How BRYT Works

Academic and counseling support in a dedicated space, all day.

Schools are an essential part of the safety net for students with serious mental health or medical issues. BRYT partners with schools and districts to provide the tools, framework, and ongoing counsel to help them define, structure, and launch their own bridge program for students identified as their school’s priority population. Each school program shares BRYT’s proven approach and joins in BRYT’s continuous learning community.

The three building blocks of BRYT

Space

BRYT programs run in a dedicated classroom within a school, a room that is both comfortable and work-oriented, open throughout the school day to support students in the program.

Staffing

BRYT rooms are fully staffed at all times, so that students can always reach a caring, skilled adult. In BRYT’s model, each program has a program leader/clinician, who may be a social worker, counselor, or psychologist, and an academic coordinator, who may be a teacher or a classroom aide or tutor.

Services

BRYT combines clinical support (counseling, crisis intervention, psychoeducation, referrals), academic support (partnership with teachers to develop an academic plan, help students manage school work, and provide basic tutoring), family support (frequent communication with families, crisis support, education, and leadership development), and care coordination (transition planning, coordination and communications with school staff and community providers). Providing these four services in an integrated, individualized, and sustained approach over time is the key to make a difference for students and families.

Who BRYT serves, and for how long

While depression, bipolar and anxiety disorders, and concussions are some of the most frequent reasons why students enter BRYT programs, schools may prioritize students in association with any of a number of situations where integrated academic, clinical, family, and care coordination supports are needed. Most students participate in these programs for 6-12 weeks, typically spending more hours in the BRYT program room at first and then more in their regular classroom as they progress. Average student attendance in school increases to and stays well above 80% once students enroll in the program, as compared to typically much lower rates (an average of 55-60%) in the weeks before enrollment.

Counting on Care
85%	85% of participants graduate or are on track to graduate by the end of the year.
8%	BRYT participation reduces the dropout rate for students with serious mental health issues from 50% to 8%.
140,000	Across the East Coast, 140 BRYT Network schools create a mental health safety net for more than 140,000 students.