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FROM SCREENING TO SUPPORT

A podcast and webinar series for Illinois schools

We screened our students. Now what?

Universal mental health screening can help schools identify students who may need additional support. But identification is only the beginning.

From Screening to Support is a six-part podcast series and three-part implementation webinar series created by ROE 1 and InnerJoy, built to help Illinois school teams understand what needs to happen before, during, and after student mental health needs are identified.

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DuPage Regional Office of EducationInnerJoy
Small signals.
Stronger support.
A student with InnerJoy learning characters
Built around what matters.The student.
6 conversationsOne connected system
6podcast episodes, one connected system
6practical tools built for an actual team meeting
3implementation webinars for school and district teams

THE PODCAST SERIES

Six conversations. One connected system.

Follow the path from identifying a need to building the support system around the child. Each stop includes a practical resource your team can use immediately.
01Podcast

CHAPTER 01 / Screen

The Screener Is Only the Beginning

Finding the need isn't the same as being prepared to meet it.

About this episode

Illinois schools are entering a new era of universal mental health screening. But administering a screener is only the first step. What happens when a student is identified as potentially needing additional support? Who reviews the result? What does the score actually tell us? And what systems should already be in place before screening begins? In this opening episode, we unpack the purpose of universal mental health screening and explore the infrastructure schools need to turn identification into meaningful support.

Dr. Timothy Dohrer
Meet your guestDr. Timothy DohrerEducator, school leader, and co-founder of SEL4IL Alliance
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Dr. Tim Dohrer is a veteran educator and school leader with over 35 years of experience in K-12 schools and higher education. He has served as a Principal and a Director of several teacher and school leader preparation programs. He also helped co-found the SEL4IL Alliance, a non-profit organization that supports SEL across Illinois. His most recent book, ‘The Schools We Need Now: How to Design Mentally Healthy Schools’, is a best-seller from Corwin Press.

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02Podcast

CHAPTER 02 / Prevent

Prevention Before Intervention

What does every student actually experience?

About this episode

What if the most important mental-health intervention happens before a student ever needs an intervention? Universal screening can help schools identify students who may need additional support, but a comprehensive school mental-health system cannot begin and end with identification. In this episode, we move upstream to explore Tier 1 mental-health promotion and prevention: the everyday schoolwide conditions, relationships, practices, and skills that support all students. We’ll examine what strong prevention actually looks like, why it matters as Illinois prepares for universal mental-health screening, and how schools can strengthen what already exists without simply adding another disconnected program.

Aicha Sharif Choudhuri, MA, MBA
Meet your guestAicha Sharif Choudhuri, MA, MBAAuthor, Neuroscience Researcher & Founder, InnerJoy Ed
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Aicha Sharif Choudhuri, MA, MBA, is a neuroscience-informed educator, author, and founder redefining how schools prevent emotional crisis before it starts. She is the founder and CEO of InnerJoy Ed, a K–8 applied emotional intelligence platform that bridges classroom instruction and counselor support in one measurable, MTSS-aligned system — giving districts the tools to build emotional resilience at scale, not just respond to it in crisis. Her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, preventive mental health, and education — translating rigorous research into practical systems that teachers, counselors, and district leaders can actually use.

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03Podcast

CHAPTER 03 / Respond

When a Student Needs More

Identification without a pathway creates another bottleneck.

About this episode

A student is identified through universal screening, teacher observation, attendance or behavior patterns, student self-report, family concern, or another school-based signal. Everyone agrees the student may need more. Then what? This episode follows the student into the part of the system where many schools experience a bottleneck: moving from identification to targeted support. We’ll explore what a clear Tier 2 pathway looks like, how teams can avoid relying on informal handoffs or a single counselor, what information should guide support decisions, and how schools know whether the response is actually helping. The goal is not to create a clinical process inside the school. It is to create a reliable school response so an identified need leads to a person, a plan, and a follow-up.

Carly Quick
Meet your guestCarly QuickSEL & Behavior Coordinator at North Cook Intermediate Service Center
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Carly Quick supports educators as they navigate the complex social dynamics of working in education. Her background includes 23 years as a middle and high school social worker, 15 years as a district wellness committee leader, and 4 years as a summer school principal. She partners with school districts and education-based agencies to support social-emotional programming, behavioral support systems, and educator wellness.

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04Podcast

CHAPTER 04 / Equip

The Adults Are Part of the Infrastructure

What is mine to notice, do, and escalate?

About this episode

Schools can build screening systems, referral pathways, Tier 1 supports, and Tier 2 interventions—but students still experience those systems through people. In this episode, we explore the adults inside the mental-health infrastructure: teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, social workers, psychologists, administrators, nurses, and other school staff who notice, connect, respond, refer, and follow through every day. We’ll discuss trauma-responsive adult practices, co-regulation and de-escalation, role clarity, secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue, and the organizational supports adults need to remain effective. The goal is not to turn teachers into therapists. It is to equip every adult to understand their role in a responsive school system—and ensure the system supports them in carrying it.

Monica Knott
Meet your guestMonica KnottDirector of District Partnerships at Daybreak Health
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Monica Knott is a pediatric nurse practitioner with nearly 20 years of healthcare experience, including 8 years focused on student mental and physical health in K-12 settings. She currently serves as Director of District Partnerships at Daybreak Health, helping school districts bring accessible, affordable mental health care directly to the students and families who need it. A mother of five, Monica sees this work as both personal and professional. She's passionate about ensuring every child has the support they need to thrive, in school and out. She lives in Dallas, TX with her family and 3 dogs.

