About
In 2017, the work of creating Integrative Strategies to improve the nation’s health led to a realization that what would really improve US healthcare is fewer patients.
The pursuit of an answer to the question “How in the world can that be done?” led to what turns out to be the most obvious, if unlikely, place where pursuit of such a goal can be expressed: the nation’s Public Schools.
This led to the formation of WholeHealthED, the Project for Whole Health Learning in K-12. In early 2022 we became the 501(c)3 non-profit:
Center for Whole Health Learning in K-12, Inc.
The “how can this be done?” question begins to be answered by unifying an array of long-standing school-based wellness activities. Here they are:
The Anchors of Whole Health Learning
Physical activity • Mindfulness • School Gardens • Learning in Nature • Teaching Kitchens
Usually found as individual programs or activities on schoolyards, rarely more than two at a time (a garden and teaching kitchen, perhaps) these distinct, historically “nice-to-have” domains have in recent years shown support for mental, emotional and behavioral (or social) health. This is one reason important national health-centered organizations like the NIH, the CDC, the American Public Health Association and others are interested in WholeHealthED’s focus on the range of outcomes these activities have shown.
WholeHealthED is part of a growing community of organizations including those devoted to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) programs, all of which are re-imagining the purpose, experience, and vision for K-12 education in the U.S. In the wake of the COVID pandemic we see all these efforts concentrating on a common primary purpose, which is as important for preventing illiteracy in reading and innumeracy in math:
Strengthening children’s well-being and resilience during their years of formal education
To learn more visit the WholeHealthED.org site.
Integrative Health Strategies and WholeHealthED
were created by Taylor Walsh.