Editors' Note: This story ran in our December newsletter, published Dec. 2.

Mid-America MHTTC lent its expertise in school mental health to attendees of the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH)'s annual conference Nov. 7-9 in Austin, Texas.

"The Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health was an excellent opportunity for us to learn about current practices in the field, network with others doing work in this area, and to showcase our efforts to elevate school mental health programming in our region," said Brandy Clarke, Ph.D., our Center's co-project director.

The conference drew more than 2,000 educators, administrators, student instructional support personnel, mental health practitioners, family members, youth, policymakers, and more.

On the second day, Dr. Clarke co-presented on implementation science-based technical assistance at a symposium that also featured representatives from other MHTTC regions. About 50 people attended the session.

"It was very well-received, and attendees provided positive feedback at end of the session," said Jessica Gonzalez, school mental health project coordinator for the MHTTC National Coordinating Office (NCO).

At a later session facilitated by the MHTTC Network, NCSMH co-directors Sharon Hoover, Ph.D., and Nancy Lever, Ph.D., provided an in-depth overview of the National School Mental Health Curriculum. During the session, Dr. Hoover called upon Dr. Clarke to share with the audience some tidbits from our Center's experience in teaching the curriculum to districts in our region, a nod to our close partnership with the NCSMH to disseminate comprehensive programming.

"We were privileged to have Dr. Clarke join us for our presentation about the national MHTTC efforts," Dr. Hoover said. "She was able to share with a packed room of learners about the work of our region to advance school mental health at state and district levels.”

The MHTTC Network had a robust showing at the conference. Eleven centers, as well as the NCO, participated in the event.