Schools are critical settings in our nation’s public health response to the youth mental health crisis. There is strong empirical support that comprehensive, universal programs promote students’ social and emotional development and academic success. However, schools, particularly Title I schools, often lack the capacity to implement entire programs as intended, due in part to limited resources that necessitate adapted program content and implementation supports. Use of core components (i.e., kernels) across evidence-based social–emotional learning programs provides opportunities for low-resource schools to select a targeted set of classroom strategies best suited to their needs, values, resources, and goals. This paper describes the collaborative kernel selection and implementation process we used in the context of a community–university partnership with seven Title I elementary schools across two school districts in the Southeastern USA. Partners consisted of district and school leadership, educators as implementers, local school mental health professionals as implementation champions, and university partners and an independent capacity building consultation firm as external consultants. The team used a phased approach via the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment framework to (1) identify kernels based on each school’s needs; (2) adapt kernels to align with existing programming and resources; (3) tailor kernels to each educator and their classroom; and (4) support ongoing implementation via multi-tiered supports. Examples of this approach, including examples of data feedback to inform decisions, are featured to promote replication in other community–university partnerships.

学校是我国公共卫生应对青少年心理健康危机的关键场所。有强有力的实证支持，全面、通用的项目可以促进学生的社交和情感发展以及学业成功。然而，学校，特别是第一章学校，往往缺乏按预期实施整个计划的能力，部分原因是资源有限，需要调整计划内容和实施支持。在基于证据的社交情感学习项目中使用核心组成部分（即核心）为资源匮乏的学校提供​​了选择最适合其需求、价值观、资源和目标的一组有针对性的课堂策略的机会。本文描述了我们在与美国东南部两个学区的七所 Title I 小学建立社区-大学合作伙伴关系的背景下使用的协作内核选择和实施过程。合作伙伴包括地区和学校领导、教育工作者作为实施者、当地学校心理健康专业人员作为实施倡导者、大学合作伙伴和独立能力建设咨询公司作为外部顾问。该团队通过探索、准备、实施、维持框架采用分阶段方法来 (1) 根据每所学校的需求确定核心；(2) 调整内核以与现有的编程和资源保持一致；(3) 为每位教育者及其课堂量身定制内核；(4) 通过多层次支持支持持续实施。这种方法的示例，包括为决策提供信息反馈的示例，旨在促进其他社区与大学合作伙伴关系中的复制。