When refugee families arrive in southern California, one of the communities they find housing and safety is in the City Heights area of Central San Diego, which is also home to my school, Rosa Parks Elementary, that services nearly 80 percent English Language Learners. We not only want our students to find security and safety in our community, but also an environment that supports their health and well-being from the moment they arrive. As the nurse at Rosa Parks and chair of the school's wellness council, I want students, staff and families to know why it’s important to promote child health at school in order to enhance academic performance.
Our diversity is one of our greatest qualities – and that includes on our wellness teams. More than 30 members of district departments and key community stakeholders form our district wellness committee, led by our nursing manager. At Rosa Parks, I lead the school’s wellness council and work alongside students, teachers, parents and community partners to support the promotion of wellness from the top down – a major key to our success.
And speaking of success, our hard work is paying off! Rosa Parks Elementary was named to the 2017 list of America’s Healthiest Schools by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, funded in part by Kaiser Permanente in select U.S. cities, including San Diego. With support from parents, teachers, and Healthier Generation, we met or exceeded many of our wellness goals to achieve this prestigious recognition.
Some of our greatest achievements include:
- Improving Staff Wellness: We promoted healthy potlucks; hosted classes in mindfulness and stress management; added blenders and water pitchers to the staff lounge to encourage smoothie making and water consumption; and created a staff walking club.
- Instituting Healthy Celebrations: Through our district wellness policy, we adopted a healthy celebrations rule, whereby birthdays and other special events are marked with non-food rewards, such as stickers. One parent member of our wellness council brought cups with erasers and pencils and decorated them for the kids – everyone was very excited!
- Enhancing Physical Activity: During P.E. class, students partake in a running club to keep their heart pumping! We also partnered with the local city pool to offer water safety swim lessons for 4th and 5th grade students.
Staff are critical role models and leaders in transforming the health of a school. As nurses, we are uniquely positioned to lead these efforts because we are the bridge-builders, linking overall services to address families’ needs in a holistic way. We understand the connection between health and academic performance and have the medical expertise to be a unique resource for our school community.
Through the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program, we gained the resources to conduct a complete needs assessment, develop and implement an action plan specific to my school and monitor progress of outcomes.
Ready to become a school nurse champion and set your school on the path to being one of America’s Healthiest Schools? Sign up to get started, today!