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05Podcast

CHAPTER 05 / Connect

When Schools Can't Do It Alone

A referral made does not always mean support reached.

Leigh Nelson
Meet your guestLeigh NelsonDirector of Youth Services at NAMI DuPage
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Leigh Nelson has a background in fine arts and art education. She has always been passionate about advocating for and educating youth. She has worked with youth ranging from early childhood through high school. In her teen years, she struggled with her own mental health and connects with the need to support youth through their mental health journey while amplifying their voices. Leigh has served as Director of Youth Services at NAMI DuPage since July 2023.

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06Capstone

CHAPTER 06 / Build

Building the System Around the Child

Do the pieces actually work together?

About this episode

Over five episodes, we have followed the pathway from screening to support: what happens after a student is identified, why prevention matters, how Tier 2 becomes operational, why adult capacity is part of the infrastructure, and what it takes to connect families to support beyond the school. The final episode asks the systems question: Do these pieces actually work together? A school may have a screener, an SEL program, counselors, an MTSS team, community providers, professional learning, referral forms, and multiple data systems—and still have gaps between them. In this episode, we examine how leaders can build a coherent continuum around the student: shared roles, clear pathways, usable data, coordinated supports, feedback loops, equitable access, and continuous improvement.

Paula Kennedy
Meet your guestPaula KennedyDirector of School Culture, Climate, SEL & Area 1 SEL Hub
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Paula Kennedy is the Director of School Culture, Climate, Social Emotional Learning, and the Area 1 SEL Hub at the DuPage Regional Office of Education. Her work centers on strengthening school culture, advancing social-emotional learning, supporting student and educator mental health, and helping schools build effective systems of prevention and support. She also leads professional learning for educators and administrators and serves as a Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer, bringing a strong focus on creating safe, connected, and supportive learning environments for students and the adults who serve them.

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GO DEEPER / THE IMPLEMENTATION WEBINAR SERIES

The podcasts introduce the questions. The webinars work through what they mean for your system.

Each webinar brings school and district teams together and builds directly on two podcast conversations.
01Webinar

December 2, 2026 / 10:00 AM CT

From Screener to System: Building the Foundation

Are we ready for what screening may reveal?

Builds on / Podcast 1, The Screener Is Only the Beginning, and Podcast 2, Prevention Before Intervention

Screening readinessTeam structureResponse protocolsTier 1Implementation readiness
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02Webinar

January 13, 2027 / 10:00 AM CT

When a Student Needs More: Targeted Support and the Adults Who Deliver It

When a student needs more, does everyone know what happens next?

Builds on / Podcast 3, When a Student Needs More, and Podcast 4, The Adults Are Part of the Infrastructure

Tier 2Targeted interventionAdult capacityTrauma awarenessEscalation
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03Webinar

February 24, 2027 / 10:00 AM CT

Beyond the School Walls: The System Around the Child

Do the pieces around the child actually work together?

Builds on / Podcast 5, When Schools Can't Do It Alone, and Podcast 6, Building the System Around the Child

Community careCrisis responseFamily accessSystem integrationContinuous improvement
Speakers to be confirmedRegister for Webinar 03Register

TAKE THE LEARNING BACK TO YOUR TEAM

Six practical tools

Every episode includes a companion resource designed for use in an actual school meeting.
TOOL 01

Mental Health Response Pathway

A student screened positive. Now what?

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TOOL 02

Tier 1 Reality Check

What does every student actually experience?

DownloadDownload
TOOL 04

Adult Capacity Check

What is mine to notice, do, and escalate?

DownloadDownload
TOOL 05

Referral Reality Check

Can families actually reach the support we refer them to?

DownloadDownload
TOOL 06

System Around the Child Map

Do the pieces actually work together?

DownloadDownload

EXPLORE THE RESOURCE LIBRARY

Connect the series to authoritative Illinois and national resources

Illinois State Board of EducationUniversal Mental Health Screening GuidanceDownload resource
Illinois State Board of EducationUniversal Mental Health Screening ResourcesView resource
SAMHSAReady, Set, Go, Review: Screening for Behavioral Health Risk in SchoolsDownload resource
National Center for School Mental HealthComprehensive School Mental Health SystemsView resource
National Center for School Mental HealthSchool Mental Health Quality GuidesView resource
SHAPE SystemSchool Mental Health Quality Improvement ToolsView resource
Resilience-Supportive Schools IllinoisRSSIView resource
ROE 1 and InnerJoyTrauma-Informed Mental Health Response Infrastructure Schools in Illinois Should Consider
Illinois School and Community Mental Health ResourcesExplore the full directoryView resource
DuPage ROEDuPage ROE | HomeView resource

WHO SHOULD JOIN?

Built for the whole team around the student

School and district leadersStudent-services leadersSchool counselorsSchool social workersSchool psychologistsMTSS teamsSEL leadersTeachers and instructional leadersSchool-based health partnersCommunity behavioral-health partners

ABOUT THE SERIES

A collaborative initiative for Illinois schools

From Screening to Support is a collaborative educational initiative from ROE 1 / Area 1 SEL Hub and InnerJoy, created to help Illinois schools translate mental health screening and growing student need into practical, connected systems of prevention, response, and support.Explore the series

ONE QUESTION TO TAKE BACK TO YOUR TEAM

When a student needs support, does everyone know what happens next?

The child should not have to hold the system together.The adults, processes, supports, information, and partnerships around them should.
FROM SCREENING TO SUPPORT / ROE 1 x INNERJOY