In a monumental step toward prioritizing student well-being, Binghamton University Community Schools secured a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand mental health services in Chenango County.

This funding is part of the department’s Mental Health Service Provider Demonstration Grant Program. The project, to be launched in 2025, is designed to expand social work resources in Norwich and Oxford School Districts — impacting up to 2,310 students and their families.

The U.S. Department of Education oversees education policy and funding, ensuring equal access to education and promoting student achievement. Education is typically left to state and local departments, with the federal government supplying about 8 percent of elementary and high school education funding.

“Although [the Department of Education’s] share of total education funding in the U.S. is relatively small, [the department] works hard to get a big bang for its taxpayer-provided bucks by targeting its funds where they can do the most good,” the department’s website reads. “This targeting reflects the historical development of the Federal role in education as a kind of ‘emergency response system,’ a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.”

BU Community Schools operates based on the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Coalition for Community Schools initiative — part of a national effort to transform public schools into community schools, emphasizing family engagement and community-building. The University directly partners with community schools in the surrounding area “to advance equity and opportunities through collaborative partnerships.”

The University received the grant in light of a primary care and mental health professional shortage in Chenango County, which has left the burden of students’ needs on families and local school systems. The funding will be used to hire a project director and a community school director for each district. These resources will help provide quality education for students in the area, especially those who do not have access to private mental health services.

“As a resident of Chenango County, I am excited about this grant and the potential it brings,” Luann Kida, the executive director of BU Community Schools, wrote to Pipe Dream. “As a rural community, resources are scarce and need is high. This funding exemplifies the power of partnership by using the university-assisted community school approach as a framework to dream about and develop ideas that serve children and their families.”

Kida said she will support the project director and oversee the initiative as it comes together. BU Community Schools plans to provide students with foundational resources to support their future success. The Department of Education previously awarded a total of $9.3 million to the program to expand mental health services in Southern Tier schools.

“With a focus on mutually beneficial partnerships designed to leverage expertise and resources, capacity is expanded and collaboration is strengthened,” Kida wrote. “We already have eager partners busy working on developing out really creative approaches that truly optimize this opportunity. Our community school faculty will help us measure our impact and learn from this new initiative to help inform the university-assisted community schools field around successes and lessons learned.”