Syracuse schools win $4 million grant to expand mental health services

Syracuse families waiting for school-based mental health help are set to see a larger network of counselors, psychologists and crisis services inside district buildings. The Syracuse City School District will receive a $4 million federal grant over four years, money leaders say will expand support for students and caregivers while the district tries to keep more children stable in class and out of crisis.

Congressman John Mannion announced the award June 16, saying the funding comes through the U.S. Department of Education’s School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program and will provide about $1 million a year. Mannion said the program is designed to help districts like Syracuse, the fourth-largest in New York State, build stronger staffing pipelines in schools where demand has outpaced available providers.

The district plans to use the grant with SUNY Oswego to recruit, train and hire more school psychologists, including graduate students who can complete internships in Syracuse schools and move into full-time jobs. That workforce piece is central to the district’s strategy after years of shortages in student support services. Superintendent Pamela Odom said expanded mental health support helps students focus better in class, build stronger relationships and handle challenges inside and outside school.

For families, the services will be concrete, not abstract. District officials said the grant can support assessments, evaluations, individual counseling, family counseling, group counseling, medication management and crisis intervention. The district already operates three school-based mental health clinics and two satellite locations, and the new money is expected to extend services to STEAM at Dr. King Elementary, Brighton Academy, Corcoran High School, Porter Elementary and Frazer Pre-K-8 over the coming year.

The push comes after district leaders said nearly 300 students were on a mental health waitlist in December 2024, a sign of how deep the need runs. Syracuse’s earlier $5.5 million partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical University began with clinics at Grant Middle School and McCarthy at Beard Middle School and was built to expand to nine school buildings over five years. Upstate has said those sites operate as satellite locations of its existing child and adolescent psychiatry practice approved by the state Office of Mental Health.

The clearest test of the new grant will be whether Syracuse can hire enough trained staff, open more school-based sites and shorten the time families wait for help. Officials say school psychologists already work directly with students and families, while also advising teachers and staff on academic, social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs. If the district can turn federal dollars into faster access and steadier staffing, parents will see it first in the schools where children in crisis are no longer sent home to wait.