A blueprint for community-engaged research at
When the U.S. Surgeon General issued an urgent advisory about youth mental health in 2021, the superintendent of the Redwood City School District knew all too well that the crisis was affecting his students.
Recognizing that a student's mental health impacts their ability to learn — and how difficult it can be to access timely care — he had already been in touch with the district's longtime research-practice partner at University, the. In close collaboration with the School of Medicine, the three organizations worked to establish an integrated, sustainable system of mental health supports to serve the district's 6,300 students.
Five years later, Gardner Center research shows that their hard work is making a difference. Students in crisis have immediate access to clinical care; families have a trusted and accessible partner to support their children; teachers can consult with in-house mental health experts; and students are learning and using new strategies designed to help them thrive emotionally, socially, and academically.
This didn't happen overnight. In fact, it can be traced back 25 years to the 2000 founding of the Gardner Center, which pioneered the community-engaged research model at and has been a leader in advancing what has become known as "positive youth development" inside and outside academic circles.
