The Schools Partnership Project: A Successful Model towards Improving School Performance.

The primary goal of the Schools Partnership Project (SPP) was to investigate whether the emotional and academic well-being of children could be improved by providing mental health consultation services to public school personnel. Licensed clinical social workers were placed at school sites to work collegially with teachers and administrators to identify the problems of stressed children and their families, to improve school personnel's ability to deal with problems, and to learn how to make effective referrals and interventions. Two licensed social workers provided mental health consultation 1 day a week for 2 years and 3 months each at 6 diverse San Francisco (California) public elementary schools. Evaluation through a quasiexperimental design demonstrated a positive impact of the mental health consultation for teachers and students. Many users of consultation services reported an increased sense of responsibility for children's learning, with increased internal locus of control, and many teachers reported increased knowledge and professional capability. Results indicate that children's self-expectations and academic achievement are related to teacher use of consultation, and that the SPP is a promising approach to improving achievement and student self-expectation. One table illustrates teacher demographics. Contains 74 references. (SLD)