Supporting the Well-Being of Young People and Their Communities
Establishing positive environments that foster connectedness, promote health and well-being, and strengthen engagement
Schools and communities are grappling with mental health concerns, school safety challenges, and chronic absenteeism—issues that significantly disrupt student learning, engagement, and development. We support leaders in creating responsive, safe, and supportive learning environments that strengthen school climate and build lasting conditions in which students, educators, and communities can thrive.
We help clients collaborate and align efforts to create safe and supportive environments within and across child-, youth-, and family-serving systems.
Our Capacities
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Featured Services and Projects
Systems Alignment to Serve the Whole Person
WestEd provides support for local, regional, and state agencies to improve the effectiveness of whole-person initiatives.
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California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys and Data Workshops
WestEd helps create safe and supportive environments for student success with the largest and most comprehensive statewide survey system in the nation.
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Conditions for Learning and Development: Peer Collaboratives for Educational Leaders
Engaging and collaborative professional learning opportunities – led by WestEd – that build fair and accessible conditions for learning and development.
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Safe and Supportive Learning Environments
We help you implement, scale, and improve initiatives related to safe and supportive learning environments (SSLE).
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Community Schools Development and Implementation
Our team of experts can facilitate and support your implementation efforts related to community schools through communities of practice, content-specific knowledge and capacity building, and...
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Insights & Impact
Resources
Browse our high-quality publications and resources designed to inform and engage professionals in a variety of fields including K–12 education, early childhood, and health and justice.
Featured Experts
Rebeca Cerna
Rebeca Cerna is an expert in school climate, health and wellness, and the strategic use of data and participatory approaches. As Director of the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities area at WestEd, Cerna is dedicated to creating and maintaining safe, supportive, and collaborative learning environments that are supportive of children and youth as well as the adults who guide them.
Expert
Thomas Hanson
Tom Hanson conducts rigorous research on the effectiveness of programs, products, and practices intended to improve child and youth outcomes. With extensive experience in study design, survey measurement, and statistics, he has led numerous randomized controlled trials of programs targeting student well-being, including anti-bullying, school climate, and character education initiatives.
Expert
Natalie Walrond
Natalie Walrond brings to her work 30 years of experience in K–12 education, finance, and strategy, working with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. In addition to project leadership, Walrond speaks and writes on social and emotional well-being, system alignment and coherence, academic excellence, and equity.
Expert
Jenny Betz
Jenny Betz is a senior program associate with WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities, leading coaching, training, and technical assistance to support clients’ efforts to assess and improve school climate and wellness.
Expert
Amber Valdez
Amber Valdez directs a body of work on systems change and leadership with a focus on designing and leading systems for equity. Her expertise includes strategic planning, cross-sector/interagency collaboration, systems of support, continuous improvement, human-centered design, complex systems change, and equity leadership.
Expert
Krystal Wu
As a program manager, Krystal Wu delivers technical assistance, designs professional learning, and develops resources to support school, district, and state leaders to be more reflective, culturally responsive practitioners.
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Nicole Tirado-Strayer
Nicole Tirado-Strayer is a senior research associate and an applied developmental psychologist with over 15 years of experience in participatory program and policy evaluation. Tirado-Strayer conducts evaluations of systems change initiatives in the education and mental/behavioral health fields.
Expert
Natalie Romer
Natalie Romer is a Senior Associate on WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team. Her work includes technical assistance, research, evaluation, and training focused on developing effective and efficient systems to support the social and emotional well-being of school communities.
Expert
Timothy Ojetunde
Timothy Ojetunde supports local, county, and state educational agencies in centering equity and improving educational outcomes for all. Timothy’s expertise is grounded in school culture and climate, data, restorative practices, social–emotional learning (SEL), trauma-informed practices, and mental health.
Expert