PAUSD hears mental-health update as community presses board for accountability after student death

Palo Alto Unified School District on March 11 received a staff update on the district's mental-health services and faced sustained public pressure over governance and equity following the recent death of a student.

Staff presenting the PAUSD Promise mental-health update said the district has built a school-based mental-health infrastructure that now includes more than 37 mental-health therapists and roughly 20 full-time-equivalent psychologists, wellness centers at all secondary sites and pilot elementary wellness centers, and expanded virtual coaching options. "We have over 500 plus referrals that were made," the presenter said, adding that referrals are about 170 fewer than the prior year and that the decline likely reflects more students receiving tiered interventions before referral to intensive services.

The presentation included reported outcomes from student- and family-facing surveys: 60 percent of students who received therapy said it was helpful, 72 percent of families said therapy met their child's needs and 90 percent of families reported a strong connection with their child's therapist.…