TIEMH has partnered with Education Service Center Region 16’s Texas Center for Student Supports
(TCSS) as they facilitate the Stronger Connections Grant (SCG) program among each of the 20 Education
Service Centers (ESCs) throughout the state. Amanda Boquist, Natalie Fikac, Laura Hernandez Gold,
Molly Lopez, and Molly Sanders make up the TIEMH team supporting this grant.
Here’s how TIEMH is supporting ESCs and SCG schools.
Texas School Climate Surveys
TIEMH researchers began developing Texas School Climate Surveys in 2023 and partnered with the TCSS
to administer a pilot version of these surveys during Fall 2024 with 306 Texas schools participating in the
Stronger Connections Grant (SCG). At the start of the 2024 – 2025 school year, TIEMH distributed
training resources to district and school leaders overseeing the school climate improvement process and
held office hours to support their efforts. TIEMH administered 934 surveys of students, family members,
and school personnel at SCG schools and more than 115,000 individuals participated.
TIEMH also produced reports summarizing results of climate surveys for each school and distributed guidance
materials to help leaders interpret results and use their data to set school climate improvement goals.
During Winter 2025, the TIEMH team has begun analyzing aggregate school climate data and will be
producing reports of overall results as well as the psychometric properties of the scales.
Student Support Framework (SSF) Diagnostic Tool
Another part of TIEMH’s role in this grant was to create a Student Support Framework (SSF) Diagnostic
Tool. The purpose of the SSF diagnostic is to provide schools with a tool to review progress in
implementing the essential actions and key practices aligned with the Texas SSF. School teams are
intended to use the tool to carefully consider school strengths and gaps within the framework, which will
aid in identifying and prioritizing opportunities for improvement and further strengthening of the
system.
This diagnostic can provide the structure for the team to examine the school’s capacity to
address nonacademic needs as a part of their existing responsibilities. The tool currently focuses on five
specific levers of the diagnostic – Mental and Behavioral Health and Well-being, Student and Staff Safety,
Physical Health and Wellness, Supportive Discipline, and School Climate and Culture.
Diagnostic rubrics for the remaining three levers – Capacity Building, Partnerships with Families and Community, and Systems and Structures will be added to a future version of the diagnostic in Spring/Summer 2025. TIEMH developed training materials that Region 16 trainers are using as they train each of the 20
education service centers in early Winter 2025 during their Winter Road Show.
Beginning in March 2025, a pilot group from the SCG schools will complete the SSF Diagnostic Tool. Feedback from the pilot group will be used to update the diagnostic tool and every SCG school will complete the SSF Diagnostic Tool in Fall 2025.
Parent and Family Engagement Playbook
TIEMH is also partnering in the creation of a Parent and Family Engagement Playbook which provides
information, guidance, resources and support for families, caregivers and school staff. This playbook
includes best practices for building strong school partnerships, strategies for navigating systems, ways to
connect with teachers and school staff, best practices for communicating with families and caregivers
and tips for ensuring family involvement in universal and targeted supports. This Playbook is aligned with
the Texas SSF.
Comprehensive Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention Model
The final part of TIEMH’s role in supporting ESCs and SCG schools is the development of a comprehensive suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention model for the entire school community– elementary and secondary administrators, educators, professional school counselors and mental health staff, and most importantly, families and caregivers. The model will consist of three main projects expected to be released in late Spring or early Fall 2025.
- A guide for school communities on safe and shared language and terminology along with key
information on school suicide prevention best practices and links to evidence-based resources
and tools to support implementation - Individualized trainings for administrators, educators, and professional school counselors and
mental health staff which will provide role-specific content and planning and practice
opportunities - An educational video or presentation for families and caregivers on talking about suicide with
children and youth, recognizing warning signs and supporting their children, identifying
community resources, and partnering with schools to support youth safety
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