Technical Assistance

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Upcoming Events

Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series: Addressing Truancy-- Innovative Approaches to Systemically Increasing Attendance and Reducing Chronic Truancy

February 27, 4:00-5:30 pm ET

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What's New

HHS/Office of Adolescent Health Updates State-by-State Adolescent Mental Health Facts. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health has recently updated its state summaries that focus on adolescent mental health. Each state page reports on positive social skills, depressive symptoms, depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts, attempts, and injuries.  Learn More

Agency and Center Staff

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments is operated by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in collaboration with Child TrendsCollaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); EMT Associates, Inc. (EMT); the Silver Gate Group (SGG); and Vision Training Associates, Inc. (VTA). This powerful team of experts has direct experience in addressing the challenges of improving the conditions for learning at the school, district, state, and high education levels and, therefore, brings deep insight to the Center.

Below is a list of OSHS staff and Center leadership.
 

Staff of U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students

David Esquith, Acting Director
Kristen Harper, Policy Advisor to the Assistance Secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Paul Kesner, Director of the Safe Supportive Schools Program
Bryan Williams, Program Officer for the Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program
Rita Foy Moss, Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
 

Staff of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Ingrid Donato, Chief, Mental Health Promotion Branch
Michele Bechard, Team Lead, Safe Schools/Healthy Students 
Margeret Weisner, Public Health Advisor and Project Officer, Safe Schools/Healthy Students 
James Wright, Public Health Advisor, Suicide Prevention, and Project Officer, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
 

Center Leadership

David Osher, Principal Investigator (AIR)
Sandy Williamson, Director (AIR)
Greta Colombi, Deputy Director (AIR)
Sally Ruddy, Lead on Survey Training and TA Support (AIR)
Kristen Darling Churchill, Lead on Product Development and Dissemination (Child Trends)
Tim Duffey, Lead on Training (Vision Training Associates, Inc.)