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  • Tackling the student mental health crisis in rural Central Valley

    Tackling the student mental health crisis in rural Central Valley


    Credit: Pexels / RDNE Stock project

    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    Born and raised in the agricultural foothills of Tulare County in California’s Central Valley, Greg Salcedo attended the only K-8 school and high school serving his rural town of about 3,000 people, where everything seemed out of reach — backpacks and notebooks, teachers and administrators and, in particular, school counselors and social workers. 

    Friends and family, Salcedo said, never spoke about adolescent depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress or suicide, issues that have, for decades, disproportionately affected rural, high-poverty communities in the United States. 

    But after the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated a decades-long mental health problem in Tulare County — with psychiatric hospitalization rates for students 9 to 13 years old climbing 23% during the first year of the pandemic — Salcedo decided to pursue a master’s degree in social work. In his first year as a graduate student, he helped shape the county’s emergency response through Rural Access to Mental Health Professionals, a program that placed him as a student mental health support worker in schools serving his community. 

    “I was able to talk to students and set them up with resources, call parents to set them up for therapy referrals or services with outside agencies [and] do a lot of outreach to promote mental health,” Salcedo said. “Being in this community for so long has helped me have a better sense of empathy and understanding of these kids and what they’re going through.” 

    The program places early-career mental health workers in 33 of Tulare County’s high-poverty school districts. Through the program, Salcedo served a one-year unpaid internship at an elementary and high school in Tulare, after which he was hired full time as a social worker at a high school in the Tulare Joint Union High School District.

    Participants are first- and second-year graduate students in social work who provide education-related services such as interim therapy and student group services, according to Marvin Lopez, executive director at the California Center on Teaching Careers, which helps coordinate the program. Since 2019, the center has supported 50 candidates through a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. 

    “In our district alone, we started out with three social workers last year, and now, we have seven new social workers that came on through the grant,” Salcedo said. 

    In 2019, Tulare County had a student-to-counselor ratio of about 870:1 — one of the highest in the state and well exceeding the recommended ratio of 250:1. 

    Since then, the state has embarked on a historic, five-year, $4.6 billion initiative to expand school-based mental health support through programs such as the Certified Wellness Coach workforce and the CalHOPE Student Support and Schools Initiative. 

    Districts in Tulare County have improved shortages of mental health providers using funds from the state. Tulare Joint Union High School District, for example, reported that the district’s student-to-counselor ratio improved significantly from 300 students per counselor in 2019 to 268 students per counselor in 2021. 

    But, few participants could afford to stay in the school-based mental health field after completing their unpaid placements, said Lopez. 

    “It became evident that we needed to support candidates to make sure we retain them,” Lopez said. “We began looking at resources like clinical supervision and additional training, but also financial incentives that can allow them to continue working at school sites.”

    Last year, the center secured a $15 million federal grant to develop Preparing Rural Inclusive Mental Health Educators, a program that pays final-year graduate students a $45,000 stipend for a yearlong internship and a three-year commitment to remain in the field of school-based mental health care. To date, the center has sponsored 23 interns.

    According to Lopez, these candidates are able to offer more long-term, advanced care, such as individual student therapy, group therapy, parent and family consultation and school faculty support. The center intentionally recruits from partner universities closest to Tulare County, such as California State University Bakersfield and Fresno State, whose students largely come from the rural communities they will serve. 

    Jeovany Martin, who completed his master’s in social work at CSU Bakersfield, was an intern in the program at a local elementary school.  Martin was raised in neighboring Kings County by his Mexican immigrant parents, and he applied for the program to serve families whose needs have been shortchanged by language barriers. 

    “I’m able to relate to these students. I speak their language, and I’m able to communicate with parents in their language, which goes a very long way in creating a working relationship with them,” Martin said. 

    Martin said that the program was also his most realistic path to the field of education-based mental health care. Most providers are overworked and underpaid — with nearly 59% of school counselors leaving their positions in their first two years — and non-white, low-income candidates have much less financial and professional support to enter the field. 

    Nationally, most school counselors are overwhelmingly white, and they do not represent the backgrounds of the students they serve. For Tulare County’s student population — where nearly 80% of students are Latino — the two programs address a shortage of cultural competence in mental health support available to students, according to program supervisor Rosie Hernandez. 

    “We’re also having folks who are bilingual be part of our program because it allows families to be a bit more open to services because of that simple fact that they speak their native tongue,” Hernandez said. 

    Most children living in rural, low-income households, Lopez said, are also more likely to experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and behavioral problems, often due to stressors such as food insecurity, parental job loss and geographic isolation. 

