Community Health Needs Assessment Theme 5: Education Systems Must Evolve.
The fifth theme to come out of our 2025 community health needs assessment is a shared feeling that education systems must evolve. Youth today have different needs and priorities from previous generations. The home, community, and digital environments surrounding them have changed from what parents and teachers experienced in their youth. While applauding some efforts to adapt, educators openly acknowledge that school systems have not kept pace with change. Parents agree.
Participants in all regions view schools as a key place for supporting child well-being. With an emphasis on resilience-building, they recommend improvements to instructional methods, physical space, and workforce training.
In our 2025 community health needs assessment, we heard 10 major themes impacting youth mental and behavioral health in St. Louis County. See them all and learn how we conducted this assessment.
Updated Teaching Methods.
Educators and parents say schools need more opportunities for students to experience constructive failure – learning from mistakes to build resilience. They recommend unstructured play and project-based learning to develop problem-solving, imagination, and negotiation skills. Soft skills (e.g., interpersonal communication, teamwork, and active listening) are highly recommended to improve mental health and academic indicators across all grade levels. Curricular integration is essential for long-term implementation, say educators. They observe that elementary schools are doing this, but academic content requirements tend to displace social-emotional learning practices in the middle and high school years. Strong principal leadership, in addition to their assessment of teachers’ implementation of these practices, is needed, especially in middle and high school. The school’s leadership and culture are what enable buy-in to the curriculum by teachers and parents.
Physical spaces matter.
Youth describe that unkempt and outdated facilities make them feel disregarded. Participants, including a few teenagers, suggest redesigning classrooms, common areas, and play spaces to promote happiness, engagement, and belonging.
Better Preparing Educators.
Educators believe universities need to change how they prepare new teachers. New teachers are not skilled in building student resilience, supporting students with mental health issues (e.g., ADHD), and communicating with parents effectively. Upskilling current teachers and paraprofessionals is desired in the areas of trauma-informed instruction, effective academic assessment, and making appropriate resource referrals. Current efforts to train teachers on trauma-informed methods are described as mandated, shallow, and lacking commitment from administrators. Educators report that many school districts prioritize subject-specific pedagogy or administrative policies during the limited time available for on-the-job professional development.
Creating Places of Belonging.
Taken together, the observations and recommendations – mostly from educators – form a vision of an education system that is a place of belonging. Such a place can develop more resilient young people – those with and without mental and behavioral health conditions – who are well prepared for successful lives in a stress-filled digital world.
We spoke to more than 300 St. Louisans to understand what needs exist when it comes to youth behavioral health. Learn more about our process.