Rayann Silva, MEd – School Mental Health Assessment, Research, & Training Center

Biography
Projects
Publications

Rayann Silva supports training and development for the SAMHSA funded School Mental Health supplement that is part of the Northwest Mental Heath Technology Transfer Center covering the Region10 states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In addition, she supports the Technical Assistance Core (TACore) providing systems-change training and technical assistance to state, local agencies, and various districts across the state.

Rayann may be one of the newest additions to the UW SMART Center, but her professional career spans across many years, roles, and agencies. While Rayann began her professional journey as an ABA Therapist for children with Autism, she eventually grew an interest in prevention and became a teacher. In her previous role, she served as a district administrator in Tacoma Public Schools leading the development and implementation of district-wide social emotional learning for in and out of school time. She has also supported district MTSS implementation through professional development, coaching, and program evaluation across many districts across Washington State.

Rayann has a bachelor’s in psychology and Master of Education from the University of Puget Sound. Her special talent is travelling, and her happy places include anywhere sunny on a beach–or in Microsoft Excel.

Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s School Mental Health Supplement

(Training & Technical Assistance) In addition to regular training activities and special areas of focus, the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (Northwest) has received funding to support increased training and technical assistance for school mental health in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. To operationalize this support Northwest has partnered with the University of Washington School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center, a national leader in developing and supporting implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools, including prevention, early intervention, and intensive supports. The Northwest School Mental Health (SMH) and Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Training and Technical Assistance (TA) Center, within the UW SMART Center, supports school mental health efforts with the goal to support states, districts, schools and community partners to build an equitable single system of delivery in which education and mental health systems are integrated across the tiers.

Training & Technical Assistance Core (TACore)

(Training & Technical Assistance) As a key component of this mission, UW SMART has developed strategies and related infrastructure for providing training and technical assistance to state and local education agencies as well as individual school districts. The SMART Center’s “TACore” provides: 1) Training and consultation/coaching focused on developing workforce capacity (among school staff and community partners) to deliver research-based strategies, policies, and practice models relevant to the education context, 2) Technical assistance focused on building evidence-based, multi-tiered systems of school-based behavioral health, using collaborative decision-making processes guided by local data as well as research evidence, and 3) Program evaluation focused on collecting and analyzing existing (e.g., administrative datasets) and novel (e.g., surveys, focus groups) quantitative and qualitative data to determine the impact of new or existing programs, practices, and policies.