Latest news with #ruraleducation
Washington Post
27-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race , saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON (AP) — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
27-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON (AP) — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fresno County rural areas to gain better internet access. Here's how
Internet access can be a challenge for underserved rural communities like Caruthers or Riverdale in Fresno County. That challenge became apparent during the pandemic when school districts in rural areas throughout the San Joaquin Valley had to provide education to their students virtually. Orin Hirschkorn, superintendent of Caruthers Unified School District, said the district learned during the pandemic that the community of about 2,500 people, located 15 miles south of downtown Fresno, faced all sorts of barriers. 'Number one was actually access. So that created several issues,' Hirschkorn said. Not only did the school district had to provide the education and instruction to the students, but students had to have a device to access the internet. 'And we were lacking in all of those areas,' Hirschkorn said. But, thanks to a partnership between Comcast, the state and Fresno County, reliable internet access is now available to Caruthers students and their families, decreasing the digital divide — the gap between those with access to digital devices and services to those without it — many rural areas have. 'Whenever we come into a community like Caruthers, it's important for us to not only bring high quality service, but to bring something that leaves a lasting impact,' said Nathan Ahle, government affairs director for Comcast California. Broadband access in rural areas is important for online learning, telehealth appointments, banking services, job and employment opportunities, Ahle said. Caruthers eighth grader Mia Perez Galindo was one of the 88 students in Caruthers Unified who received a brand-new laptop from Comcast earlier this month. Hirschkorn said Comcast's donation of laptops to students helps the district get over another obstacle — having devices to access the internet. This month, the partnership between the county and Comcast kicked off a new rural broadband expansion project expected to be completed by 2026. It would bring a reliable, high-speed broadband network to underserved households in the rural community of Riverdale, about 10 miles south of Caruthers. The expansion is made possible by a $1 million Federal Funding Account (FFA) grant from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and private funding by Comcast. The state established the $2 billion 'Last Mile' broadband program in 2021, after the pandemic exposed digital divide disparities in low income rural communities. 'They're making sure this last mile got done so people actually have good internet at home, not just at school,' said Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes, who represents the communities of Riverdale and Caruthers. 'The pandemic really exposed the fact that rural students had no access to internet,' Mendes said. 'We had to literally leave the lights on in the libraries, so they could park in the parking lot and use the internet.' Mendes said extending service to Riverdale will boost economic growth, support and attract new business and enhance residents quality of life.
