Through partnerships with more than 1,100 community organizations across 13 countries, The Chicago School’s faculty, staff, and students make a real difference for communities in need. “When we get our students out in the community, breaking down stigmas that stand in the way of people getting the care they need, that’s what we’re all about as a university,” says Nadia Rojas Jones, Ed.D., LMFT, faculty member in the Marriage and Family Therapy department and associate director of Community Partnerships.
For Dr. Rojas Jones, the university’s partnership with Magnolia Science Academy, a network of public charter schools in Southern California, is a strong example of The Chicago School’s commitment to expanding its mission into surrounding communities.
“Through a simple initial connection with the school’s leadership team, I was able to connect Magnolia’s teachers, administrators, and students with our expertise,” Dr. Rojas Jones says. “We developed and ran countless training sessions to build mental health skills within their schools and placed practicum students at Magnolia for more specialized support.”
To date, The Chicago School has partnered with Magnolia on mental health education and LGBTQIA+ inclusion programs for students, social-emotional learning workshops for teachers, a psychology education podcast, and tutoring programs, among other initiatives.
Through these opportunities, The Chicago School’s team has helped empower Magnolia’s team to stand up several similar programs using their own independent resources, demonstrating the university’s commitment to equipping communities with the resources they need to be their own champions of integrated health.
Furthermore, Magnolia is far from the university’s only impactful partnership.
For instance, through a partnership with Peace Over Violence, the university sponsors crisis counselor training that prepares students to support victims of domestic violence.
According to Dr. Rojas Jones, “Once students complete this training, they help get victims out of unsafe homes and provide much-needed mental health support during their transition out of their homes. So far, we’ve had 16 students partner with Peace Over Violence to make a major impact on these people’s lives.”
Through this partnership with Peace Over Violence, faculty provide training on ways to address domestic violence and child abuse, which helps build the capacity of this crucial community organization.
For Dr. Rojas Jones, all this community-facing work is a natural extension of The Chicago School’s mission. She says, “As a university, service is central to all that we do. Our partnerships are where we put this core value into action.”