Youth Mental Health Case Studies

Freehold Regional High School District educates approximately 10,300 students in six high schools across a 200-square-mile region in central New Jersey. In the wake of the pandemic – and the resulting spike in students’ mental health needs – the district undertook a partnership with Effective School Solutions to build professional capacity at all levels of staff and administration.

Today’s adolescents are struggling with mental health issues and anxiety in teens is at unprecedented levels. But the good news is that kids are resilient, and when they get the care and support they need, their lives can vastly improve, and they can reach their full potential.

Like teens everywhere, the students at Newington High School in Newington, Connecticut, are struggling with anxiety and other mental health challenges.

As life gradually returned to normal following the pandemic, schools everywhere experienced a sharp rise in disciplinary issues. South River Public Schools was committed to finding an innovative and constructive approach to its disciplinary interventions. Spearheaded by district superintendent Sylvia Zircher – and in partnership with ESS – in the fall of 2022, the district’s middle and high schools launched a program called Restorative Community Service.

Ligonier Valley School District was already under-resourced when it came to meeting the mental health needs of its learners. Then the pandemic hit. At the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, the district sought help from Effective School Solutions (ESS) to meet the skyrocketing needs of its students.

In 2017, Old Bridge Township School District had two key needs when it came to mental health. First, they wanted to return students from out-of-district placements and second, they were experiencing challenges with a high number of students who were school avoidant. Old Bridge partnered with Effective School Solutions to implement programming to address both challenges.

Sayreville Public Schools was experiencing an uptick in students leaving the district due to social and emotional issues. In 2016, the district made it a priority to fully address the needs of these students and to keep them in-district. Effective School Solutions became an invaluable partner in meeting this challenge.

In 2013, Westfield School District was struggling with an increasing number out-of-district placements. Keeping students in district and providing them with the mental health services they needed was a top priority. Westfield partnered with Effective School Solutions to implement clinical programming to address this challenge.