San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SCHOOL DISTRICTS AWARDED NEARLY $15M IN MENTAL HEALTH GRANTS
Two East County school districts have been awarded grants totaling nearly $15 million to help support students with mental health needs.
The La Mesa-spring Valley School District will receive $1,471,616 this year and varying amounts over the next five years, totaling $12 million. The Lemon Grove School District will receive $545,782 for five years, a total grant of $2,728,910.
The grants are from the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Schoolbased Mental Health Services Program. The two districts are among nine California school districts receiving grants, and among just 68 nationwide.
“Since Covid, we’ve seen an increase in the need for mental health care among our students,” Jennifer Coronel, director of student supports for La Mesa-spring Valley Schools, said in a statement. “Increasing mental health services and supports is critical to helping our students to thrive both academically and socially-emotionally, and this grant will give us tremendous tools to do just that.”
In the La Mesa-spring Valley district, the funds will be used to recruit counselors and social workers from diverse backgrounds, with at least eight positions to be hired this year.
The district also will increase the ratio of mental health providers per student. The grant will help the district recruit counselors and social workers from backgrounds that better ref lect the student population.
The district will also partner with higher education institutions that especially serve Latino populations to provide training and jobs.
This may include stipends, training, and professional development for interns in district schools; it may also include hiring incentives for bilingual candidates.
The Lemon Grove district will use its grant to hire three school social workers, said district Superintendent Erica Balakian in an email. Two will be assigned to the district’s largest schools, Lemon Grove Academy Middle School and Vista La Mesa Academy. The third social worker will be assigned to the district’s new Transitional Kindergarten campus serving 4- and 5year-olds.
The money will also pay for a social worker on special assignment who will support all the district’s social workers.
That support will include training; developing systems to identify and use community-based mental health resources; and stepping in as needed to help support children in crisis.