Behavioral and Physical Health Policy Research
Executive Summary
The team of students continued their work on a project with the Superintendent's Office of the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). Last semester, they recommended and drafted changes to the District's administrative policies so they better supported the behavioral and physical health of students in the District. The project included a four-phase process: first, the students researched best practices and policies in other school districts in the U.S.; second, they interviewed DPSCD staff and education professionals about existing practices and the feasibility of potential administrative changes; third, they researched additional school districts based on insights from the interviews; and finally, they put together a final deliverable to propose policy changes to the DPSCD Superintendent, physical health team, and behavioral health team. Through this project, the team determined ways the Detroit schools can better provide physical and behavioral health services and support their students. Over the past semester, the students worked on a research paper with their supervisor Theodore R. Jones, a project manager at DPSCD, to highlight the education policy review process. The paper is expected to be published in the fall.