Integrated school-based health and social safety net supports addressing out-of-school learning barriers¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Sierra and University High stitch together a social safety net through integrated systems of support: monthly food distributions, clothing closets, a school-based rotating therapist with group grief therapy, QR-code sign-ups for therapy sessions, a Sierra school-based health center built with federal funding, free vision screenings with an Albuquerque optometrist, and twice-yearly dental visits. Partners include La Casa Behavioral Health, Emerge, Wings for L.I.F.E., and Casakids. A coordinator described the role: "My main priorities are looking at the gaps and seeing how I could fill them."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Sustained grant funding and contracted community providers; the brief notes the district cannot employ a therapist for 2024–25 due to reduced state grant funding, and the health center went unused in 2023–24 after the previous medical provider ended its contract

Constraints¶

• Community-level access barriers persist: no local vision provider accepts Medicaid and multiple Roswell clinics have closed; outside crisis appointments may be followed by 2–3 month waits

Target Learners¶

• Students and families facing poverty, community trauma, and limited local health care access

Target Learning Goals¶

• Removing out-of-school barriers to attendance, mental health, and readiness to learn

Affordances¶

• Nm Ped Community School Six Practices Framework

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Student-led after-school club creation and student senate structures to expand student voice and engagement
• Organize student well-being supports through a three-tier MTSS with universal screening

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Espinoza, D. (2024). New Mexico community school profile: Roswell Independent School District. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/new-mexico-community-school-roswell-brief