Texas Tech telemedicine improves teens' mental health in 24 school districts

Educational Talent Search provides personalized college and career counseling to first-generation and low-income students. Counselors work with students from 8th grade through high school graduation, offering one-on-one support with college applications, financial aid forms, scholarship searches, and career planning. The program has seen nearly 90% of seniors enrolling in post-secondary education, far above its 56% target.

The Aspirations Incubator supports rural Maine communities in creating youth mentoring programs using the Trekkers approach. The incubator gives organizations $600,000 over six years, plus extensive training in fostering belonging and developing leadership. Rather than replicating a one-size-fits-all program, each community develops an authentic program suited to local needs. A study tracking the first cohort of students from 7th grade through high school graduation showed they attended school more often, performed better academically, and enrolled in college at higher rates.

The Home for the Needy Foundation’s camp offers accommodations and support for people who are displaced in Nigeria due to terrorism. Along with housing, clothes, food, healthcare, and general support, those staying at the camp receive help and encouragement to continue their education, apply for college, or learn a trade.

School districts in Washington State are required to identify students experiencing homelessness and enroll them into a state program in which the district pays for the students' transportation and covers the cost of other necessities with allotted federal funds.

A "near-peer" mentoring program offers a promising model for similar initiatives working to prevent "summer melt" for low-income students in the summer between their graduation from high school and arrival at college. College-age mentors provide in-person coaching and respond to texts about financial aid and other concerns.

As part of a suicide prevention program in North Central Ohio, middle and high school students take a screening test to assess their mental state and determine if intervention by the school is necessary. Coupled with a hotline and classroom visits, the HelpLine is working to teach community members that it is okay to ask for help.

In response to a growing suicide rate, Washington State's King County school district is trying to take a proactive approach by incorporating a universal mental health screening through online surveys in seventh grade health classes.

A Harvard study found that, in Boston, 10 to 20 percent of college-bound high school graduates weren't actually ending up enrolling in college. Researchers think they might have found a partial solution to what is known as the "melt trend" - in this approach, mentors send text messages throughout the summer reminding students of upcoming financial aid and registration deadlines and offering general encouragement.

For over sixteen years Melrose Municipal Schools, a small rural school district which oversees the students of Melrose, New Mexico, sets aside funds for the Supercomputing Challenge, an annual science and engineering competition. Students from sixth to twelfth grade meet after school to learn about computer science. “Over 11,000 students have participated.” It has also led former students to find careers in computer science. An analysis “found that 100 employees out of around 10,000 were challenge alumni.”

To help keep track of students when they're out of the classroom and limit the disruption of breaks, Tucson-area schools are now usually digital hall passes that logs their departure point and destination with their student ID. Students and teachers say the new system is working well so far, though similar programs in other states have drawn concerns around data collection and privacy.