Carmel Unified details wellness centers, SEL framework and usage data at board meeting
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Summary
Dr. Steve Gonzales, district director of special education and Section 504 coordinator, told the Carmel Unified School District Board of Education that the district now employs multiple school-based mental-health clinicians and operates wellness centers at the middle and high schools to respond to student stress, anxiety and other social-emotional needs.
Dr. Steve Gonzales, director of special education and district Section 504 coordinator, presented an overview of Carmel Unifieds social-emotional learning programs and school-based wellness centers, saying the district has scaled from two mental-health supports to seven district-employed clinicians and two physical wellness centers at the middle school and high school.
Gonzales said the wellness centers exist to "assess students with managing social emotional challenges that could impact learning, social functioning, and academic life," and he emphasized that the district shifted from relying on a medical-model contract partner to employing district mental-health clinicians to better meet educational needs.
The presentation included usage and referral data: more than 1,000 student referrals in 202425 (Gonzales noted some duplicates), with 32.7% of referrals coming from school counselors and nursing staff and 22% reported as self-referrals from students. At the high school, Gonzales said roughly 36% of students seeking support cited academic, relationship or social stress and about 22% cited anxiety.
Gonzales described the districts tiered framework for SEL: universal schoolwide supports (tier 1), targeted small-group interventions (tier 2, intended not to exceed about 20% of a sites population when implemented with fidelity), and intensive individualized supports (tier 3). He said the district is tracking fidelity and plans to refine data collection to identify which students receive tier 2 services as part of the districts strategic plan work.
Student and board-member speakers praised the centers as lowering stigma and improving access. An unnamed high-school student told the board that "you can just walk in at any time and be like, I need help," a comment the board and staff called "boots on the ground feedback." Board Member Matt Glaser framed SEL as directly linked to academic outcomes, saying the work is "data based, evidence based, driven towards student achievement."
Gonzales also described district supports for staff, including a contract with the Mindful Leaders Project and the Employee Assistance Program, and he said the district budgets "over $4,400,000 to support student safety and wellness, as well as staff programming." He closed by calling SEL "not a program we add on. It is a foundation for which all learning thrives." This item was information only; no board action was required or taken.