School districts are equipping students with skills to support mental health, healthy decision‑making, and long‑term well‑being

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Everfi, the trusted leader in connecting businesses and communities through personal finance and essential life-skills education, today announced ongoing collaboration with a network of leading healthcare organizations, nonprofits, sports leagues, and community partners to expand access to health and wellness education for students across the country. Together these efforts are helping schools deliver critical education that supports student well-being—focusing on mental health awareness, substance use and misuse prevention, and the decision-making skills students need to navigate everyday challenges. To date, these programs have reached nearly one million K-12 students during the 2025-26 school year.

Today’s students face increasing pressures—from social media and academic stress to substance use and mental health challenges—making early, preventative education more important than ever. Schools are uniquely positioned to help students build resilience before challenges escalate by integrating mental wellness and life skills education into the classroom. This approach helps normalize conversations around mental health, reduce stigma, and equip students with practical tools to manage stress, make healthy decisions, and seek support when needed.

Expanding Access to Mental Wellness Education
At the core of this effort is Everfi’s Understanding Mental Wellness course, which introduces students to foundational concepts such as emotional awareness, stress management, and how to seek help for themselves or others. This work is supported by a coalition of strategic partners committed to improving youth mental health, including HCA Healthcare, the National Football League (NFL) Foundation, Johnson County Mental Health Center, Major League Baseball (MLB), and NFL legend and mental health advocate Brian Dawkins. Additionally, our strategic partnership with Elevance Health and its affiliated health plans, including Wellpoint Arizona, Colorado Community Health Alliance, Simply Healthcare Plans in Florida, Healthy Blue Kansas, Healthy Blue Louisiana, Healthy Blue North Carolina, and Wellpoint Nevada, has expanded access to these student programs in schools across multiple states. By bringing together healthcare expertise, community leadership, and cultural influence, these partners help ensure mental wellness education is both accessible and relevant for today’s students.

Addressing Risk Factors Through Prevention Education
While foundational mental wellness education is essential, student well‑being is also shaped by the behaviors and environments students encounter every day. Financial stress is also an increasingly important factor in student mental wellness, shaping everything from decision-making and stress levels to confidence and long-term well-being. According to the CDC, 40% of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2023, underscoring the need for early, preventative education that addresses mental health alongside related risk behaviors.

Recognizing that mental health is closely tied to behavior and environment, Everfi and supporting organizations are also providing access to courses that address key risk factors impacting student well-being. With support from leading organizations, students across the U.S. and Canada are receiving:

• Financial education through Minding Your Money, in collaboration with Guardian, which helps students understand how money decisions affect emotional well-being and build skills that reduce stress and support long-term resilience
• Prescription drug safety education through Prescription Drug Safety: Know the truth, in collaboration with Kroger and Truth Initiative, which helps students understand the risks of misuse and build skills for responsible decision-making, and 
• Vaping education through Vaping: Know the truth, with Truth Initiative, which addresses the health and behavioral impacts of e-cigarette use and also provides free and anonymous resources for young people looking for help to quit. 

This prevention‑focused approach is reinforced through Everfi’s broader portfolio of life skills programs, including Ignition™ and Honor Code®. Together, these programs help students navigate digital well‑being, peer influence, and character development—critical skills that support mental health and healthy decision‑making both inside and outside the classroom.

School Districts Leading the Way
Across the country, school districts are integrating mental wellness and prevention education into classrooms to ensure students have access to the skills they need—before challenges escalate. During the 2025–2026 school year to date, school districts participating in these programs have collectively reached more than 916,000 students, demonstrating the growing demand for prevention‑focused, school‑based mental health education.

Districts including Davidson County Schools (NC), Flagler County Public Schools (FL), Fresno Unified School District (CA), Harlingen CISD (TX), and the School District of Osceola County (FL)—which alone reached more than 80,000 students—are embedding this education into the student experience across grade levels.

By making mental wellness, substance misuse prevention, and life skills education part of the school day, these districts are helping normalize conversations around mental health, reduce stigma, and equip students with practical tools to manage stress, make informed decisions, and seek support when needed.

“Student mental health challenges don’t appear overnight—they build over time. When students have the right knowledge and skills early on, they’re better equipped to manage stress, make healthy decisions, and seek support before challenges escalate.” said Ray Martinez, CEO of Everfi “By working alongside partners and school districts, we’re expanding access to prevention-focused education that supports student well-being long before intervention is needed.”

Educators, districts, and community organizations interested in bringing prevention-focused mental wellness and life skills education to students can learn more at everfi.com.

About Everfi
Since 2008, Everfi has connected businesses to communities by providing essential education that builds trust and drives measurable impact. Using digital and offline resources, the company delivers personal finance and life skills education to millions of learners annually in both K-12 schools and broader communities. Today, hundreds of organizations, including financial institutions, professional sports leagues, and healthcare systems, rely on Everfi to deliver measurable outcomes that benefit learners and drive business impact. To learn more about Everfi, please visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X/Twitter @Everfi.

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SOURCE Everfi