Engagement.

The challenge

In response to local school districts’ urgent desire to build their capacity to understand and support student mental health, the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia School Mental Health Collaborative was initiated in January 2020. Just a few months later, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth mental health became a national public health crisis and in turn moved from a peripheral to a central function of schools.

Now, in 2024, district leaders continue to navigate the cascading effects of lost attendance, enrollment, and learning time alongside delayed social-emotional development and increased childhood trauma from the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the pandemic has taken a particularly heavy toll on youth and families who are already vulnerable, including youth with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, LBGTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities.

The solution

The Mental Health Collaborative brings together Gardner Center researchers, mental health experts, and school leaders to:

Build the district's capacity to sustain and expand school mental health support
Improve the quality and availability of school mental health support
Convene key parties — including youth, educators, and faculty — for conversations around student and staff mental health
Tackle specific mental health challenges that impede student success, like a lack of belonging when transitioning to high school
Provide academic and service-learning opportunities for Stanford students, researchers, and clinicians

Key takeaways

Youth and family mental health continues to be a top public health concern, but several factors — including a dynamic fiscal environment — make it hard for district leaders to navigate decisions that impact school-based mental health support.

A collaborative approach that includes partners who deeply trust one another and who bring a range of expertise — including medical, education, and community expertise — has been critical to advance learning and supports that serve Redwood City youth and their families.

Building district capacity to support youth mental health and wellbeing involves technical and normative changes in district systems, school settings, and individuals.

This work involves deep collaboration, continuous inquiry, and steady engagement.