Today, schools across the U.S. are under tremendous pressure to provide a high-quality academic experience to all students. While reading, writing, and arithmetics are clearly very important, so are mental, social, creative, and physical development. In today’s world, students need to be able to think critically as well as creatively, evaluate vast amounts of information, solve complex problems, and communicate well. Additionally, as children are exposed to a variety of stressors – including natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey, bullying, school shootings, and other tragedies – students, especially low-income students, need access to mental health services in order to succeed and thrive. In fact, 70% of students with mental health disorders do not receive adequate treatment. HISD is therefore committed to educating the whole child, and the HISD Foundation is committed to funding the following priority programs to support this effort.