A Rutgers program set out to fix how NJ schools handle student mental health. Here's what it looked like at one Monmouth County high school.
Matawan Regional was the only school in Monmouth County selected for a three-year Rutgers-led initiative, which gave 50 schools across New Jersey the tools to build a comprehensive, data-driven system of student support.
Staff at Matawan Regional High School celebrate completing the Enhancing School Mental Health Services Project, a three-year NJDOE initiative run in partnership with Rutgers University. (Photo courtesy Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District.)
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Chris Howell | June 5, 2026
For years, when a student at Matawan Regional High School was struggling, the path to getting help depended largely on whether the right staff member happened to notice. There was no consistent, schoolwide system for identifying students who needed support before a crisis emerged, and staff didn’t always feel equipped to initiate those difficult conversations with students and their families.
Sheryl Kish, a special education and math teacher at the school who has worked in the district for nearly 30 years, said she saw it firsthand. “One of the most valuable parts of the program was taking a close look at how we identify and support students,” she said. “We revamped our intervention and referral process using state guidance and best practices to help identify students in need and ensure staff feel confident having important conversations with students and their families.”
That challenge of building a proactive, consistent system of mental health support, rather than responding case by case, is exactly what Rutgers University, located here in Central Jersey, set out to address with its Enhancing School Mental Health Services Project. The program worked with 50 schools across 38 New Jersey districts to help them build comprehensive, data-driven mental health systems that reach students earlier, support staff in having difficult conversations, and create a schoolwide culture of well-being.
The initiative was a partnership between the Rutgers Center for Comprehensive School Mental Health, based in New Brunswick, and the New Jersey Department of Education.
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Launched in 2023 and funded entirely through the American Rescue Plan Act, it provided selected schools with three years of intensive training, coaching, and technical assistance. School teams of educators, counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and administrators held monthly meetings and training sessions to assess student needs, evaluate existing support systems, and identify gaps. The Rutgers center notes that roughly 10 to 25 percent of children have some form of mental illness, and that research supports delivering mental health services within a schoolwide system rather than on a case-by-case basis.
Several Central Jersey schools were also part of the cohort, including Monroe Township Middle School, New Brunswick Middle School, Paul Robeson Community School of the Arts, and Old Bridge High School in Middlesex County. Matawan Regional was the only school in Monmouth County among those selected.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to connect with 50 schools across the state and work intensively with them to support their implementation of a comprehensive school-based mental health system,” said Dr. Ann Murphy, the Rutgers project director. “This project comes at a critical time, as students continue to experience increased mental health needs.”
At Matawan Regional, the program produced concrete changes in how the school identifies and reaches students who need help. One of the most significant was the adoption of a universal behavior screener, administered each year to the freshman class with parental consent. The tool gives staff a consistent, confidential way to flag students who may benefit from additional outreach, replacing the informal process that had existed before. School officials also overhauled the intervention and referral process using state guidance and evidence-based best practices, and created a health resources website to help families connect with counseling and crisis support services.
“Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District supports the mental health and well-being of our students in a number of ways,” said Jennifer Steffich, the district’s director of student services. “Opportunities like this allow us to strengthen the systems of care we have in place and expand the resources available to students and families.”
The changes extended beyond systems and paperwork. Kish said the program contributed to a broader shift in school culture, including the introduction of the PACK Bucks recognition program. PACK stands for Preparedness, Accountability, Communication, and Kindness. Staff members award students who demonstrate those traits with certificates that can be entered into raffles for prizes donated by the school and the parent-teacher organization.
“There’s a greater sense of connection and belonging throughout the building,” Kish said. “Students are looking out for each other more, and staff members are having more meaningful conversations with students.”
“Over the past two years, this partnership has helped us strengthen how we support students academically, socially, and emotionally,” said Michael Wells, the school’s principal. “The work our staff has done through this initiative has created a more proactive and supportive school environment, based on the gold standard for data-driven, evidence-based best practices for mental health support services.”
The state-funded initiative concluded this year, but Kish said the systems it put in place are now embedded in the way the school operates. “The new systems established through the partnership will continue to shape student support services at MRHS for years to come,” she said.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.