Place mental health at the heart of schooling
Our students have always needed our support, but recent events have brought to the forefront the challenges K-12 schools face in supporting their mental health. Now is the time to transform schools into safe and healthy places that enable students not only to learn but thrive.
Based on decades of research and proven examples from education professionals and the authors, experts in school leadership and social work, The Schools We Need Now highlights the importance of placing mental health at the heart of schooling and shares a vision for schools that prioritizes student well-being. Inside you'll discover:
For every educator who wants to ensure a healthy and equitable school environment for all students, The Schools We Need Now shows you how to create a safe place that protects and supports their academic, social, emotional, and physical growth.
"The Schools We Need Now resonates deeply with the challenges and responsibilities we face in nurturing students in today′s schools. This insightful guide offers a crucial perspective, emphasizing the paramount importance of addressing social and emotional concepts during this pivotal stage of students′ cognitive development. It serves as an invaluable tool for administrators, providing practical strategies to guide our school communities toward creating environments that prioritize mental health. As a founding principal of a middle school that opened in July 2022, I highly encourage others to utilize this must-read roadmap for fostering positive, supportive spaces where young minds flourish and thrive." -- Anne Marie Adkins
"Each day, headlines about devastating mental health issues in schools for students and staff grab our attention. The impact is far-reaching. Better mental health strategies and supports make a lifetime of difference for everyone—sometimes a life and death difference. Drs. Tim Dohrer and Tom Golebiewski have lived and studied all aspects of mental health in the school setting. They are experienced in real schoolhouse issues, have researched best practices, and have led powerful, meaningful, and practical professional development for many years. The key elements that differentiate these authors are their authentic experiences, leadership, and passion for strengthening mental health in our schools." -- Maureen Cheever
"The Chicago Public Schools′ Related Service Providers (RSP) team is excited to integrate The Schools We Need Now: A Guide to Designing a Mentally Healthy School into our approach to fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment. With the growing emphasis on student mental health, this resource provides invaluable insights on how to address stress, trauma, and anxiety that many of our students experience.
We are particularly eager to implement the book’s comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan, which aligns with our commitment to creating a safe and nurturing climate for all students. The practical strategies for preventive activities, school transitions, and crisis response plans are essential for enhancing the well-being of our students, and we believe this book will be instrumental in supporting both their academic and emotional growth.
The examples of forward-thinking schools featured in this book offer inspiration and actionable steps as we work to prioritize mental health in every aspect of our educational system. We see this book as an essential guide in helping us build the schools our students truly need to thrive."
-- Chicago Public Schools′ Related Service Providers (RSP)"This book is a paradigm-shifting way to truly understand how to implement the Mental Health Action Plan in K-12 schools. The comprehensive step-by-step approach addresses the development model for the whole child that is so critical to designing mentally healthier schools in this country. It’s a road map to transformational change!"
-- Sabrina P. Gracias"This book ensures that educators have systems and practices in place to support the mental health needs of students. It is a gold mine, packed with reflective questions for school teams to discuss while developing or revising their school plans. It provides many examples of student cases, recent data, and strategies that can be implemented immediately."
-- Jessica Johnson"One of the biggest challenges school leaders face is the mental health crisis we’re dealing with in schools around the world. Facing such a huge challenge, we can feel overwhelmed by all we need to do. This book gives people exactly what they need, so they can meet the crisis head on and come up with positive, powerful solutions."
-- Jim Knight"This is the right book at the right time. Schools are struggling to support students and families who are in crisis and those who are just trying to manage the demands that have led to increased stress and depression, social media addiction, and increased loneliness and isolation. We have to do more and better for our students, and this book provides very helpful templates and suggestions that are actionable immediately."
-- Marianne L. Lescher"In The Schools We Need Now, Timothy Dohrer and Thomas Golebiewski brilliantly blend their extensive expertise in education and mental health to advocate for a transformative perspective on school environments. Their approach, deeply rooted in both classic educational philosophies and contemporary scholarship, emphasizes mental health as an integral, rather than peripheral, component of educational systems. The authors′ commitment to this vision is evident through their engaging narrative, offering readers practical, reflective exercises that seamlessly blend mental wellness with educational content. As a clinical social worker, scholar, and youth suicide prevention expert, I find their reframing of schools through a mental health lens both compelling and necessary, offering a fresh, inclusive viewpoint that will resonate with educators of varied experiences and backgrounds. This concise, insightful book not only challenges the status quo, but also equips its readers with the understanding and tools to envision and cultivate schools where mental health is at the heart of education."
-- Jonathan B. Singer, PhD, LCSWDr. Timothy Dohrer has been a classroom teacher, administrator, and consultant for over 30 years in K12 schools and higher education. He was a teacher and Principal at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, a school of 4,000 students and staff. He has also served as a Director and Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and Northern Illinois University, and an adjunct instructor at Pennsylvania State University and Northeastern Illinois University. Tim continues to serve on a variety of boards and regularly consults with schools in and around Chicago and Illinois. Tim′s major areas of research include social & emotional learning, school climate, curriculum theory, teacher education, and leadership. He has B.A.′s in English and Journalism from Indiana University, an M.A. in English from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Thomas Golebiewski is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He has worked in schools for 40 years, including 26 years as Department Chair of Social Work at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. Tom has served as an adjunct professor at University of Chicago′s School of Social Service Administration, Northwestern University′s School of Education and Social Policy, and currently at Loyola University of Chicago School of Social Work, where he is also Internship Liaison. He has a private practice in psychotherapy, counseling, and consultation in Wilmette, IL and is currently a consultant at Wolcott College Prep, an independent school in Chicago. Tom also volunteers as a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Responder and has been a board member at A Safe Place, Lake County, IL and the Mental Health Association of the North Shore. He is a state appointed committee member of the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission and the Lake County Family Violence Coordinating Council. He is on the program steering committee and is a regular presenter for the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute annual conference that addresses mental health. Dr. Golebiewski received his B.A. and M.S.W. from Loyola University in Chicago and his Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work from The Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago.
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