Howard S. Adelman is professor of psychology and codirector of the School Mental Health Project and its federally supported National Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. He began his professional career as a remedial classroom teacher in 1960. In 1973, he returned to UCLA in the role of professor of psychology and also was the director of the Fernald School and Laboratory until 1986.
In 1986, Adelman and Linda Taylor established the School Mental Health Project at UCLA. The two have worked together for over 30 years with a constant focus on improving how schools and communities address a wide range of psychosocial and educational problems experienced by children and adolescents. Over the years, they have worked together on major projects focused on dropout prevention, enhancing the mental health facets of school-based health centers, and developing comprehensive, school-based approaches for students with learning, behavior, and emotional problems. Their work has involved them in schools and communities across the country. The current focus of their work is on policies, practices, and large-scale systemic reform initiatives to enhance school, community, and family connections to address barriers to learning and promote healthy development. This work includes codirecting a national Center for Mental Health in Schools, which facilitates the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support.

Based on an initiative endorsed by more than 20 professional groups, this guide for leaders provides the learning supports students need to succeed.

List of Guides: Tools for Analyses and Capacity Building
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
Part I. Why Learning Supports Are Imperative and What's Wrong With the Way We're Doing It Now
1. Why New Directions Are Imperative
2. Which Students Need Learning Supports?
3. Complex Problems, Limited Solutions
4. Controlling Behavior at the Expense of Motivating Learning
Part II. New Directions for Learning Support at a School Site
5. Addressing Barriers to Learning in Schools
6. A Schoolwide Component for Learning Support
7. Rethinking Infrastructure: Starting at the School Level
8. School-Family-Community Connections: With a Special Focus on School-Community Collaboratives
9. Using and Extending the Research Base for Addressing Barriers to Learning
10. Coda: Building Prototypes and Going-to-Scale
Part III. Resources
11. More About Understanding and Labeling Student Problems
12. Student Support and Behavior Problems
13. Reframing the Roles and Functions of Student Support Staff
14. About Surveying How a School Is Addressing Barriers to Student Learning
15. Natural Opportunities to Promote Social and Emotional Learning and Well-being
16. About Mental Health in Schools
17. New Directions for Student Support Initiative Brief: Assuring That No Child Is Left Behind
18. Examples of Policy Statements
19. Our Published Works and Center-produced Resources on Addressing Barriers to Learning
20. Internet Sites for a Sampling of Major Agencies and Organizations Relevant to Learning Supports
Index