    “We’re recruiting, preparing and supporting candidates from our own communities who represent our student population,” Lopez said. “That, in itself, allows our students to connect at a much higher level with our interns to bring them comfort, a space where they can interact and feel safe.”

    A legacy of bias and neglect 

    Martin and Salcedo’s internships in Tulare County also provided the opportunity to tackle a decades-long legacy of mistrust between social workers and immigrant families. 

    “A lot of our families, especially from the Hispanic culture, think of social workers as ‘the people that take away my kids,’” Salcedo said. In his first year, Salcedo felt stifled by the number of permission slips that would have allowed him to help more students, but were returned unsigned. “Our job is also about breaking down that barrier and [explaining] our role for them to understand, ‘This person is here to help my kid with anxiety. They’re not here to judge me as a parent.’” 

    The National Center for Youth Law found that across the country’s child welfare, education and mental health systems, providers and educators have routinely over-referred Latino students for behavioral issues and subjected them to harsher disciplinary measures than white children. Black and Latino children were also found to be removed from their families and into out-of-home care at higher rates, while receiving fewer mental health services, such as psychotherapy and counseling, than white children.

    Families that include at least one undocumented member or non-citizen — 14.3% of Tulare County’s overall population — are also less likely to opt into care if they rely on citizen children to receive basic benefits like food stamps and housing subsidies, which can be jeopardized by family separation. In a county where more than a quarter of residents receive SNAP food assistance, and two-thirds of these recipients are children, signing a permission slip could come down to what some parents feel is a calculation between their child’s mental health and access to basic services. 

    To address fears of bias and neglect, which remain the highest barrier for underserved communities to access to mental health care, program interns adapt a traditionally siloed approach in school counseling to work more directly with parents, caretakers and community support systems. 

    Salcedo, for example, partnered with the local Boys and Girls Club to run a regular backpack drive for students in the neighborhood. He also helped set up a resource closet at his school, where students frequently stop by for necessities such as food, school supplies and personal hygiene products. Most recently, he partnered with a local church to serve boxed meals to students at the end of the school day and to parents on back-to-school nights. 

    “We have this daily check-in routine with our students, where we say, ‘Whether you’re needing to talk to a counselor, or you just need some deodorant, a snack, or pencils, we can provide it,’” Salcedo said. “‘If you’re looking for housing, or babysitting, or transportation to get to an appointment, we can try to help.’”

    Broader post-pandemic challenges

    Martin, who was hired as a social worker after completing his placement, said that the need for broader support has especially spiked for K-8 students in Tulare County, many of whom lost crucial social and cognitive development to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of Salcedo’s high school students, he said, withdrew from their counseling sessions online — some did not have reliable Wi-Fi or could not turn on microphones due to chaotic environments at home, for example. 

    Many also experienced life-altering trauma as a result of the pandemic. They grieved family members, experienced debilitating illness and lost access to basic needs like shelter and food. 

    “That’s why it’s important for us to take a holistic approach,” Martin said. “We might be doing an intervention here at the school for the student, but there might be something going on at home that the family needs extra resources for. We’re able to help bridge those gaps, wherever they might be, for the students and their families.”





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  • Los Angeles’s climate crisis offers a blueprint for California’s schools

    Los Angeles’s climate crisis offers a blueprint for California’s schools


    Freestyle Academy in Mountain View, California uses energy-efficient lighting, water-saving fixtures, solar panels, and eco-friendly materials. Native plants are also incorporated into the outdoor environments.

    Credit: Tim Maloney, Technical Imagery Studios and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects

    Top Takeaways
    • Climate disasters already impacting schools will continue to worsen.
    • LAUSD is investing in fire-resistant building materials, schoolyard greening projects, and modern heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
    • California needs a state master plan for climate-resilient schools.

    When Los Angeles teachers welcomed students back to school in January, they couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead. Within days, climate-fueled wildfires would tear through Altadena, Pasadena and the Palisades, destroying or damaging twelve schools and disrupting education for more than 600,000 students across the region.

    Unfortunately, in the years to come, the climate disasters that are already impacting our schools will worsen. In California, our leaders have the power to chart our own path to healthier, more climate-resilient school buildings — with or without federal support.

