Aligning Health and Education
“The Focus on the Whole Child”
Marissa Rathbone
&
Anita Wheeler
Background
• 8-component model of CSH was introduced in
1987
• CSH has continued to evolve over past 20
years but is seen as time-intensive and is not
fully understood or supported
• A successful program requires a paradygm shift
towards a systemic approach at looking at the
“whole child”
• Many organizations now support this approach
Organizations With a “Whole Child”* Focus
• Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
(9 Pillars)
• National/Texas Parent Teacher Association
• National Education Association
• National Association of State Boards of Education
• National Association of School Nurses
• National Association(s) of Elementary and Secondary
Principals
• American Association of School Administrators
* www.wholechildeducation.org
The Whole Child Approach
Each child, in each school, in each of our
communities deserves to be healthy, safe,
engaged, supported, and challenged. That’s
what a whole child approach to learning,
teaching, and community engagement really is.
“Whole Child” Tenets
• Each student enters school healthy and learns about and
practices a healthy lifestyle.
• Each student learns in an environment that is physically
and emotionally safe for students and adults.
• Each student is actively engaged in learning and is
connected to the school and broader community.
• Each student has access to personalized learning and is
supported by qualified, caring adults.
• Each student is challenged academically and prepared
for success in college or further study and for
employment and participation in a global environment.
Levers to Change the Culture in a School
1. The principal as leader.
2. Active and engaged leadership.
3. Distributive leadership.
4. Integration with the school improvement plan.
5. Effective use of data for continuous school
improvement.
6. Ongoing and embedded professional
development.
7. Authentic and mutually beneficial community
collaboration.
8. Stakeholder support of the local efforts.
9. The creation of modifications of school policy
related to the process.
Families, Schools and Communities
Working Together
• The “Whole Child” approach seeks to engage
the wider community in evaluating and
implementing systemic change, aiming for
authentic school improvement.
• We all share the responsibility in helping
students be successful.
Resources
• www.wholechildeducation.org
• http://www.pta.org/
• http://www.nsba.org/Board-Leadership/SchoolHealth
• http://nasbe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=se
ction&layout=blog&id=11&Itemid=1084