Lehighton Area School District is expanding its expanding mental health and suicide prevention programs through a new Project AWARE initiative.

The school board on Monday night approved a memorandum of understanding with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit for Project AWARE, which stands for Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education, and is part of a grant awarded to MCIU, Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit, and Luzerne County Intermediate Unit.

Project AWARE, the MOU states, aims to implement a three-tiered public health model across participating districts, including Lehighton.

The grant will focus on three key areas aligned with Pennsylvania’s statewide “Suicide Prevention Plan” including improving access to universal mental health screening tools and platforms; expanding culturally relevant, trauma-informed mental health services and resources within the district; and increasing coordination with navigation services to better connect families with behavioral and mental health supports.

“This is a great grand-funded endeavor for our district,” Sandra Michalik, Lehighton’s director of student services said. “Our intermediate unit reached out to us because they were the recipients of this grant. It provides awareness preventions and interventions to assist students with mental health needs and also helps build resilience. We’re very much on the pulse of this already, but here are some lessons and take-aways especially for our social workers.”

MCIU will provide resources, training, and technical assistance to school staff, particularly in suicide prevention and intervention. Additionally, MCIU will offer access to platforms like bhWorks for student screening and the FindHelp platform to connect students with mental health providers.

Lehighton, in turn, will collaborate with MCIU by providing data on training, referrals, and mental health resources. The district will also facilitate suicide prevention training for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, support Aevidum clubs, and implement the FindHelp platform.

The agreement, which runs until September 2026 or until the termination of the Project AWARE grant by state or federal agencies, requires prior written consent from parents for universal mental health screenings.