    The LA fires provide a stark reminder of how unprepared many of California’s schools are for climate change. Beyond lacking fire-resistant building materials that could have mitigated damage, schools also lack necessities: cooling systems for heat waves and air filtration systems for smoke. Lack of cooling is a statewide challenge — between 15% and 20% of California’s K-12 public schools have no functioning air conditioning at all, and another 10% need major repairs to or replacement of their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

    But out of this crisis, solutions are emerging. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), our nation’s second-biggest school district, is turning crisis into opportunity. Instead of simply rebuilding damaged schools, the district is creating a blueprint for climate resilience that should inspire educational leaders across California.

    The district is investing in fire-resistant building materials, schoolyard greening projects, and modern HVAC systems to combat increasingly frequent heat waves and filter wildfire smoke and pollutants. While some initiatives were already underway prior to the fires, new investments will be supported by the district’s $9 billion bond that Los Angeles voters approved in November and Proposition 2, the state school infrastructure bond also approved by voters last year. For the first time, the Legislature explicitly allowed districts to use this funding to create safer outdoor learning environments, strengthen vulnerable infrastructure, and advance state energy goals.

    LAUSD’s progress is encouraging, but California can’t afford to wait for a district-by-district approach to climate resilience. California needs immediate statewide action to protect all students. Two key steps are essential:

    First, we need better state planning and coordination. California currently spends billions annually on school infrastructure, but much of this funding isn’t aligned with climate resilience, indoor air quality, or emissions reduction goals. By allocating $10 million to the California Department of Education to build local capacity and provide regional support through county offices of education, we will build necessary support systems to assist school districts in planning for climate-resilient campuses.

    California has already wasted precious time. For two years, we’ve worked with the Legislature on a proposal for a state master plan for climate-resilient schools, only to face Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto twice over cost concerns, despite strong bipartisan support and a moderate cost of $10 million. This delay puts our children’s safety at risk. This year, we must finally get it done.

    Second, districts need comprehensive facilities master plans that address indoor air quality, climate resilience, and cost-effective electrification. Students need a California where every school district is armed with a detailed blueprint for creating climate-resilient facilities, and has the support and funding they need to implement these plans. Implementation guidelines for Proposition 2 are being developed now and should include guidance for school districts to develop these plans with climate readiness at the core. State leaders could also prioritize and leverage Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds administered by the California Air Resources Board, a program that collects money from the state’s cap-and-trade initiative to invest in projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to support much-needed HVAC upgrades and nudge districts to choose modern electric technologies.

    A previous generation of state leaders made sure schools could keep our children safe in an earthquake — it’s time to do the same for the threats posed by extreme heat and weather. No school district should be investing state or local dollars in their facilities without considering current and long-term local climate impacts.

    •••

    Jonathan Klein is the CEO and co-founder of UndauntedK12, a national nonprofit working to ensure that every student has the opportunity to attend a safe, healthy and resilient school.
    Andra Yeghoian is the chief innovation officer of Ten Strands, a San Francisco-based nonprofit whose mission is to build and strengthen the partnerships and strategies that bring environmental literacy to all California’s students.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the authors. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Chinese schools use Wowzers to help students learn remotely during Coronavirus crisis

    Chinese schools use Wowzers to help students learn remotely during Coronavirus crisis


    eLearning student

    As the number of Coronavirus cases rises in China, many schools are temporarily closed to prevent the disease from spreading. To preserve a sense of normalcy and keep students from falling behind, schools are using eLearning to continue students’ education. Schools from the Wuhan, Jinjiang, and Hexi districts, all part of the International Schools Consortium (iSC), are successfully using the Wowzers with their students.

    Wowzers works with schools in the Sichuan Province that use NWEA’s MAP Growth assessments to customize a personalized learning path. By linking these assessments with Wowzers’ content, educators feel confident that students have the correct curriculum to meet their goals. Since the program is automatically individualized, educators find that remote learning through Wowzers is effective.

    Principal John Ross Jones from Chengdu International reports that his students are continuing their learning through Wowzers. The students are engaged, and teachers can see their students’ progress in real-time, even adjusting their curriculum remotely and assigning homework and test prep work.

    Wowzers has been very beneficial for us at this time as we are practicing home-based learning in our schools currently.

    John Ross Jones, Principal of Chendu International

    Many teachers use Wowzers’ dual-path system to create a new curriculum path for students as they learn from home. This way, the curriculum path they use in the classroom is undisturbed. SuJung Ham, of Tianjin International School, reports that his students are engaged and showing results. 

    It has been a real help during this time because not only are our students at home because of the virus but many of us teachers are also either at home or even in other countries. I personally came back to the States for a time and this has helped keep my students on track with Math remotely while they are in China, Korea, or one even in France.

