School Mental Health and Military-Connected Students
Presenters:
Gregory A. Leskin, PhD – Director, Military and Veteran Families and Children Program, National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
Sharon Hoover, PhD – Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Co-Director (Ret.), National Center for School Mental Health
Daniel Dunham – Military Student and Families Specialist, Virginia Department of Education
Sue Lopez, M.Ed. – Curriculum Development and Instructional Design, Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC)
Gregory Leskin, PhD — Building a Blueprint for Comprehensive School Mental Health
Session focus: Strengthening trauma-informed supports for military-connected students through multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), data use, and partnerships.
Key takeaways
Trauma touches learning: two-thirds of students experience at least one traumatic event by age 16.
Schools are the most accessible setting for mental-health support — 70–80% of youth who receive care do so in school.
Use MTSS to layer supports (universal, targeted, intensive) that promote safety, belonging, and academic stability.
Combine trauma-informed practices with Purple Star initiatives, universal screeners, and Military Student Identifier (MSI) data.
“Trauma-informed care isn’t a specialty service — it’s a whole-school framework that turns safety and connection into the foundation for learning.”
Sharon Hoover, PhD — Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Military-Connected Students
Session focus: Adapting national best practices in comprehensive school mental health for the unique mobility and stressors of military life.
Key takeaways
Every school should function as a comprehensive mental-health system integrating academics, behavior, and social-emotional learning.
Tier 1 supports—climate, well-being check-ins, SEL, and staff wellness — must expand to meet current youth mental-health needs.
Purple Star Campuses provide a strong model: designated liaisons, transition programs, staff PD, and transparent communication.
“With the right programs and partnerships in place, schools can be the most powerful protective factor our students have.”
Daniel Dunham — Peer Support Programming for Military Youth
Session focus: How structured peer-to-peer systems build resilience, inclusion, and leadership among military-connected students.
Key takeaways
Connection drives well-being: peer-led mentoring, befriending, and support circles reduce isolation and promote belonging.
Nationally recognized programs such as Sources of Strength demonstrate the impact of well-trained peer leaders in improving school climate and mental-health awareness.
MCEC’s Student 2 Student® (S2S®) model exemplifies how peer leadership fosters belonging and eases transitions for mobile students — an essential part of a coordinated support system.
Trained peer supporters increase self-esteem and social skills while serving as early identifiers for students in distress.
The Purple Star School model provides an anchor for scaling peer programs statewide.
“Human connection is the intervention—and peers are the bridge.”
Sue Lopez, MEd — Aligning Comprehensive School Mental Health and Purple Star Schools
Session focus: Integrating mental-health frameworks (MTSS, CSMHS) with Purple Star Campus Designation (PSCD) standards to ensure whole-child, whole-school support.
Key takeaways
Early identification via the Military Student Identifier (MSI) enables timely academic and behavioral support.
Aligning PSCD with MTSS and CSMHS yields measurable outcomes: fewer absences, fewer behavior referrals, stronger family engagement.
Core practices include: student-led transition programs (S2S), professional development, and systematic welcome/exit procedures.
Teaming, data alignment, and reflective PD sustain integrated systems over time.
“When we align our systems — mental health, MTSS, and Purple Star — we create a seamless net of support for every military child.”
Overarching Themes Across the Forum
Integration over isolation: School mental health, MTSS, and Purple Star practices work best when united as one framework.
Prevention and connection: Universal supports and peer relationships are the first line of defense against disengagement and crisis.
Partnership and data: Collaboration among districts, installations, and national networks ensures continuity and accountability.
Student voice: Empowering youth as peer mentors and advocates amplifies belonging and breaks stigma around mental health.
Resilience through systems: Sustainable impact comes from aligning policies, leadership, and culture — not one-off programs.
“Systemic alignment transforms awareness into action—helping every military-connected student not just adjust, but thrive.”
Gregory A. Leskin, PHD, national child traumatic stress network
Gregory Leskin, PhD
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Gregory Leskin, PhD
Dr. Gregory Leskin is licensed clinical psychologist and serves as Director for Military and Veteran Families Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)/Duke University’s National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. In this capacity, Dr. Leskin directs the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Military and Veteran Families Program to provide education, training, and resources on military culture, screening, assessment, and evidence-based interventions to the military, the VA, and community-based behavioral health providers throughout the United States. Dr. Leskin is the principle program developer and Director for the NCTSN/DoD Academy on Child Trauma, an online training and social media platform developed to train DoD Family Advocacy Program staff clinical skills related to child trauma and behavioral health prevention for military families and children.
