Manchester School District (MSD) teachers as well as Superintendent Jennifer Gillis and Upham shared some of the many challenges their district is facing during a roundtable discussion. Gillis pointed out that Manchester is the largest public school district in Manchester but is also the lowest per-pupil-funded district in the state, while Upham noted that Gossler Park is “one of the most impoverished schools in the district” and that many of the students are dealing with trauma.

The discussion highlighted several partnerships and initiatives between UNH and MSD aimed at easing some of those issues, including the Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (TIPP) program and news of a recent grant that will create a graduate program at UNH designed to improve mental health services in New Hampshire schools.

TIPP is a program that prepares professionals in research-based practices in systems change strategies to improve outcomes for youth with significant support needs, while the grant will allow UNH to send 80 graduate students to high-need schools within five years in order to bolster mental health services.

“UNH is a great partner, and listening to the programs that are available gives me hope that there is a track we are going to be on to help our students, especially in the trauma-informed practice that we need in school,” Upham says. “We are just grateful for UNH and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”