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District updates mental-health services, warns wellness-center funding is at risk
Summary
District staff reported expanded school-based counseling, a Stanford psychiatry consult and community partnerships; they said 163 students were referred this year (151 seen) and noted wellness centers’ Valley Health funding is ending, raising sustainability concerns.
The Los Altos School District gave a year-end update on its school-based mental-health services, describing expanded partnerships and a rise in student contacts while flagging uncertainty about future funding.
Claire Crane, the district’s coordinator of student services, told the board that elementary campuses partner with Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) and that district psychologists, a Stanford psychiatrist consultation and a newly added on-site psychiatrist (primarily at Santa Rita) support student care. "All of our mental health providers are open for business every single day," Crane said, emphasizing that schools are often families’ first point of access to care.
Crane said ACS received 163 referrals this school year; 151 students were seen either in-school or, where needs exceeded school-based services, referred for outside care. She said 54 elementary students were served directly by school psychologists and reported junior-high caseloads of roughly 17 students at Block and 35 at Egan who receive weekly counseling.
District staff also reported 3,579 "mental-health touch points" collected in March data used for grant reporting; touch points include counseling visits, crisis interventions, wellness-center check-ins and conflict-resolution work. Crane said those numbers translate to roughly five students seen per day per provider at the secondary sites, though staff said the true daily contacts may be higher.
Staff described several partnerships that expand capacity: a continued relationship with Stanford for psychiatric consultation, a new community-counseling arrangement with Pacific Clinics (operating a program called Bloom and Soar) to serve families outside the school setting, and support from local funders including LEAF and El Camino Hospital District.
While the programs received positive feedback—students provided notes praising counselors—district presenters warned of funding risks. Crane said initial funding that helped launch the wellness centers came from Valley Health, but that support is ending. "One of our challenges is looking ahead and how we can continue sustaining these programs," she told the board, and said she had requested a one-time increase from El Camino Hospital District and would seek other funding options.
Board members asked how often wellness centers are open and whether hours could expand beyond lunch; staff said some sites operate during lunch and brunch, and the district hopes to staff centers for broader daytime access but must resolve staffing and funding constraints.
The presentation concluded with board appreciation for staff and community partners and a pledge to pursue funding options to sustain the wellness centers and counseling services.
What happens next: District staff will pursue additional grant or partner funding and report back to the board; no formal board action was taken on program funding during the meeting.
