1、Mental health Acknowledgments are in order for the many faculty and family members who have provided support, guidance, and encouragement throughout this process. I am appreciative of the help that each person has given. I wish to thank those faculty members who each contributed to my increased unde
2、rstanding of this process, the subject matter, and the importance of rigorous research. I am especially thankful for the consistent support and guidance from my advisor, Dawn Anderson-Butcher. She spent many hours steering my efforts and providing me quality feedback that always allowed me to think
3、critically and push myself further than I ever imagined. I would also like to thank Tamara Davis for her encouragement, enthusiasm, and ongoing support for not only this thesis but for my professional development as well. Additionally, thanks are in order to Jerry Bean for his always refreshing pers
4、pectives and solid technical support. I would also like to thank Tony Amorose for stepping in to provide even further assistance and contributing greatly to my understanding of data analysis. Finally, many thanks go to my family who has provided endless support from begi- nning to end. My mother, Sh
5、oleh Mesbah, and step-father, William Stone, have de- monstrated their love for me by answering the phone at all hours, allowing me to talk through all frustrations, and encouraging me to keep moving forward. Also, my fat- her, Mark Ball, and step-mother, Nilsa Ramirez , consistently kept me grounde
6、d by reminding me that, thesis or not, everyday life continues. Last but not least, I would like to thank my sister, Amanda Ball. Her optimism, support, and love were unwavering. According to the most recent Surgeon Generals Report on Mental Health , 9 to 13 percent of all U.S. children and adolesce
7、nts have serious emotional disturbances. Moreover, 21 percent of U.S. children have diagnosable mental or addictive disorders. Unfortunately, most of these children never receive adequate care. Seventy-nine percent of children ages 6 to 17 with mental disorders do not receive care. Additionally, uni
8、nsured and minority children have higher rates of unmet need than those who are insured or non-minority. Much of this unmet need can be attributed to the significant shortage in the childrens mental health workforce. Considering that 49.6 million students are enrolled in public elementary and second
9、ary schools, it is evident that many of these childrens mental health needs manifest at school, often leading to such pressing concerns as violence in schools or significant behavior disruptions. Schools are often placed in the position to not only educate children but to also support those children
10、 who bring their mental health issues to school. To meet these changing needs, school improvement efforts must focus on standards-based accountabilities but also prioritize strategies related to addressing students barriers to learning, including mental health-related needs. Research provides strong
11、 evidence for this relationship noting, (1) that students mental health concerns can drastically impact academic success and healthy development (Becker & Luther, 2002) and, (2) that interventions addressing students social-emotional skills can positively impact academic achievement. Given this rela
12、tionship, academic success for all students is dependent upon student social-emotional well being, particularly in those communities at highest risk. Additionally, children are not the only ones affected by these non-academic barriers to learning. Student mental health needs create increasing demand
13、s on educators who must create and manage effective classroom learning environments. For instance, discipline and classroom management for students with emotional and behavioral disorders have been found to be particularly stressful for educators. As such, schools are increasingly faced with student
14、 mental health needs. As the demand for mental health services in schools has grown dramatically in the past 30 years, school support services now include a broader range of services than in the past. As such, schools are now in some cases considered the “de facto mental health care system for child
15、ren”. In spite of this de facto system, childrens mental health needs remain unmet. As a result, schools are beginning to see the ramifications of these unmet needs as they pertain to poor academic achievement among students. Essentially, schools have been unable to fully address students mental hea
16、lth needs through traditional practices and traditional means. A national survey of school mental health services recently reported that, generally, funding for school mental health has decreased in the past 5 years while demand for services has increased in most districts. Additionally, districts a
17、lso reported that referrals to community-based mental health providers have increased but the availability of these practitioners to provide services has decreased. As student academic success is closely tied to social-emotional well being, school change efforts must begin to address these needs if
18、they are to meet their accountabilities. Doing so requires schools to consider new models of school improvement that include social-emotional development along with traditional standards-based accountabilities. To meet the needs of children today and to improve academic outcomes for all children, it
19、 is imperative that schools utilize new models of school improvement that include effective methods to address mental health needs. This process, however, will involve a cultural shift in educational systems that have historically focused on traditional forms of school improvement. Most traditional
20、school improvement often focuses on “walled in approaches” such as enhanced curriculum alignment, improved instructional methods, and standards-based accountabilities. In addition, most current school improvement models are narrowly focused on result-oriented improvements in instruction and behavior management rather than on system-wide efforts to address barriers to learning. As a result, these models often marginalize programs, services, and systems that address mental health-centered learning supports, resulting in
