Eastern Enters 2nd Year of $6M Grant, Providing Mental Health Support for Local PreK-12 Students

Eastern Enters 2nd Year of $6M Grant, Providing Mental Health Support for Local PreK-12 Students

St. Davids, PA: Eastern University's College of Education & Behavioral Sciences is celebrating a successful year of addressing the mental health needs of students in three local high-need school districts: Chester Upland, Norristown Area, and Pottstown. The Interboro School District will be added to the initiative this upcoming year, further expanding the mental health services offered to students in our local communities.

The funding of this program, entitled Eastern University Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration (EU MHSP), comes from a 5-year, $6 Million grant awarded to Eastern by the U.S. Department of Education in 2023.

"This grant has truly transformed the way we extend our resources and services to our community," says Dean Susan Edgar-Smith. "We have highly skilled and dedicated graduate students seeking careers in mental health service fields who are well-trained and enthusiastic about supporting these students and their families. We look forward to year number two of this initiative and the opportunity to add a new school district to impact even more lives."

The grant provides $1,199,357 per year for five years and aims to financially support Eastern's internship students who complete their field experience hours within our participating school districts. This past year, Eastern had 14 internship students who provided roughly 700 hours of mental health and wellness support for the PreK-12th grade students in the three districts. The grant is now open to students not only from our School Counseling program, but from School Psychology, Social Work, and Counseling Psychology programs as well.

"We are thrilled to be able to open this opportunity up to even more of our students in various programs who are interested in careers in mental health," Dean Edgar-Smith adds.

Dr. Susan Edgar-Smith, Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, serves as the Principal Investigator of the program, and Dr. Cathy Kunsch, Chair of School Counseling and Psychology at Eastern, serves as the Co-Principal Investigator.

Eastern University's Master of Education in School Counselingis accredited by the Master's in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) and meets the competency areas established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the American School Counseling Association. The program has a rich history of equipping students with evidence-based practices and research-based counseling skills.

"We are extremely proud of our College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and its rich history of service," shares President Ron Matthews. "This grant affirms the informed diligence of the many members of our faculty and student body committed to making a difference in the field of mental health and positively impacting our surrounding communities. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for funding this important work."

Increased philanthropic funding and innovating with excellence to provide high-quality curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular experiences for all students are priorities in Eastern's Strategic Plan for 2022-2027. A successful year utilizing the funding from this grant is an affirmation of the efforts already made and a strong precursor for the work that is yet to come.

Learn more about the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences.