A cross-disciplinary advisory board of educators, clinicians, and neuroscience leaders is shaping a first-of-its-kind prevention model designed to help schools identify risk earlier and support students sooner.
Following the spring announcement of a new partnership between BrainDash and the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS), BrainDash today confirmed that the first cohort of VAIS member schools has joined its Product Advisory Board. The formation of this board marks a major milestone in the platform’s development. It underscores a shared urgency among independent school leaders to shape smarter, more proactive approaches to student mental health.
With access to 94 private schools through the VAIS network, BrainDash is engaging a growing group of education leaders in the design and further development of its early warning platform. The first wave of participating schools is contributing to the refinement and real-world application of BrainDash, with select participants expected to launch during the 2025–2026 school year as part of a 5–7 school Alpha cohort.
“At Wakefield School, we believe that supporting student well-being is foundational to learning and growth,” said Ashley Harper, Head of School at Wakefield School. “We’re drawn to BrainDash because they put students at the center and invite us to think differently about how we meet their needs. Being part of its early development gives us the opportunity to shape something that has the potential to transform how schools nurture and support every student.”
“There’s so much innovation in education right now, but mental health has been left behind,” said Dr. Sarah Sumwalt, PhD, School Psychologist. “BrainDash is different. It’s student-centered, simple to use, and grounded in real science. Our voice as practitioners matters, and this is a chance to influence something that could benefit schools everywhere.”
Together, these leaders are helping shape the next generation of proactive prevention, bringing their lived experience as educators to the design and development of technology aimed at surfacing emotional risk before students fall into crisis.
“VAIS has long championed student wellness as a core priority,” said Betsy Johnson, Executive Director at VAIS. “This collaboration reflects our belief that prevention is possible and that independent schools can play a leadership role in developing tools that strengthen both student well-being and school communities.”
BrainDash combines evidence-backed risk factors with a multi-tiered data model to detect early signs of emotional risk before they appear in behavior. It integrates baseline wellness indicators, markers of stress and resilience, passive school data, and daily student-led check-ins on mood, coping, sleep, nutrition, and belonging. These check-ins are guided by interactive wellness buddies, which are friendly, animated characters that make it easy for students to engage. All of these signals are continuously analyzed and surfaced through intuitive dashboards, giving school counselors and psychologists earlier insight and greater confidence to support students proactively.
“According to an October 2023 Education Week Report, 93 percent of schools are seeing a surge in mental health concerns. Schools have been asked to solve a crisis they can’t see coming,” said Todd Feldman, founder and CEO of Ceresant SolutionsTM, BrainDash’s parent company. “Most tools wait for kids to struggle before sending an alert to administrators. We’re helping schools see who’s doing well, who’s starting to drift, and who needs support before things fall apart. That’s what early really means. It’s about catching the shift before it spirals, while there’s still time to build lifelong brain health.”
This introduces a new approach to student mental health called Predictive Prevention,” said Dr. David Cifu, Chief Science Officer at Ceresant Solutions. “It combines clinical principles with school-based realities to identify hidden emotional risks and guide early, coordinated actions. It’s about smarter support that safeguards both learning and long-term resilience.
As the youth mental health crisis continues to stretch school resources nationwide, this Product Advisory Board is shaping a first-of-its-kind solution grounded in the real-world insight of professionals who know students best.
To learn more or inquire about participation, visit https://www.ceresant.com/.
Approved and recognized in the Commonwealth of Virginia and internationally, the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) supports 94 schools across Virginia through accreditation, professional learning, and advocacy.
Ceresant Solutions promotes lifelong brain health by helping people stay well, not just get better. The company builds smart, preventative systems that surface hidden risk early and support individuals across every stage of life, starting with students.
Its flagship platform, BrainDash, is launching first in independent schools with a focus on student mental health. Developed by educators, clinicians, and data scientists, BrainDash analyzes a range of inputs including check-ins, passive data, and wellness signals like mood, coping, sleep, nutrition, and belonging to identify patterns before distress is visible.
BrainDash is the first system designed to help schools understand which students are thriving, who is starting to drift, and who may need support well before traditional tools trigger a response. This allows school counselors and psychologists to act earlier, reach more students, and build a stronger foundation for lifelong mental wellness.
While BrainDash begins in education, it is designed to scale into workforce, healthcare, and aging populations—any setting where early detection leads to better outcomes.
Ceresant’s approach is called Predictive PreventionTM, a proactive model that blends science, data, and human insight to strengthen resilience, improve readiness, and protect long-term cognitive and emotional health.
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