322: The recipe for a truly great school mental health program

Our special guest today: Dr. Tony Walker serves on the executive team of The Jed Foundation (“JED”) – a national nonprofit that serves as a thought leader on school mental health and youth suicide prevention. JED works within Higher Education Institutions and PK-12 schools and districts to help leaders build systems that promote more positive mental health outcomes for youth. In his role, Dr. Walker leads JED’s Academic Programs team, supporting the implementation of JED’s programs and best practices of comprehensive school mental health and suicide prevention programming across our nation’s education landscape. Previously, Dr. Walker worked in multiple roles in public education, including as a teacher, school counselor and most recently serving as an executive district leader over Student Support Services at Uplift Education, a high performing network of schools dedicated to providing excellent educational opportunities to more than 23,000 students in North Texas. Founding this work at Uplift in 2011, he established and supervised five large departments servicing 44 schools, including Counseling Services, Social Emotional Learning, Student Discipline and Restorative Practices, Prevention Programs, and Strategic Community Partnerships. Under his decade of leadership, Uplift developed and implemented one of the largest school-based mental health systems in Texas, allowing students and families direct access to licensed mental health clinicians in every school, robust SEL experiences, in-district family therapy services, and a full array of other wraparound programs and supports. Further this conversation with the following links: https://jedfoundation.org/ X (formerly Twitter) - https://twitter.com/jedfoundation  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JedFoundation  Instagram - https://instagram.com/jedfoundation/ This episode is sponsored by our partner at Money Pickle! Discover the key to unlocking your financial success by scheduling a complimentary call with one of Money Pickle's trusted, third-party financial advisors. With Money Pickle taking care of the matchmaking process and the advisor covering the cost of the call, all you need to do is share the topic of discussion and attend the meeting at a time that best suits you. In this invaluable video chat session, you'll have the chance to delve into your financial aspirations, investment strategies, and retirement plans, propelling you further towards attaining true financial independence. Now, here's even more good news for you: while there's no obligation, you have a unique opportunity to start an ongoing relationship with your matched advisor. They can offer you additional personalized services and the invaluable support you need throughout your investment journey. Connect with them this year: https://www.moneypickle.com/shiftingschools