Reimaging Tier 1 Student Support with a Clinician-Developed AI Skill Building Tool

Tier 1 support—the universal foundation of schoolwide wellness and SEL—is essential, yet often unevenly delivered. Teachers are stretched thin, programs struggle to engage every student, and schools often lack clear evidence of impact. This session introduces a new approach to Tier 1 support: Alongside, a clinician-developed AI resource available on students’ computers that helps them navigate school stress, peer relationships, and big emotions in real time. Teachers can assign engaging activities, and students can access support on demand—whenever they need it. Today, Alongside is used in 200+ schools nationwide, and independent research shows it reduces student absences by 20% (ESSA Level II). Presenters Scott Freschet and Brenda Peña will lead an interactive demonstration of Alongside and share how Chelsea Public Schools has integrated the platform into daily practice and school culture. Participants will engage in a hands-on activity and group discussion to explore how this next-generation Tier 1 tool can complement Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports delivered by counselors, social workers, and other direct service providers. By the end of the session, attendees will gain a practical framework for reimagining Tier 1 supports and understand how clinician-developed AI can scale student skill-building without replacing human relationships. This session is ideal for counselors and social workers who want to use AI both as a resource to become more efficient with their caseloads, and also as a safe and effective resource to impact the entire student population. Objectives: 1. Participants will demo a next-generation Tier 1 resource that uses AI, experiencing firsthand how a clinician-developed AI resource can deliver skill building exercises to students at scale. 2. Participants will understand the role clinicians play in developing AI resources for schools, learning how clinical expertise informs the design and safety of Alongside. 3. Participants will be able to articulate the difference between AI that directly supports their case-load work vs AI that is used in student facing resources, with a focus on the safety protocols and mechanisms that need to be in place for student facing resources.

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