Technical Assistance Center Services

How Coaching Can Support Districts

The BIRCh TA Center provides targeted coaching services to help districts develop interconnected systems that integrate mental health supports and community agency partnerships. A collaborative, tailored, and data-driven approach ensures that districts build capacity to support the well-being of all students through sustainable, systemic practices.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a dynamic, individualized support model where experienced facilitators partner with district leaders, school staff, and community agencies to align mental health services and resources. Coaching focuses on building interconnected systems, fostering collaboration, and implementing evidence-based strategies that address the social-emotional and mental health needs of students.

How We Support Districts Through Coaching

• Leadership Development for Integrated Systems: Build the capacity of district and school leaders to develop systems that align mental health supports, school teams, and community agencies through a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) model and cross-agency collaboration.

• Customized, Job-Embedded Support: Provide ongoing, hands-on coaching tailored to mental health priorities, such as positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), social-emotional learning (SEL), and community resource integration. Work directly with leadership teams, mental health providers, and educators to ensure services are embedded into daily school practices.

• Facilitation of Interconnected Systems Framework: Support districts in creating collaborative systems that connect schools with community mental health agencies. Guide the development of tiered supports and referral processes that address prevention, early intervention, and crisis response.

• Capacity Building for Educators and Staff: Equip teachers, counselors, and support staff with strategies to identify, respond to, and support student mental health needs. Provide professional learning on implementing SEL, restorative practices, and early warning systems.

• Focus on Equity and Access: Support districts in identifying and addressing barriers to mental health services for historically underserved students. Facilitate practices that ensure equitable access to culturally responsive, trauma-sensitive supports.

Our Process

• Assess Needs:  The process begins by understanding district priorities, readiness for change, existing partnerships, and gaps in mental health supports.
• Collaborate to Plan: Together a coaching plan is designed that integrates school systems and leverages community agency support, creating pathways for seamless mental health support.
• Implement and Reflect: Coaches provide ongoing support, helping teams apply strategies, improve coordination, and monitor outcomes.
• Measure Impact: Data and feedback are used to assess progress, ensuring that mental health services are effectively meeting student needs.

Why Choose Coaching with the BIRCh Center?

• Expertise in Mental Health Integration: The BIRCh includes professionals with experience in mental health systems, SEL, and school-community partnerships.
• Tailored, Collaborative Approach: The process is adapted to district priorities, helping schools and agencies work together to build sustainable supports.
• Focus on Whole-Child Outcomes: Coaching helps districts create systems that prioritize student well-being, resilience, and success.

Coaching is not about implementing isolated practices; it’s about building interconnected systems that strengthen mental health supports for all students. Let the BIRCh Center help your district transform challenges into sustainable solutions for student well-being.

To access support from the TA Center, please contact us at birch.project@umb.edu or fill out our Support Request Form.

The BIRCh Center conducts translational research to bridge the gap between evidence-based practices and real-world implementation in schools. Our research initiatives focus on advancing equitable behavioral health strategies, evaluating program effectiveness, and identifying best practices that improve outcomes for children and families.

Read our latest Research Briefs.

The BIRCh Center strengthens the connection between schools and community agencies to ensure students have access to seamless behavioral health services. By fostering strategic partnerships, we help schools coordinate resources, promote collaboration, and build supportive systems that extend beyond the classroom.

How School Districts Connect with Community Agencies for Student Mental Health Support

The BIRCh Center specializes in supporting school districts in building strong, collaborative partnerships with community agencies to enhance student mental health services. By fostering connections between schools and external organizations, pathways are created for comprehensive, sustainable services that meet the diverse needs of students and families.

Why Partner with Community Agencies?

Collaboration between school districts and community agencies ensures students have access to a full continuum of mental health supports, from prevention and early intervention to crisis response. These partnerships combine shared resources, expertise, and systems to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students.

How School-Community Partnerships Are Supported

• Mapping Community Resources: Districts are supported in identifying and mapping local community agencies that provide mental health, behavioral health, and social services. Connections to trusted partners are facilitated, ensuring alignment with district priorities and student needs.
• Developing Collaborative Structures: Systems for ongoing communication, shared decision-making, and aligned service delivery with community partners are developed. Frameworks for interagency teams, regular meetings, and streamlined referral processes are established.
• Creating Tiered Support Pathways: Guidance is provided to districts in integrating community agency services into Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) allowing seamless access to mental health supports across universal, targeted, and intensive tiers.
• Training and Capacity Building: Professional learning opportunities are offered for school staff and community agencies to strengthen coordination and shared understanding of student needs. Teams are equipped with tools to implement integration in partnership with external providers.
• Sustaining Partnerships: Districts are supported in developing agreements (MOUs) and funding strategies to maintain long-term collaborations with community agencies. Effectiveness of partnerships is monitored through data collection, feedback loops, and measurable outcomes.

