Initiative led by Brown researchers boosts mental health support in R.I. public schools

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - K-12 schools serve as crucial access points for youth mental health awareness and support, but practical challenges - from training resources and funding to curriculum and time demands - can present barriers for school districts to deliver those services.

The Student Mental Health Network, a new program led by the Evidence in Action - Rhode Island team at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, has been working with 11 public school districts in the state during the 2025-26 school year to help their leaders identify areas of concern and implement effective mental health supports for students.

Delivered through one-on-one coaching and group learning for school leaders and clinicians, the program served educators in districts enrolling more than 40% of all public school students in Rhode Island, according to Brenda Santos, director of the institute's Rhode Island research partnerships and networks.

Kyle Quadros, director of social-emotional learning for the Woonsocket Education Department, said the collaboration is enabling the district to bridge the gap between having resources and successfully harnessing them.

"When you're in what is regarded as a high-needs district like Woonsocket, there are many different resources and supports, but figuring out how that fits into the puzzle of benefiting students can be tricky at times," Quadros said "This partnership has helped to streamline some of the implementation processes that we were lagging in. We received a high level of expertise from the program, both in content knowledge of student mental health and in implementation knowledge, and it's really hard to find the two pieces together."

The initiative, which launched in September 2025, is one of the Annenberg Institute's many research-practice partnerships with local schools. All are designed to address pressing educational challenges, from attendance patterns and interventions, to math instruction and outcomes.

"We aim to help leaders, including superintendents and members of their teams, build systems that are strong and can weather challenges, especially when resources are scarce," Santos said. "Annenberg is a research and policy institute, so we focus on helping them access and think about what the evidence says about a particular challenge."

To develop the Student Mental Health Network, Annenberg scholars collaborated with the Warren Alpert Medical School's BRIDGE Program, which helps bring research into practice. The goal was to empower district leaders to identify mental health-related challenges specific to their schools and develop customized solutions.

The initiative focuses on supporting four key areas: screening and identification; team processes; school-based interventions; and connections to community resources.

"Rather than bringing in specific interventions, we help leaders access evidence-based research to think about: What does this mean for me and my system?" Santos said. "We believe that helping people get better at their jobs involves doing the work not for them but alongside them, so we set goals together and work to implement their initiatives."

Brown University assistant professors of psychiatry and human behavior Ruben Martinez and Hannah Frank provide monthly one-on-one coaching to district leaders.

Martinez and Quadros meet regularly to develop strategies for improving mental health support in Woonsocket schools. One of the challenges they identified was the need for better communication with parents about signs of mental health issues among youth and resources available through the schools. To address this, they are developing materials for parents, including informational videos on topics like suicidal ideation and anxiety.

"We hope this effort will help us overcome what principals have identified as a sense of distrust that some parents may have with the school system," Quadros said. "We're trying to think really strategically around engagement points for families."

Quadros and Martinez are also working to improve the use of information collected from universal mental health screenings, such as identifying specific grade levels in which students may be most at risk.

"A lot of what students and educators face is internal and difficult to see," Martinez said. "That makes it hard to know who needs help and when. Our goal is to help districts identify students who need additional support and connect them and their families to help as quickly as possible. That looks different in every district, and that's exactly why this work must be collaborative."

Another aspect of the program offers monthly training and networking sessions that bring district leaders together as a cohort to learn together and share challenges and strategies. Sessions have included research reviews of best practices, as well as education on topics like identifying signs of anxiety and trauma.

The Student Mental Health Network stems from the Annenberg Institute's ongoing collaboration with the Rhode Island Superintendents Association, which identified support for mental health as a high priority for the state's public schools, Santos said. The researchers from Annenberg and BRIDGE will assess progress, and ultimately the outcomes will be shared with other education researchers and districts, she added.

In the upcoming 2026-27 academic year, the project will continue with 11 districts - 10 returning members and one new one. Participants are expected to include Barrington Public Schools, Chariho Regional School District, Cranston Public School District, East Greenwich Public Schools, Jamestown School Department, Middletown Public Schools, Newport Public Schools, Pawtucket School District, Providence Public School Department, Tiverton School District, and Woonsocket Education Department.