    Brandon Hoffman, Teacher of Tianjin International

    The power of digital technology, combined with artificial intelligence, is invaluable during this time of crisis in China. As the threat of the virus spreads throughout the world, Wowzers has demonstrated that eLearning from home works.



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  • California’s chronic literacy crisis requires solutions drawn from research

    California’s chronic literacy crisis requires solutions drawn from research


    Third graders read along as teacher Patty Lopez reads a text about plastic straws aloud.

    Credit: Zaidee Stavely / EdSource

    A few years ago, I met a first-grade English learner in a bilingual program who was learning to read in Spanish. The student, who I’ll call Elena, and her mother were from Guatemala. Elena’s mother only had a second-grade education, but she knew that one facet of Elena’s education was the gateway to all future opportunities: learning to read. 

    Elena had started school late, and her mother was taking no chances. She worked with Elena to teach her some basics — how letters formed syllables and syllables formed words. Elena was able to read by the end of first grade, but the outcome could have been very different without her mother’s efforts. Whether she knew it or not, what Elena’s mother taught Elena aligns with decades of reading research on how the brain learns to read — regardless of native language.  

    Unfortunately, most children from low-income communities like Elena’s do not share her story. Millions of California students fail to make adequate progress in reading. Today, only one-third of economically disadvantaged Latino students and one-fourth of economically disadvantaged African American students meet or exceed grade-level standards in English language arts. This is not because they are incapable of learning, but largely because they are not taught using effective practices supported by a broad consensus of reading researchers and experts.

    These practices include a strong emphasis on foundational literacy skills, typically known as phonics and decoding, and an emphasis on developing language, comprehension and knowledge.

    But foundational literacy skills are not given enough attention in California, leaving too many students with a weak or nonexistent foundation for literacy development and academic success.

    Literacy achievement in California is alarming. Fewer than half of California students meet or exceed grade-level standards in English language arts. For decades, California students have been either smack in the middle or, more often, trailing national reading achievement. In the most recent national assessments, California’s fourth-grade students’ scores were below 36 other states in reading proficiency. And, according to research from the Stanford Education Data Archive, California has one of the largest gaps in fourth-grade reading proficiency between low-income and non-low-income students in the nation.

    The real-world consequences of poor literacy skills are devastating for both individuals and society as a whole:

    Our state has invested millions of dollars in literacy over the past decade, but we are still not seeing an adequate return. This is, in part, because much of the policy to date has consisted of mixed and confusing recommendations from the state. We have failed to put into practice the best knowledge we have about promoting literacy development. 

    Meanwhile, states like Mississippi have gone from significantly below average in reading proficiency and among the worst in the nation to significantly above the national average and one of the most improved, after passing comprehensive early literacy policies that align with reading research. The average low-income California fourth grader is a full year behind their counterpart in Mississippi. 

    California now has the potential to make similar progress and take a positive step forward if elected leaders in Sacramento choose to vote for Assembly Bill 1121. The bill could help align decades of interdisciplinary reading research with reading instruction by providing paid professional development for elementary school educators in more effective literacy practices and requiring school districts and charter schools to adopt English language instructional materials from a new State Board of Education list aligned with evidence-based means of teaching literacy (identified in current law). 

    For too long, we’ve debated whether reading should be taught as decoding, emphasizing phonics (letters, sounds), or as meaning-based, emphasizing “whole language” or so-called “balanced literacy.” In reality, decoding, language comprehension skills, and knowledge development are all necessary to achieve reading success. 

    Even with advanced language skills and vast knowledge, you can’t be a successful reader if you can’t pull words off a page quickly, effortlessly and accurately. Similarly, you can’t be a successful reader if you lack the language and knowledge to make sense of words. 

    AB 1121 will help move us toward a more comprehensive approach to reading instruction, emphasizing the importance of developing the neural pathways between sounds, letters, and meaning that are necessary for the brain to learn to read. 

    Building these pathways is essential for those learning in any language. Research around the world demonstrates there are many commonalities in learning and teaching to read in any language, whether it’s a language one already knows or is simultaneously learning. English learners have much to gain from implementing known effective approaches to teaching reading, which include what Elena’s mother did instinctively to help her build a strong foundation of literacy.

    In the Information Age, reading is the gateway to all future opportunities. Our students don’t have time to waste while we, the adults they’ve entrusted with their education, continue to fight fruitless “reading wars.” If we care about our children’s futures, and our state’s, we must push for effective reading instruction in all classrooms by passing AB 1121.

    •••

    Claude Goldenberg, a former first grade and junior high teacher, is Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education, emeritus, at Stanford University. His areas of expertise are literacy education and English language learners.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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