Our Mission

The purpose of the School Mental Health Collaborative (SMHC) is to conduct research that informs policy and practice related to the promotion of social-emotional and behavioral success of all students. SMHC scholars generate tools, resources, and guidance that help educators and parents promote the mental health of children and adolescents.

SMHC News

UW-Madison Awarded $10.4M Grant to Launch National Center for School Mental Health Providers

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been awarded a 4-year, $10.4 million federal contract to launch and operate a national center to expand and improve the country’s school-based mental health workforce of school psychologists, social workers, and other practitioners. The new center, called METRICS, will begin operations on October 1 in partnership with collaborators across three other institutions known for school mental health expertise: University of South Florida, University of California Santa Barbara, and University of Iowa. 

Dr. Katie Eklund interviewed about Out-of-School Suspension policy by Madison’s Ch. 27 News (Sept. 2, 2023)

Dr. Eklund was interviewed by Madison station WKOW regarding the Madison Metropolitan School District’s recent policy change. Elementary students will no longer receive OSS except in the case of criminal behavior, helping to break the cycle of repeated removals from school. Read the whole article here.

USF SMHC is seeking a postdoctoral research fellow! (March 6, 2023)

The SMHC Research, Training, and Technical Assistance Center at the University of South Florida (USF) is offering a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position with yearly renewal; prior Fellows have continued within the USF SMHC Center as Assistant Research Professors. The Fellow would join a rapidly growing team led by USF faculty Co-Directors (Drs. Nate von der Embse, Shannon Suldo, and Evan Dart), and includes a Center Director, two Postdoctoral Fellows, two Research Assistant Professors, and numerous graduate students.

Applications now open for 2 positions in the SMHC Postdoctoral Research and Training Program (September 23, 2022)

SMHC is currently accepting applications for two open postdoctoral researcher positions. The deadline to apply is October 15th. Please visit the program webpage for details.

Dr. Katie Eklund featured in a report by Madison NBC15/WMTV on shortage of mental health professionals in WI schools (September 22, 2022)

Dr. Katie Eklund was recently featured in a Madison NBC15/WMTV report on the shortage of school mental health professionals in WI schools. Dr. Eklund highlighted the work and growth of UW Madison’s Dept. of Ed. Psych, and offered her opinions on how lawmakers fix the shortage of school mental health professionals in the state. Read the full report here.

Dr. Steve Kilgus available to share insights with media on making mental health a priority during the 2022-23 school year (August 17, 2022)

SMHC co-director Dr. Steve Kilgus was included in a group of UW Madison School of Education scholars who are prepared to share their professional insights with any media members working on back-to-school stories for the 2022-23 school year. Read more here.

Dr. Katie Eklund recently quoted in Cap Times Article on COVID-19 effects on School Mental Health (April 28, 2022)

SMHC co-director Dr. Katie Eklund talked to The Cap Times for their article on the effects of the pandemic on student mental health in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Dr. Katie Eklund featured on Wisconsin Public Radio (March 2, 2022)

SMHC co-director Dr. Katie Eklund was recently featured on Wisconsin Public Radio during a segment on the current state of school mental health resources in Wisconsin.

New Book Publication: Conducting Behavioral and Social-Emotional Assessments in MTSS: Screen to Intervene (January, 31, 2022)

A new book from SMHC co-directors Dr. Stephen Kilgus, Dr. Katie Eklund and Dr. Nate Von der Embse entitled, Conducting Behavioral and Social-Emotional Assessments in MTSS: Screen to Intervene is available from Routledge here.

Apply to Project S.T.A.R.S.! (November 12, 2021)

SMHC is seeking applications from psychology doctoral students interested in pursuing faculty positions. The project will prepare 8 new faculty in school psychology with a benefit package that includes an annual stipend, annual research travel support and mentoring from program faculty at USF and UW-Madison. Applications are due December 1st, 2021. Contact Evan H. Dart at ehd@usf.edu to apply.

Seeking Undergraduate Research Assistants (May 12, 2021)

SMHC at UW-Madison is recruiting undergraduates to work on our research team! See this flyer if you are interested in improving the social-emotional and behavioral success of K-12 students. Applications are due Monday, May 17th!

Access Free Materials for the Resilience Education Program (March 13, 2021)

Project REP is an Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded research project supporting the refinement and testing of the Resilience Education Program (REP), a Tier 2 targeted intervention for students exhibiting internalizing concerns. The team has recently hosted a set of free intervention materials.

To learn more about these projects, and all studies conducted by SMHC researchers, click here.