The Kids Who Aren't Okay The Urgent Case for Reimagining Support, Belonging, and Hope in Schools

by Greene, Ross W.

• ISBN13: 9781668203903
• ISBN10: 1668203901
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781668203972
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2026-02-24
• Publisher: Scribner
• More Book Details

Summary

From a child psychologist and New York Times bestselling authority on schools, a groundbreaking guide for educators seeking to support the exploding number of students struggling with mental health challenges and concerning behaviors at school.

The Kids Who Aren’t Okay opens with sobering statistics: higher than ever rates of concerning behaviors at school, anxiety, depression, chronic absenteeism, and suicidality. Educators—who have experienced significant decreases in job satisfaction and rising burnout and have left the profession in droves—are looking for answers that take them beyond the standard models of crisis management, school discipline, and behavior modification.

Dr. Ross Greene, renowned for his pioneering work in education and originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model, argues that we must renew our focus on developmental variability and meeting every student where they’re at, focusing on problems rather than frustration responses and solving these problems collaboratively and proactively. Doing so requires us to take a hard look at our structures, practices, and mentalities—and pursue meaningful educational reform that strengthens student support and belonging while benefitting all kids and educators.

Building on the principles introduced in his landmark, bestselling book, Lost at School, Greene provides a clear road map for turning things around, complete with case studies, practical teaching strategies, conflict resolution tools, and the voices of educators who’ve done it. The Kids Who Aren’t Okay is a vital resource for educators that “ultimately saves time and effort” (Booklist), providing hope and guidance as schools navigate the new normal.

Author Biography

Ross W. Greene, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He developed and executive produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over twenty years and is now founding director of the nonprofit Lives in the Balance. He is also currently adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech. Dr. Greene has worked with several thousand kids with concerning behaviors and their caregivers, and he and his colleagues have overseen implementation and evaluation of the CPS model in countless schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, with dramatic effect: significant reductions in recidivism, discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, and use of restraint and seclusion. Dr. Greene lectures throughout the world and lives in Freeport, Maine.