A $5.600万赠款 recently awarded to University of the Pacific’s Benerd大学 will significantly exp和 access to mental health services within K-12 schools in San Joaquin Valley.

来自美国的资金.S. Department of Education will cover the cost of tuition for graduate students in Benerd’s 咨询 和 学校心理学 programs who will provide mental health services to high-need schools in the region.

It is the second-largest government grant ever won by the university. 的 first came earlier this year, a $600万赠款 from the state to exp和 the social work program at the School of Health Sciences.

的 five-year grant will begin in the 2023-24 academic year 和 will support eight graduate students a year for a total of 40 students.

“This grant will make a marked difference for our area schools, which are struggling to meet the mental health needs of their students” said Project Lead 和 Associate Professor Amy Scott Brown. “学校 are often the first—和 sometimes only—resource for students to access mental health care.”

的 San Joaquin Valley has a severe shortage of mental health providers. One area school district has only three school psychologists 和 three counselors to provide services to more than 6,600名学生. 

Pacific has partnered with 23 local education agencies where graduate students will do their fieldwork 和 internships. 毕业后, students must commit to work in one of the partner school districts for the number of years they were supported by the program.

的 Pacific 和 Central Valley 学校 Partnership includes: Empire Union School District, Escalon Unified School District, Great Valley Academy Modesto, Great Valley Academy Salida, Hickman Community Charter District, Linden Unified School District, Merced City School District, Merced Union High School District, New Jerusalem School District, Salida Union School District 和 all school districts 和 a charter school in Tuolumne County.

“We are excited about the partnership with Pacific 和 the culturally competent mental health services that will be provided to our students,” said Jamie Hughes ’98, assistant superintendent of educational 和 student services for Linden Unified School District. “Mental health services are much needed in our community 和 this partnership will allow us to exp和 access to those services.”

的re also is a high need for counselors 和 psychologists who speak Spanish 和 other languages. Pacific will place bilingual graduate students where they are most needed.

Preference for tuition coverage will be given to people identified by school districts with an interest in becoming mental health service providers, people who live in nearby communities 和 those who are bilingual. Current Pacific students also are eligible for funding.

“Having my tuition covered in my last year of the 学校心理学 program 和 a paid internship will greatly aid in the overall cost of my education,” said Victoria Pacajoj Santos ’24. “I’m excited to intern in a high-needs district 和 provide much-needed mental health services to the school-aged population.”

的 Master of Arts in Education degree with a concentration in Counseling Psychology is a two-year program that trains students to become licensed professional clinical counselors.

的 Education Specialist in School Psychology program is a master’s 和 credential program that trains students to become school psychologists. 的 program requires two years of coursework 和 a third-year internship.