As the COVID pandemic disrupted school communities, addressing mental health concerns has become a top priority. World-class research on 15,000 students and 3,500 faculty members informs interventions that bolster well-being in response to the disruption caused by COVID-19 and the resulting mental health challenges facing our communities.

Description:

In this webinar, Dr. Suniya Luthar and Nina Kumar will present world-class scientific research on resilience with cutting-edge approaches to analytics, and innovative ways to best apply findings. Data from over 15,000 students, who were assessed in 2019, and data on 15,000 students and 3,500 faculty and staff members assessed during distance learning in 2020 will be integrated to present a holistic view of school community well-being over time. The presenters will highlight the most important, modifiable risk and protective processes that have emerged across these accumulated data, and will describe best practices that schools have implemented to bolster well-being.

Importantly, the presenters will also illustrate how schools can effectively use data from these rigorous assessments in targeted interventions to maximally benefit at-risk groups. Thus, attendees will have a data-driven perspective on how best to foster resilience in school communities generally, as well as concrete illustrations of practices to benefit groups who are at especially heightened risk.

About the speakers:

Suniya Luthar is professor emerita at Columbia University’s Teachers College and co-founder and chief research officer of Authentic Connections, a science-based organization committed to maximizing well-being in school communities. Her research involves vulnerability and resilience among various populations including youth in poverty, teens in upper-middle class families, and parents (especially mothers) in high-achieving, stressful communities.

Nina completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Psychology at Williams College. Prior to co- founding Authentic Connections, Nina worked in user experience and product management at IBM Watson Health. At AC, Nina steers the organization’s data science and analytics efforts. She has published several peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals, as well as chapters for scholarly audiences and the lay public.

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