The Process

• Assess Needs and Opportunities: District priorities, readiness for change, existing partnerships, and map resources and gaps in mental health supports are identified and analyzed.
• Collaborate to Plan: Coaching plans are designed to integrate school systems with community agencies, creating pathways for seamless mental health support.
• Implement and Reflect: Ongoing support is provided to help teams apply strategies, improve coordination, and monitor outcomes.
• Measure Impact: Data and feedback are used to assess progress, ensuring that mental health services effectively meet student needs.

Why Partner with The BIRCh TA Center?

• Experience in Systems Integration: Expertise is provided in building interconnected systems that bridge schools and community agencies.
• Customized Support: Support is tailored to meet the unique needs of each district and its community partners.
• Focus on Whole-Child Well-Being: Strengthened partnerships create environments where all students can thrive.

Creating strong, sustainable partnerships with community agencies enhances mental health supports for students, ensuring every child has access to the services they need to succeed.

Contact the BIRCh Center at birch.project@umb.edu to learn more about partnership support services, or fill out our Support Request Form.

The BIRCh Center conducts comprehensive needs assessments to help districts evaluate and strengthen their integrated behavioral health systems. The assessments focus on critical areas of school mental health, guiding actionable improvements and long-term sustainability. Evaluation priorities are tailored to address the specific strengths, challenges, and goals of each district.

Areas of Focus

The Center assesses school and district systems across several key domains to ensure a well-rounded and equitable approach to behavioral health:

• Teaming: The TA Center evaluates the effectiveness of district and school leadership teams in implementing behavioral health systems. This includes assessing team roles, operational procedures, action planning, and meeting structures, as well as the establishment and sustainability of partnerships with community agencies to support student needs.
• Stakeholder Engagement: The Technical Assistance Center examines processes for engaging key stakeholders, including students, families, and community members, through clear communication, inclusive participation, and feedback mechanisms. These efforts ensure stakeholder input meaningfully informs decision-making and strengthens system implementation.
• Funding & Alignment: The Technical Assistance Center analyzes funding structures and resource alignment to promote financial sustainability and effective implementation of initiatives. Areas of focus include budget planning, use of diverse funding sources, strategic resource allocation, and alignment with district goals and community partnerships to support long-term success.
• Intervention Supports: The Technical Assistance Center assesses the design and implementation of tiered systems that address the diverse social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students. Evaluations focus on intervention pathways, fidelity of evidence-based practices, equitable implementation, progress monitoring systems, and crisis response readiness to ensure timely and effective support.
• Policy: The Technical Assistance Center conducts reviews of district and school policies that guide vision, instructional practices, equitable discipline, and transition systems. The focus is on ensuring policies align with best practices, promote equity, and include clear processes for monitoring, documenting, and reporting impact.
• Workforce Capacity: The Technical Assistance Center assesses workforce structures to ensure schools have the necessary personnel, systems, and supports for effective implementation. This includes reviewing hiring practices, role clarity, performance evaluations, and retention strategies to build and sustain a skilled workforce.
• Professional Development: The Technical Assistance Center evaluates the alignment, quality, and delivery of professional development opportunities with district goals. This includes strategic PD planning, fostering learning communities, and building internal capacity to promote ongoing professional growth for educators and staff.
• Coaching: The Technical Assistance Center assesses coaching systems to ensure effective implementation of behavioral health practices. Areas of focus include technical assistance, differentiated coaching strategies, district and local coaching networks, and support for classroom-level application of new practices.
• Data-Based Decision Making The Technical Assistance Center uses validated tools to guide assessments and provide actionable insights for decision-making. Additionally, the center will evaluate how districts utilize mental and behavioral health data to inform decision-making processes, ensuring data-driven practices that enhance student outcomes, allocate resources effectively, and support continuous system improvement.

Assessment Tools

The BIRCh Center utilizes a range of validated tools to gather data and provide districts with actionable insights:

• DSFI- PBIS District Systems Fidelity Inventory: Measures the fidelity of district-level implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
• School Mental Health Quality Assessment: Assesses the quality and comprehensiveness of district-wide school mental health systems
• MTSS Self-Assessment: DESE: A self-reflection tool that examines Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), with a primary focus on academics
• Safe and Supportive Schools (SaSS) Framework & Self-Reflection Tool: Helps schools evaluate their systems for promoting safe, supportive, and inclusive environments
• MTSS Sustainability Checklist: Focuses on identifying strengths and needs related to sustaining Multi-Tiered Systems of Support over time
• Crosswalk of Assessments and Areas of Focus
• Request support for a needs assessment from the TA Center