Brown University researchers are expanding a school mental health support network across Rhode Island public districts, pairing education policy expertise with clinical implementation coaching as K-12 leaders look for more systematic ways to identify and support students facing anxiety, depression, trauma and other mental health challenges.

The Student Mental Health Network, led by the Evidence in Action – Rhode Island team at Brown’s Annenberg Institute, worked with 11 public school districts during the 2025-26 school year. Brown said the districts participating in the program enroll more than 40% of all public school students in Rhode Island, giving the initiative statewide significance even though it is structured around district-by-district implementation rather than a single statewide mandate.

The program is designed to help school systems move from broad concern about student mental health to more concrete operating plans. Through one-on-one coaching and monthly cohort sessions, district leaders and clinicians review evidence, examine local needs and develop approaches that fit their staffing, family engagement practices and community resources. The model focuses on four areas: screening and identification, school team processes, school-based interventions and connections to outside support.

Brown’s June 24 announcement placed the initiative within the Annenberg Institute’s broader network of research-practice partnerships with Rhode Island schools. Those partnerships have addressed issues such as attendance, academic recovery and instruction, but the mental health network responds to a challenge school leaders have identified as increasingly urgent: how to make supports more accessible, consistent and evidence-based while districts face limits on funding, staff capacity and time.

The network was developed with the BRIDGE Program at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, which works to move behavioral health research into practice. Brown assistant professors of psychiatry and human behavior Ruben Martinez and Hannah Frank provide monthly one-on-one coaching to district leaders and their teams. Rather than supplying schools with a single packaged intervention, the researchers work with districts to interpret evidence and decide how it can be implemented inside their own systems.

That local implementation focus is visible in Woonsocket, where Kyle Quadros, director of social-emotional learning for the Woonsocket Education Department, has been working with Martinez on ways to strengthen the district’s mental health supports. According to Brown, one identified challenge was improving communication with parents about signs of youth mental health struggles and resources available through schools. The district is developing family-facing materials, including informational videos on subjects such as suicidal ideation and anxiety.

The Woonsocket work also includes improving how the district uses information gathered through universal mental health screenings. Brown described one goal as helping educators identify grade levels or groups of students who may be at higher risk and then connect students and families to appropriate support more quickly. Martinez said in Brown’s announcement that many issues students and educators face are “internal and difficult to see,” making timely identification and referral a central challenge.

The project also brings district leaders together for monthly training and networking sessions. Those sessions have included reviews of research-backed practices and education on topics such as recognizing signs of depression or trauma. The cohort structure is intended to let districts compare obstacles and strategies, while still allowing each school system to build supports that reflect its student population, staff structure and available community partnerships.

The initiative reflects a wider shift in school mental health work toward multi-tiered systems of support, in which schools combine universal prevention, targeted small-group supports and intensive individualized interventions. The Rhode Island Department of Education describes school mental health as spanning prevention, early intervention and targeted services delivered by school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors and community partners. RIDE also says it supports local education agencies through fiscal support and technical assistance related to school mental health.

For school districts, one of the practical questions is how to organize resources already in place. Brown’s account of the program suggests the network is trying to address that implementation gap. Districts may have staff, community partners, screening tools or grant-funded programs, but still need clearer processes for referral, follow-up, family communication and data use. The Brown-led network aims to help leaders build those systems rather than leaving mental health support dependent on individual staff members or isolated initiatives.

The network grew out of Annenberg’s ongoing collaboration with the Rhode Island Superintendents Association, which identified student mental health as a high priority for public schools in the state. Brown said researchers from Annenberg and BRIDGE will assess progress and ultimately share outcomes with other education researchers and districts. That evaluation component could make the Rhode Island project useful beyond the state if it identifies practices that can be adapted by other districts facing similar pressures.

The initiative is scheduled to continue in the 2026-27 academic year with 11 districts, including 10 returning members and one new district. Brown said expected participants 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.

For Brown, the project also shows how university-based researchers can take a more active role in local public education systems. The Annenberg Institute’s Rhode Island education research initiatives are built around collaboration between researchers and local education leaders, with the stated goal of improving student and school experiences through stronger use of data and evidence. In the mental health network, that approach is being applied to one of the most sensitive and operationally difficult areas of school governance.

The next phase will test whether the network can sustain district engagement while producing evidence that is useful to school leaders. The program’s impact will depend not only on whether districts adopt new practices, but also on whether those practices help schools identify needs earlier, communicate more effectively with families and connect students to appropriate services. As the project enters another school year, Rhode Island education officials and researchers will be watching whether a coaching-based, evidence-to-practice model can make student mental health support more consistent across public schools.