About
An Overview of ASCD's Whole Child Initiative
We call on educators, policymakers, business leaders, families, and community members to work together on a whole child approach to education.
What will prepare each young person to work in careers that have not yet been invented; to think both critically and creatively; and to evaluate massive amounts of information, solve complex problems, and communicate well? Research, practice, and common sense confirm that a whole child approach to education will develop and prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow. Every school, community, classroom, educator, student, and family has unique challenges and strengths, and has a role to play in ensuring that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. Collectively we have the knowledge, skill, and ability to meet these challenges and share these strengths. Join us and our whole child partners as we change the conversation about education and move from a vision for educating the whole child to action that results in successful, well-rounded young people.
Explore resources and opportunities for action here and on ASCD.org, and together we'll change the face of education policy and practice. Taken together across all five tenets and the central necessities of collaboration, coordination, and integration, our indicators related to each whole child tenet may serve as a needs assessment, set of strategic goals and outcomes, framework for decision making, or the definition of what a whole child approach to education truly requires.
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.
About ASCD
ASCD proposes a broader definition of achievement and accountability that promotes the development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
Founded in 1943, ASCD is the global leader in developing and delivering innovative programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner. Comprising 160,000 members—superintendents, principals, teachers, professors, and advocates from more than 140 countries—the ASCD community also includes 58 affiliate organizations. The nonprofit's diverse, nonpartisan membership is its greatest strength, projecting a powerful, unified voice to decision makers around the world. Learn more about how ASCD supports educators as they learn, teach, and lead.
For more information, please contact us. If you've got a story about the efforts in your school and community, please share it with us and the thousands of other whole child supporters.
