Healthy
Research confirms that students do better in school when they are emotionally and physically healthy. They miss fewer classes, are less likely to engage in risky or antisocial behavior, concentrate more, and achieve higher test scores. Unfortunately, too many students go to class in less than optimal health.
Schools and communities committed to educating the whole child create an environment that promotes the learning and practice of healthy lifestyles. This includes healthy menus at school, regular recess, physical and health education, school counseling, and intramural programs. Schools and communities collaborate to increase access to health care for children and their families.
Ensuring that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged requires us to continually ask questions and examine evidence related to implementation. ASCD's indicators of a whole child approach provide a guide for continual school and community improvement and serve as a definition of what a whole child approach to education truly requires. Download the set of healthy indicators (PDF).
From the Whole Child Blog
Transforming Learning and Teaching Through the Pedagogy of Confidence
Post written by Jessica DuBois-Maahs, a Medill School of Journalism candidate at Northwestern University concentrating in finance reporting and interactive publishing. Starting this month, she will be a business reporter for MediaTec Publishing in Chicago, Ill.
Yvette Jackson believes that the labeling of students and schools is a detriment to education. Having worked in schools labeled "underperforming" and with students labeled "underachieving," Jackson says that such negative constructs yield disastrous results for both teachers and students.
Whole Child Examples
High School Example
School Staff Works Tirelessly to Improve their Students
Milwaukie High School's staff works tirelessly to improve their students’ academic, social, and emotional growth; to expand their educational practices; and sharpen the administration’s focus on staff professional development.
All Healthy Examples
Elementary Example
Suburban School and Community Encourages Students to Live Healthy Lives
Elementary Example
Character Education improves Neighborhood School
Elementary Example
Schoolwide Philosophy Creates a Collaborative Environment
Middle Grades Example
School Focuses on More Than Just Academic Achievement
Middle Grades Example
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Summer Meals Programs Help Stretch Summertime Food Budgets
Podcast
The New Poverty: Dealing with Economic Change
In this episode of the Whole Child Podcast, we discuss the current economic downturn; its result that many families and children face reduced circumstances; and implications for schools, many of which have seen drastic changes in the populations they serve and their communities.
