Health and Wellness
Health and wellness work at CEI takes a systemic, strategic, and coordinated approach to supporting the whole child,
which includes social, emotional, mental, nutritional, and physical wellness. The Healthy Schools Initiative is one of
the ways that CEI supports schools and districts in implementing health and wellness best practices, and all of the
Healthy Schools grantees reported that their partnership with CEI has accelerated implementation of these efforts
and has increased buy-in from school and district leaders.
For example, through a partnership with CEI, Lake County School District used existing time and resources to align
health and wellness goals with academic achievement goals. The district has improved its nutritional program,
promoted social and emotional well-being of students and staff, and committed to provide opportunities for every
child to engage in physical activity and education every day. As a result, Lake County Intermediate School received
the 2016 Platinum Governor’s Award for School Health and Wellness, which recognizes the top Colorado school that
is implementing best practices to support health and wellness for students and staff.
“Times are changing within school culture and within communities. We are moving
more in the classroom; the kids are getting more recess time – and guess what?
Our test scores have gone up!”
Megan Leirfallom, Physical Education Teacher and Wellness Committee Team Leader
Lake County School District
CEI also provides technical assistance and professional development to schools and districts that are working to
create a positive school culture and climate. Through designing and implementing plans that address the social
and emotional needs of students, schools and districts have made explicit the connection between positive school
climate and academic achievement. Nearly 90 percent of the schools that received climate and culture supports
reported that the work with CEI increased the likelihood that their district would implement needed supports for
students, and 100 percent agree that with CEI’s support, they are more equipped to use data to understand culture
and climate.
Launched in 2014, Colorado Healthy Schools Smart Source (Smart Source) is the Colorado tool for assessing school
health efforts and the only one in the country that provides comprehensive data about the school-level policies and
practices that have the greatest impact on student health. A total of 451 schools representing every region of the
state participated in the Smart Source data collection effort during the 2015-16 school year, and nearly 95 percent
of these schools indicate that the tool provided useful data and equipped them to make informed decisions that
benefit students.
Health and wellness work at CEI takes a systemic,
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