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Tahoe‑Truckee Unified expands wellness centers, adds K–12 SEL screener and billing plan to sustain services
Summary
The Tahoe‑Truckee Unified School District told its board May 21 that it has expanded school-based wellness centers, boosted mental‑health staffing and will begin a K–12 universal social‑emotional learning screener. Officials said new billing and grant strategies will be used to sustain the work.
The Tahoe‑Truckee Unified School District on May 21 presented an expanded model for school‑based mental health and social‑emotional learning (SEL), describing new staffing, measurement and funding steps the district says will make wellness services more consistent across sites.
District wellness lead Kim Bradley told the Board of Trustees the district now operates wellness centers in eight schools — four elementary, two middle and two high schools — and provides additional supports at other sites. She said the work combines one‑on‑one interventions, targeted small groups and peer‑to‑peer mentoring programs such as Link Crew at the high schools and WEB at the middle schools.
Bradley and Superintendent Kirsten Kramer said the district will begin a universal K–12 SEL screener, administered twice yearly, to measure five CASEL competencies and better target supports. The district also plans three “signature practices” — an inclusive welcome, relationship building and reflective closings — to make SEL consistent in classrooms and staff meetings.
Why it matters: School officials said mental‑health and SEL programming are no longer optional add‑ons but core supports that affect attendance and learning. Board members praised the growth and urged continued attention to staff wellness and training to avoid overloading teachers.
Details of services and data Bradley described wellness centers as sites for regulation skills, emotional check‑ins and short‑term skill groups (mindfulness, grief support, organization and study‑skills). She said centers provide both informal check‑ins and formal “check in/check out” plans and that peer mentoring and student‑led programs — including a Hope Squad and substance‑use recovery groups — extend support beyond staff hours.
Bradley traced the program’s growth: initial community volunteers in 2012, staff hires beginning in 2014–2015, Link Crew in 2017, Hope Squad in 2020, middle‑school wellness centers in 2021 and hiring of mental‑health specialists in 2022. She said the district has tracked growth in individual supports and group sessions; staff cited 368 group sessions in 2023–24 and said those group totals continued to increase in 2024–25 as the program expanded into elementary schools.
Equity and targeted outreach Bradley said the district has focused outreach to students who may be underserved by traditional services: over the last three years, roughly 18% of students participating in wellness groups identified as LGBTQ and about 37% were Latinx, figures she said reflect efforts to reach students who have historically had less access to services.
Funding and sustainability Bradley outlined a layered funding approach. The district plans to participate in the state Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) to pursue fee‑for‑service billing to private insurance (district staff stressed the program would not bill families directly). Placer County Office of Education provided capacity‑building funds; Nevada County and Placer County Mental Health Service Act dollars, the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation and district general funds also back the work. Bradley said the district will explore medical and mental‑health billing systems and may hire a part‑time medical billing specialist to improve reimbursements.
Board reaction and next steps Trustees expressed support and raised two consistent questions: how the district will protect staff time and wellness while adding trainings, and whether staff will have access to the same services offered to students. Bradley said some staff‑focused offerings have been piloted (staff wellness weeks, chair massages and voluntary SEL trainings) and the district plans more intentional staff SEL professional development at convocation.
Bradley said the district will return with results from the California Healthy Kids survey and with data from the new SEL screener once it is in use. She closed by illustrating individual student cases — an elementary student who stabilized attendance after supports and a high‑schooler who created a student‑led substance‑use support group — to underscore the program’s practical effects.
