How your donations are fueling a unique partnership critical to student mental health

The mental health and well-being of students continue to be a top priority in our schools and a top funding priority for the Education Foundation through the Mental Health Matters Fund. The district’s partnership with Penn State’s Herr Clinic is supported by this fund to fulfill a critical need: delivering direct, one-on-one mental health support for students.

This unique and innovative relationship is designed to expand access to services for students, families, faculty, and staff seeking mental health support. As demand for services continues to increase, it’s essential that this partnership thrives into the future.

A commitment from the Education Foundation of $45,000 can cover the infrastructure that supports 800+ hours of mental health support for students provided by 6-8 Masters-level mental health interns and one supervising graduate assistant.

SCASD Director of Student Services Jeanne Knouse says, “This is a small price to pay to guarantee quality mental health support for our students.”

Intern Mengyun Chen describes the benefits of the experience for students: “This partnership is built as a unique experience for my clients who could receive mental health service inside school without transportation difficulties and schedule struggles. My clients could have the opportunity to explore themselves and feel supported and heard for their struggles and concerns.”

Herr Clinic Supervisor Dr. Katie Kostohryz works alongside school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, principals, teachers, directors, interns, secretaries, and community members on creative ways to enhance the diverse strengths and needs of district families. In her role, she sees the broader impact of the program:

“Our interns work to overcome a variety of barriers when offering individual counseling, affinity and group support, school-wide prevention and wellness interventions, peer counseling, advocacy and social justice initiatives, and crisis support to students.”

A proactive and innovative approach to mental health support has helped our district make great strides. You can help to keep this positive momentum going. The Mental Health Matters Fund is permanent and open to donations of all sizes to make a direct and life-changing difference for students.

You can make sure vital programs are available to students for their mental health and well-being by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Mental Health Matters Fund for the 2023-24 school year.

Past support for the Mental Health Matters Fund helped to establish the partnership with Penn State’s Herr Clinic, providing direct mental health support for students. Together, we can make sure it thrives into the future.