Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC)

Making the Connection Between Learning and Health Taking a Whole Child Approach

In education we strive for students to reach their highest academic potential. In order to achieve this, students need not only to be challenged academically, but also need to be healthy, safe, engaged and supported. Each student enters a classroom with unique needs related to learning, health (physical, social, and emotional wellbeing), safety and support. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model uses an integrated, collaborative approach to address barriers and supports related to learning and health.

The Colorado Department of Education supports statewide infrastructure and systems to promote a whole child approach supported through policy, surveillance and partnerships. Healthy schools are managed through an interagency partnership between the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Whole Child Tenets Supports encourage schools and districts to support:

• 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.

The Connection between Learning and Health

Healthy Kids Learn Better!

The academic success of America’s youth is strongly linked with their health. Health-related factors such as hunger, physical and emotional abuse, trauma, and chronic illness can lead to poor school performance. Health-risk behaviors such as substance use, violence, and physical inactivity are consistently linked to academic failure and often affect students’ school attendance, grades, test scores, and ability to pay attention in class. Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap (exiting CDE). Connecting Health and Learning is Vital to Student Success: An Overview of Relevant  Research: Colorado Education Initiative, An overview of relevant research connecting health, learning and student success. The Centers for Disease Control has identified be links between health and academics and created key messages for a variety of stakeholders Link Between Health and Academic Achievement.

In turn, academic success is an excellent indicator for the overall well-being of youth and a primary predictor and determinant of adult health outcomes. Leading national education organizations recognize the close relationship between health and education, as well as the need to embed health into the educational environment for all students. 

The following fact sheets and slide presentations present data from the 2015 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey on the association between health-risk behaviors and academic grades:

Academic Grades

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Fact Sheets:

• Sexual Behaviors and Academic Achievement
• Health Risk Behaviors and Academic Achievement
• Alcohol Use and Academic Achievement
• Drug Use and Academic Achievement
• Unintentional Injuries and Academic Achievement
• Violence and Academic Achievement
• Suicide and Academic Achievement

Risk and Protective Factors

Risk and Protective Factors: What Schools Can Do to Build Protective Factors: Lists a number of risk and protective factors that have been identified in relation to child abuse and neglect. Suggests specific actions that school personnel can take to promote protective factors and build resilience in children and families.

Institute of Medicine Risk and Protective Factor Matrix 

The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments provides a variety of resources to support protective factors in the school 

Using the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) approach , more than 400 school districts teams across Colorado have assessed the status of their "healthy school", and written action plans to improve in needed areas. Here are some of their Success Stories:

Colorado School Health and Wellness Success Stories

Congratulations to Fraser Valley Elementary School in East Grand School District 2 as winner of the Healthy Schools Champions Platinum Governor's Award!

2018 Healthy School Champions Award Winner 

2017 Healthy School Champions Award Winners 

National School Health and Wellness Success Stories

• State Successes in Improving School Nutrition, Physical Education, Physical Activity, and the Management of Chronic Health Conditions in Schools
• Spotlight on Success: Frisco Independent School District Building a district strategic plan supporting health and wellness
• Tacoma Public Schools: Whole Child Initiative
• Westport Connecticut Spotlight on Success 

Community Partners and Health Agencies

• Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado
• Children's Hospital Colorado
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
• Prevention Services (CDPHE)
• Data Resources (CDPHE)
• Marijuana Resources (CDPHE)
• Communities that Care (CDPHE)
• Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS)
• Colorado Education Initiative (CEI)
• Colorado Health Foundation
• Colorado Uplift
• Colorado Association of School Based Health Care  (CASBHC)
• Kindling Communication
• Random Acts of Kindness
• RMC Health
• Shape Colorado
• Tall Cop says Stop
• The Trailhead Institute
• Wellness Training Specialists