The social-emotional well-being of high school students is a growing priority, and high schools and school districts have responded by expanding social-emotional supports, but there is little research examining how these efforts are implemented. In this study, the authors examine high school social-emotional well-being initiatives via interviews with educational stakeholders and produce insights about these initiatives’ benefits and challenges.  

Social-Emotional Well-Being for High School Students

Guidance for School and System Policy and Practice

Kate E. Kennedy, Jeff Walls

ResearchPublished Oct 29, 2024

Note: This report was revised on February 5, 2025, to correct table data in Table B.1 on p. 25.

In the United States, student social-emotional well-being has become a priority because of concerning mental health and well-being outcomes for adolescent youth. High schools and school districts have responded by expanding mental health and social-emotional supports. However, there is little research to understand the ways in which educational leaders—including superintendents, school district coordinators, and principals—organize practices and policies to support social-emotional well-being for high school students. 

In this report, the authors seek to close this research gap by presenting findings from a multi-method, multiyear national study on social-emotional well-being initiatives, focusing on high school students. The authors' takeaways include insights about high school staffing, high school–specific practices that support social-emotional well-being, district-level supports, equity-oriented social-emotional well-being supports for minoritized students, and challenges to implementing or maintaining social-emotional well-being initiatives at the high school level. The authors also provide recommendations aimed at school district leaders, high school leaders, and educational policymakers.

Key Findings

  • High school students are struggling with anxiety, depression, apathy, and communication skills, according to educators.
  • School staff—including mental health specialists, counselors, and support staff—are key to providing social-emotional supports for high school students.
  • The role of mental health specialists is newer and precarious because these positions are often short-term or subject to grant funding.
  • School practices that support social-emotional well-being for high school students include team meetings, advisory periods, collaboration with outside mental health agencies, professional development for teachers, and connections between academic content and college and career readiness initiatives.
  • School district supports for social-emotional well-being for high school students include staff hiring decisions (such as bringing in a director of mental health), superintendent encouragement of social-emotional well-being programs, and district-wide practices, such as school improvement planning that is inclusive of social-emotional well-being, the convening of district-wide meetings and committees, and professional development.
  • Challenges at the district level include staff churn, disorganization, and lack of support from central office leadership.
  • Equity practices include connections to district-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; individualized supports for minoritized students; and equity-oriented clubs and safe spaces.

Recommendations

  • Sustain funding and structural supports for mental health specialists and intentionally hire socially and emotionally competent principals, district leaders, and support staff.
  • Design district-wide social-emotional well-being plans with high school students in mind by implementing research-based holistic supports to help students with key challenges (e.g., depression, anxiety, apathy, and communication skills).
  • Conduct a district-level social-emotional well-being audit and use the audit results alongside formal and informal data to drive future social-emotional well-being practices.
  • Weave equity efforts into social-emotional wellbeing practices, and bolster supports for students of color, female teens, and LGBTQ+ students.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: Copyright belongs to Arizona State University; use © 2024 Arizona Board of Regents.
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2024
  • Pages: 48
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA3377-1
  • Document Number: RR-A3377-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Kennedy, Kate E. and Jeff Walls, Social-Emotional Well-Being for High School Students: Guidance for School and System Policy and Practice, RAND Corporation, RR-A3377-1, 2024. As of April 8, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3377-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Kennedy, Kate E. and Jeff Walls, Social-Emotional Well-Being for High School Students: Guidance for School and System Policy and Practice. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3377-1.html.
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This study was sponsored by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and the Walton Family Foundation and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

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