Wake County Public Schools Expands School-Based Mental Health Services to More Campuses

Wake County Public Schools reported Feb. 28, 2026 that it is expanding its school-based mental-health program by placing licensed clinical therapists and partner community mental-health organizations into additional campuses across the district, and by broadening teletherapy and outreach strategies as part of a system-of-care approach.

District staff briefed the board’s Community Engagement Committee on the expansion, with WCPSS staff member Michael Pesch telling the committee that the district will present its school mental health plan to the school board each September as required by the state. Pesch said the September presentation will focus on “community stakeholders and the referral, treatment and reentry process,” and added, “Each September, we always present the school mental health plan that we've been working on as required by the state.”

A long-running partner, Alliance, described its role in the district’s stepped system of care during the committee meeting. Debbie Richardson, representing Alliance’s school-based team, outlined a tiered referral intake that accepts highest-risk, tier 3 referrals directly from schools, provides crisis monitoring, and coordinates reentry from psychiatric facilities while sharing data with the district under a Memorandum of Agreement. Richardson framed the partnership as tightly coordinated with the district, saying, “Every decision, everything we have done has been in partnership with Wake County Schools. Every decision.” Alliance reported it has helped 5,811 children through multiple programs and that near-90 percent parent releases for information sharing—about 5,128 families in the program’s caseload—have enabled continuity of care.

WCPSS is also promoting a free peer-support service for middle and high school students called Somethings, described on the district’s site as backed by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The Somethings offering is available to WCPSS students ages 13–19 after school via messaging or video calls with Certified Peer Specialist Mentors, young adults trained and supervised by licensed clinicians. The district’s materials note the service requires no insurance or referral, allows students to sign up anytime, offers a parent sign-up form, and lists drew@somethings.com for questions.

District and partner presentations emphasized teletherapy expansion and outreach strategies, but materials and committee remarks did not specify how many campuses will receive new therapists, how many licensed clinicians will be placed on sites, the rollout timeline, or the funding sources for the expansion. Those operational and budget details remain outstanding ahead of the scheduled September board plan presentation.

Parents and community members seeking district assistance can contact WCPSS customer service at 919-431-7400 or student assignment at 919-431-7333; additional district phone numbers listed on the WCPSS site include transportation at 919-805-3030 and human resources at 919-533-7200. The September school board presentation will be the next scheduled public milestone when officials have said they will lay out the district’s school mental-health plan.