Project GROW is a multi-faceted partnership that provides resources and supports to (a) Delaware school districts and charter systems and (b) graduate students in Delaware school psychology and social work programs.
Initiatives within Delaware Schools
The Project GROW Leadership Team recognizes the practical realities of school-based implementation and the barriers to preventing and addressing the mental health needs of PK–12 students in schools. Project GROW offers support to Delaware schools by:
- Providing consultation for equitable school mental health service delivery and coordination within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)
- Offering professional development trainings, webinars, and modules to school-based professionals and teams
- Matching school psychology and social work trainees with schools interested in hosting practicum and internship placements
In coordination with the DE-PBS Project, members of the Project GROW Leadership Team work alongside partnering school systems’ MTSS coaches to provide district-customized MTSS consultation. School districts and charter systems participating in Project GROW MTSS consultation agree to focus on (a) adopting, implementing, and evaluating policies to promote school personnel wellbeing and retention; (b) dismantling structures, mindsets, and practices that contribute to racial disproportionality in disciplinary outcomes and special education representation; and (c) refining Tier 1 systems of culturally responsive and sustaining universal prevention and wellness promotion practices in addition to advanced-tier intervention practices.
To advance the ongoing professional learning and growth of school personnel and teams, Project GROW offers varied opportunities for professional development. These include in-person trainings, virtual webinars, and online modules that may be completed asynchronously. In offering these opportunities, Project GROW aims to advance the readiness of educators, related service providers (including mental health service professionals), and administrators to play important and unique roles in school-based, equity-centered prevention and intervention for mental health.
Bridging its missions to support both Delaware schools and Delaware graduate students, Project GROW coordinates fieldwork placements for students needing host sites and schools interested in hosting students. In recognition of the important roles and time commitments of field supervisors, Project GROW provides stipends to practicum and internship supervisors, offers resources and professional development on the topic of effective supervision, and grants host sites allowances to purchase materials or training experiences for their supervisors and fieldwork students.
Initiatives within Delaware Universities
The University of Delaware (UD) school psychology program faculty and Delaware State University (DSU) social work program faculty collaborate on issues related to recruitment, curriculum, fieldwork, and professional support within their graduate programs.
UD and DSU graduate students admitted to Project GROW training cohorts receive tuition grants and traineeship stipends to support their graduate education. During their initial years in the program, graduate students complete semester-long traineeship rotations related to professional outreach and advocacy, applied research and program evaluation, mental health service delivery and coordination, and systems consultation and leadership.
- During their Professional Outreach and Advocacy traineeship, Project GROW trainees develop resources to raise awareness about school mental health topics and professions. Trainees deliver presentations on school mental health professions in high school, community college, and undergraduate classrooms in conjunction with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Exposure Project. Trainees also plan and lead activities for a legislative advocacy project and National School Psychology Week (in November) or National School Social Work Week (in March).
- During their Applied Research and Program Evaluation traineeship, Project GROW trainees identify questions of interest and importance to school systems. To answer these questions, trainees collect data and conduct evaluations of policies, programs, or practices. Trainees communicate their findings and recommendations in briefs, reports, and/or presentations.
- During their Mental Health Service Delivery and Coordination traineeship, Project GROW trainees work with school partners to identify service needs and aligned interventions that boast research support and demonstrate contextual fit. Trainees implement such evidence-based interventions at the universal, targeted, and/or tertiary level of prevention. Trainees evaluate intervention implementation using fidelity and progress monitoring tools.
- During their Systems Consultation and Leadership traineeship, Project GROW trainees collaborate with MTSS specialists to provide technical assistance to school systems in adopting, refining, and sustaining MTSS. Trainees support multidisciplinary teams’ collection and use of systems data to make decisions. Trainees gain experience in designing, delivering, and evaluating professional development and implementation support systems.
Project GROW trainees receive specialized training in Youth Mental Health First Aid and PREPaRE. In addition, trainees participate in professional development webinars related to social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practice, and equitable mental health service delivery.
Project GROW trainees complete their practica and internships in partnering high-need Delaware schools, which are defined, in this context, as schools with (a) high ratios of students to mental health service providers and (b) high levels of economic disadvantage. In these schools, Project GROW trainees apply their specialized knowledge to serve PK–12 students and contribute to systems change initiatives. Project GROW trainees commit to serving in high-need Delaware schools upon graduation.