Office of Student Wellness

The Office of Student Wellness is located within the Bureau of Special Education at the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE).

With funding support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), the Office will be implementing both the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative and Project AWARE pilot programs in six NH school districts and communities: Berlin, Concord, Franklin, Laconia, Rochester, and SAU 7.

In addition to these pilot programs, the Office of Student Wellness is partnering with NH Department of Health and Human Services’ Division for Children, Youth and Families, Juvenile Justice Services, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services, Office of Minority Health and Refugee Affairs, NH Parent and Family Organizations, Regional Mental Health Centers, and other various partners to do the following:

(1) Develop and sustain a formal state-level collaborative cross-agency structure for identifying needs, implementing evidence-based practices, sharing and targeting data and resources, changing policy, and implementing cross-discipline professional development,

(2) Substantially improve the social and emotional skills and preparedness for long-term educational success of young children, birth through five years,

(3) Substantially improve the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth and reduce school violence, bullying, behavior problems, suspensions, substance abuse, and punitive/exclusionary discipline practices,

(4) Substantially improve the behavioral health outcomes of the highest-need children, youth, and their families/caregivers,

(5) Substantially improve the engagement of families and youth in decision-making at all levels, and

(6) Substantially reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors at the individual, family, and community level to reduce the prevalence of alcohol and other drug misuse among school aged children.

These goals will be accomplished by:

(1) Implementing a structured and proven planning and implementation framework at the state and local levels to ensure cross-agency and cross-discipline partnerships,

(2) Implementing the evidence-based Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework in early childhood programs and schools, and

(3) Using the Interconnected Systems Framework.