Missouri to Create Center for Rural Students’ Mental Health

The University of Missouri has received a $10 million federal grant to establish a National Center for Rural School Mental Health.

The university announced in a news release Wednesday that it received the grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The proposed center would study ways to improve programs focused on the emotional and psychological needs of rural students. Researchers and staff at the center would create online data and training systems to support the needs of rural school students.

Wendy Reinke of the College of Education has worked for four years with a team of researchers to develop a survey identifying behavioral and emotional problems in rural schools. The goal is to use the survey in at least 110 schools in Missouri, Virginia and Montana within five years.