North Texas JED and AASA District Mental Health Initiative
In partnership with AASA, The School Superintendents Association and Region 10, JED is offering 10 full scholarships and 10 partial scholarships (50%) to districts and charters in Region 10.
As a district or charter school leader, you know protecting students’ emotional well-being is crucial to their safety and ability to thrive. Building top-tier mental health services and initiatives is complex and requires deep expertise.
Our team helps guide your district or charter through a comprehensive evaluation of current systems of support to identify needs, and enhance those systems for all pre-K–12 students in Region 10 schools.
Our Challenge:
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34.
- In 2025, 33% of high school students reported persistent sadness and hopelessness.
- 17% of Texas youth report mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental challenges.
- Texas ranks last in the U.S. for access to mental health services.
- It takes 8 to 10 years on average for youth to access care after symptoms appear.
The need is urgent — and your leadership can make the difference.
Two Tracks, One Goal
Traditional School District Track
Building strong mental health systems district-wide means real coordination across campuses, staff, and competing priorities. This track connects you with fellow superintendents and district leaders facing those same realities, giving you practical strategies and a peer network.
Charter Network Track
Building strong mental health systems across a charter network means keeping pace with growth — new campuses, new students, new needs. This track connects you with other charter school leaders who share that operating reality, so you get straight to solutions with people who’ve faced the same decisions.
The Opportunity for Region 10 Districts & Charters
Region 10 has partnered JED and AASA to offer the North Texas District Mental Health Initiative (DMHI) — a two-year, fully supported opportunity to strengthen your district’s or charter’s mental health systems.
- Full scholarships available for 10 districts or charters
- Partial scholarships (50%) for 10 districts or charters
- Cohort-based learning with peer collaboration
- Customized strategic support from JED and Region 10 experts
Selection Timeline:
- October – December 2026: Applications open with rolling acceptance notifications
- February 1, 2027: Program Start Date
Instructions and requirements for the application process:
- Eligible applicants are qualifying Region 10 districts or charters
- Applicants must provide information for all of the required fields in the application, as well as any additional information requested by JED during the application process
- Recipients will be determined on a first-come, first-served, rolling basis, subject to the discretion of The Jed Foundation and Region 10, and the availability of funds
Region 10 Participating Districts and Charters Receive
JED provides a deep analysis of policies, programs, and perspectives from principals, staff, and students. Participating districts and charters also receive a customized strategic plan, resources, and opportunities to collaborate on key school mental health and leadership topics important to Region 10 districts. Together, we help you make meaningful, sustainable, and measurable improvements in student well-being.
Fulfillment of Legislative Mandates for Texas School Districts and Charters
Curated and coordinated trainings and learning sessions throughout the program will ensure your district or charter fulfills all requirements of the Texas legislated mandates (HB8/SB11) for school mental health.
Comprehensive Assessment
JED’s comprehensive suite of assessments provide a data-driven analysis of your current system to understand your district’s or charter’s strengths and areas of opportunity for quick improvements and long-term growth. Our assessment tools include a self-assessment, a staff survey, a principal survey, and surveys for middle school and high school students. Combined, this data paints a holistic picture of your students’ mental health needs, as well as your current capabilities to meet them.
Policy Review
The team will evaluate existing district or charter policies and protocols that support suicide prevention, mental health planning, and crisis planning and response. Our review identifies strengths and areas for improvement by comparing your current policies to recommended practices, and Texas compliance requirements.
School Mental Health System Inventory
Our team guides your district or charter to create a system resource inventory of the programs, services, and supports currently available to support student mental health and well-being, as well as suicide and substance misuse prevention. This tool helps leaders visualize the distribution of support and resources, increase awareness of resource allocation (e.g., staffing, funding, and evaluation processes), and evaluate for gaps.
Customized Feedback
Your district or charter will receive a comprehensive data analysis and report that includes detailed recommendations and visualizations to help you understand where you are, so you can better plan where you want to go. Combining multiple sources of data, these insights help our team gain a deeper understanding of your district or charter through a data-informed lens that propels the strategic planning process.
Data-Informed Mental Health Strategic Plans
Drawing on the assessment findings and customized feedback, our team will guide your district or charter to enhance what is already working and support innovation to address unmet needs. We support development of a strategic action plan that aligns with district or charter priorities and will serve as your roadmap for systemic change in student mental health.
Expert Insight and Technical Assistance
You’ll grow your team’s capacity through expert insight, technical assistance, in-person site visits, and ongoing consulting services provided by experienced professionals in school mental health and pre-K–12 education. You’ll receive personalized support from both JED and Region 10 experts throughout strategic plan implementation so you never have to do this work alone.
Sustainability Plan
As our intensive support winds down, your district or charter will receive a summary of progress, including accomplishments and recommendations for continued district or charter enhancement. We also provide a sustainability plan to outline future steps to maintain and build on your progress, and plan for post-implementation evaluation.
Measurable Outcomes and Lasting Impact
Following implementation, the JED team administers post-assessments and provides a comprehensive executive summary analysis that includes an evaluation of your progress to reveal growth, including data about students, leaders, and staff.
Ongoing Guidance and Curated Library of Recommended Practices
Our team is at the forefront of suicide prevention and comprehensive school mental health. We help your district or charter make informed decisions and enhance resources, policies, and programs with access to ongoing guidance from Region 10, JED, and AASA experts. JED’s extensive library of current research on clinically informed and peer-reviewed recommended practices — available only to our partners — also supports your district’s or charter’s strategic work.
Postvention Support and Consultation
Our team of nationally recognized experts works to ensure your district or charter is prepared to respond in the event of a suicide or other tragic event. JED provides postvention consulting to help navigate the aftermath in your community at no additional fee. Our support is customized to compassionately address your immediate needs, reduce the risks associated with exposure to suicide, and support your students and staff in healing.
Your Commitment
Districts and charters join the initiative as a North Texas Region 10 cohort and work on the same program timeline with intentional opportunities to collaborate. A commitment to attendance and engagement ensures maximum impact and enhances the learning experience for all cohort members. Participating districts and charters are expected to:
- Attend monthly cohort learning sessions in-person at Region 10
- Attend individual district and charter co-lead technical assistance and consultation calls (may be in-person or virtual) at least monthly
- Attend Steering Committee meetings for individual districts and charters (may be in-person or virtual) at least four times per year
For more information, contact:
The Jed Foundation
Jennifer Reed
Senior Director, District Programs, The Jed Foundation
Chrysten Foley
Head of School Partnerships, PK-12
Region 10
Jennifer Farley
Program Coordinator, Region 10