From the beginning, Academy 360’s vision has been to set a new precedent for how a school partners with its community. We seek to reimagine the role of education in our students and families’ lives through the development of a School-Based Whole-Family Supports model. WHAT IF….
– Our school prioritized academics AND mental health supports on the same plane?
– Our mental health approach focused equally on supporting students AND caregivers?
– We employed mental health professionals who spent 50% of their time working with high-need students at school and 50% of their time working with those same students’ caregivers by providing services like one-on-one and group therapy and parenting coaching and classes? What impact would this approach have on the overall family’s health and well-being? The student’s academic outcomes? Would this strengthen the home-school connection between staff, family, and students?
– We could provide immediate support and healing for children and families when they undergo adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) – and, over time, prevent the occurrence of many ACEs altogether? How would this lessening of toxic stress affect student outcomes (graduation rates, the school-to-prison pipeline, long-term health, and the cycle of poverty) over time?
All 10 components of the CDC’s “Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child” model – http://academy-360.org/about-the-school/instruction/health-wellness/ – are integrated into our school culture. A360 is already fundamentally aligned with the Aspen Institute’s 2Gen approach.
Our idea – which we are uniquely positioned to implement – is to use School-Based Whole-Family Supports to build health/well-being and social capital within Montbello. We believe that this will be a high-leverage impact towards the vision of a community transformed and, ultimately, inequities dismantled. Please read more about our whole family partnerships.
We are incredibly grateful for the Anschutz Foundation, the DPS $1M Dollar Foundation, and MOC’s Montbello Solutions Funding for supporting our work!
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