Previously, Dr. Leskin has worked as a Clinical Researcher and Director of Clinical Training at the National Center for PTSD, Stanford University and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He completed a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA Medical Center. He has contributed to multiple national, state, and local initiatives to support service members, veterans, and their families, including the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and the Department of Veteran Affairs. Dr. Leskin has written, consulted, and lectured extensively on a number of clinical topics, including assessment and treatment for combat-related PTSD, impact of deployment on families and children, and promoting psychological resilience.
Dan Dunham
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Dan Dunham
Mr. Dan Dunham grew up in a military family. His grandfather was Edward Bialy, a Navy Command Master Chief, WWII Veteran, Pearl Harbor Survivor and Purple Heart recipient. Both of his parents, his aunts, uncles, his brother all served or are serving in the United States Navy and Air Force respectively. The family’s tradition of serving in the military continues today with three of his nephews, one of their spouses and a niece now serving in the Army, Air Force and Navy. As a result of his military upbringing Mr. Dunham attended six elementary schools, one middle school and five high schools. He is a proud graduate of Wiesbaden High school (formerly General H. H Arnold High School), a DoDEA school located in Wiesbaden, Germany. Mr. Dunham has been working as an educator for over 30 years having taught high school art and graphic design, serving as a high school assistant principal, football, and wrestling coach. Prior to his appointment as the Virginia Department of Education’s Military Student and Families Specialist and Interstate Compact Commissioner Designee; Mr. Dunham served as the Naval District Washington Regional School Liaison Officer (SLO). He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Educational Leadership and Supervision from the University of Virginia. When he’s not working on behalf of military families Mr. Dunham enjoys the spoils of family life, serving his community, caring for his beloved golden doodle Wilson, collecting, and making Art.
Sharon Hoover, PhD
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Sharon Hoover, PhD
Sharon A. Hoover, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Hoover is Co-Director of the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH), and Director of the National Center for Safe Supportive Schools (NCS). She leads national efforts to support states, districts, and schools in the adoption of national performance standards of comprehensive school mental health systems.
Dr. Hoover has led and collaborated on multiple federal and state grants, with a commitment to the study and implementation of quality children’s mental health services. Creating safe, supportive, and resilient schools has been a major emphasis of Dr. Hoover’s research, education, and clinical work. She has worked for two decades, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education, and the World Health Organization to train state and community education and behavioral health leaders and professionals in multi-tiered systems of support for mental health and psychological trauma. Dr. Hoover is a co-developer and international trainer for two widely used, evidence-based school interventions, the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG).
Sue Lopez
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Sue Lopez
Sue Lopez is an Active-Duty military spouse (25+), parent of two adult children, and holds a Master of Science in School Counseling. Her professional license and 24+ years of educational experience has yielded a unique set of skills and knowledge regarding state and national policies that impact military-connected students during times of transition to include academic transcript evaluation, enrollment, and graduation as well as social-emotional supports. Sue used her school counseling field experience as a Military Student Transition Consultant to inform and establish the MCEC Military Student Consultant role. As and MSTC, Sue provided one-on-one and small group transition counseling services to military-connected students and their families. Additionally, Sue partnered with district leaders to develop and implement district-wide professional development supporting military-connected students and families. Sue is devoted to enhancing military installation and community leader relationships to increase advocacy for transitioning military families.
Currently as an MCEC Instructional Designer, Sue continues advocate for military-connected students and families, seek professional collaboration and consultation, serve as a subject matter expert on curriculum development, design analysis, and evaluation for MCEC professional development. Sue has consulted with local school districts and served as a project manager on grant projects with Lockheed Martin, Texas Education Agency, BAE Systems, and the USAA Foundation. She currently lives in the Fort Leavenworth and Kansas City area with her family.
This report summarizes strategies from listening sessions addressing the mental health challenges of military-connected students. Through collaboration with NCTSN, MCEC,…
