Partnering with the Burlington School District to Support School Wellness
This June marked the end of the second year of BPHC using our federal Partnership for Success Grant to support work in the Burlington School District (BSD). The funding helped us bring people together to work on implementing the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model (WSCC), a CDC framework for addressing health in schools. The district organized a robust Coordinated School Health Team to participate in this work that included staff, administration, parents, students, and outside partners such as BPHC to come together to make recommendations to improve health and wellbeing in the district. A few highlights from the Coordinated School Health Team’s work this year:
Recommended a new Student Substance Use Policy that is before the Superintendent and School Board for approval
Completed an assessment of the current substance use procedures within schools to determine areas for improvement
Developed a new draft of substance use procedures to be used across schools in the district
Developed and added new specific health and wellness goals to the BSD Strategic Plan.
In September of this year the funding supporting stipends for participation in this work outside of school contract hours will be ending. BPHC has applied for another five years of federal funding that we hope will allow us to continue this important partnership. At the same time the district is exploring different ways the work could be supported within the current school schedule.
This work is important because healthy students are better learners, and academic achievement is also linked to better health outcomes. For example, research showed that higher academic grades were associated with more health behaviors among high school students. And risk behaviors (physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary behaviors, tobacco use, alcohol use, and other drug use) are consistently linked to poor grades and test scores and lower educational attainment. (1)
School programs that work in partnership with the individual, family, school, and community can positively influence both student health behaviors and their learning. And if they are evidence-informed, effectively coordinated, and thoroughly planned they have been proven to help close the achievement gap and improve health equity.
We are hopeful that we will find a sustainable way to continue our partnership with BSD to support the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model for the health of our students and community.
1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2020. https://doi.org/10.17226/25552.
