Funded through an ongoing investment that goes well beyond Marshfield Clinic walls, a pair of school-based youth mental health programs are demonstrating a strong commitment to making communities healthier.
Life Tools is an early-intervention program that helps students by providing skill-building group sessions that can include parents and teachers.
b.e.s.t. (behavioral emotional social traits) Universal Screening is an online tool designed to build on the behavioral health of students while identifying those who may benefit from additional positive behavioral support.
As a pair, the programs can find young people in need of help and then offer a path to get that help. They do it in a way that benefits families and the communities where they live.
“For more than a decade, Marshfield Clinic has been a trusted partner with school districts in delivering early, preventive behavioral health support through strong school and community partnerships across the region,” said Jay Schrader, senior director of Marshfield Clinic Community Relations. “The increased attention on student mental health in recent years amplifies the need for programs like b.e.s.t and Life Tools to support students’ well-being.”
For the 2025-26 school year, 37 schools received the b.e.s.t. platform and 30 schools received Life Tools. The programs include technical support, training, consultation and ongoing assistance.
Since 2013, Marshfield Clinic has supported Universal Screening across 89 school districts, delivering more than 600,000 screenings and engaging 12,000 educators and staff. During the 2024-2025 school year, Life Tools expanded that impact by serving 285 students through 59 group sessions.
Collectively, the programs deliver to a wide population of students and teachers via screenings while also presenting individual opportunities for self-improvement.
Helping kids a little bit more
Designed by Eric P. Hartwig, a longtime school psychologist in Wisconsin with a national profile as a speaker and author, b.e.s.t. Universal Screening is offered to teachers, primarily in elementary school settings.
As Hartwig explains, b.e.s.t. “is designed to help identify behaviors that might be interfering with student learning and provides classroom supports and replacement behaviors that focus on reinforcing and improving behavioral health.”
It takes about three minutes per student and uses that information to identify possible mental or behavioral health concerns and suggest proven ways to address them.
The goal is early intervention. In the hands of teachers and counselors, it can also help schools track progress and identify broader trends.
“It’s not diagnosing anyone,” said Kelsie Offenwanger, Psy.D., a Marshfield Clinic specialist in pediatric psychology. “What it is doing is saying, ‘Hey, who are some kids we can help a little bit more?’”
The approach treats behavior as a form of communication. Instead of waiting until problems become more serious, it gives teachers strategies for responding when concerns emerge.
The program started with about 200 children in the Marshfield Clinic service area through a grant-funded project in 2012. It has since grown to more than 603,000 student screenings.
“Oftentimes it can help prevent negative behavior trajectories,” Offenwanger said. “It can be completed at the beginning of the school year, again at midyear and again in the spring. We can say, ‘We had this kiddo in this program and they’re making progress.’ Or you can say, ‘OK, they’re not making the gains we’d like.’ It’s nice because it can provide us with longitudinal data that we can track over time.”
Teaching in a positive way
Life Tools is an eight-week program that includes weekly one-hour sessions held outside regular school hours. It is facilitated by school counselors, school social workers or other credentialed professionals.
It is designed to support children who may be experiencing emotional, social or behavioral challenges. During sessions, they build practical coping skills that support well-being and positive relationships.
“What I love about Life Tools it that it is very intentional,” said Tammy Berg, an elementary school counselor in Stratford, Wisconsin. “It is very clear, and we teach specific tools and then we practice them together. We encourage the students to use these tools at school and at home.”
The program uses an “it takes a village” approach that includes caregiver and parent engagement coupled with school collaboration.
Berg has been involved in elementary school counseling for 30 years and understands the role of a school system extends beyond academics. Supported by Marshfield Clinic resources dedicated to community well-being, she has been part of a program that helps impact the lives of children in ways that can last a lifetime.
“We introduce a different skill every week and then come back to it every session,” Berg said. “I tell our students in these groups that I could be teaching the same things to a group of adults. There is nothing I’m teaching them that they shouldn’t keep using when they get older.”
The Life Tools program can be of particular benefit to kids who might not be in a lot of student activities. Participation can be a way to connect with peers outside a classroom.
“It can be an opportunity for those not so involved to the chance to be involved,” Berg said. “The setting is so relaxed – we really connect, laugh and have fun. The clinic’s support of this offers another layer to our community for our youth who might not be connected in other ways.”
Recognizing the victories
Berg and Offenwanger have both seen what involvement in the programs can mean for kids, and by extension their schools and communities.
Berg remembers working with a young girl whose interaction with classmates always came off as reluctant. Ultimately, she didn’t want to be there.
“Over the sessions it was really neat to see how she came out of her shell,” Berg said. “She started sharing her ideas and recognizing her strengths. When the group sessions were over, she continued to blossom. It gave her a springboard to spread her wings in a comfortable setting.”
Offenwanger remembers getting a comment from a parent that went like this: “My son was closed off before this class. He’s a completely different child now. I’m so thankful at how far he has come.”
“We get those comments all the time,” Offenwanger said. “We hear their children are coming out of their shell. They feel like they’re supported and they feel like they belong. It’s a tremendous resource that we are able to offer our schools.”
Learn more
- Behavioral health program helps educators support students
- Sanford Health addresses top community health needs
- How to promote social and emotional health in youth
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Posted In Behavioral Health, Community Impact, Marshfield, Thought Leadership
