A View from the Top: Superintendents' Perceptions of Mental Health Supports in Rural School Districts.

Purpose: A chasm exists between the expanding mental health needs of school-aged youth and the school resources available to address them. Education agencies must efficiently allocate their limited resources by adopting innovative public health models. The need for these effective approaches is acute in rural regions, where resources tend to be scarce. This mixed-methods study of school superintendents illuminates key opportunities to optimize access to care for students struggling with mental health needs in rural communities. Method: Superintendents serving rural California school districts were targeted for a web-based, mixed response–type, 53-item survey designed to examine their perceptions across three school mental health–related categories: (a) strengths and gaps in community ethos and district infrastructure, (b) school personnel groups’ knowledge and skills, and (c) predominant barriers. Of the targeted respondents, 16.7% completed the survey (N = 62). Quantitative data were analyzed using a ser...