Colonial presents "We Care" wellness update: officials cite housing, transportation and food as barriers for students; launch employee wellness champions

Colonial School District officials on May 6 used a board presentation titled "We Care" to describe how nonacademic challenges are affecting students and to introduce a district employee wellness initiative.

"We recognize that today, May is Mental Health Awareness Month," said John Cooper, co‑facilitator and division leader, opening the wellness segment. "Part of the whole person is physical health as well — our wellness plan encompasses the whole individual, not just what we typically consider mental health."

The presentation used a hands-on demonstration to show what officials described as an "invisible backpack" of stressors students may carry. Ed Stephan, who oversees McKinney‑Vento and foster care services, said the district has "over 300 students experiencing homelessness as of this morning," plus "another 70 students who were placed in foster care." He said students live in motel/hotel settings within the district's feeder pattern and rely on private van services, with some bus or van rides lasting up to 1.5 hours one way.

"Housing instability is a huge one," Stephan said, adding that motel conditions, transportation burdens, crime concerns near some motels and food insecurity compound health and social challenges that affect learning.

District leaders said the Colonial wellness policy adopted in 2017 is grounded in a whole‑school, whole‑child, whole‑community model and that the division of health and wellness collaborates with every division in the district. Cooper and colleagues said the presentation is the first of several planned conversations to revisit components of the wellness model and to solicit board and community input.

On staff wellness, Dr. Jennifer Alexander explained that the district administered a wellness and mental‑health survey for employees last year after leaders noted many staff taking leaves of absence. A work group formed from that survey created an "employee wellness champions" program to promote well‑being through healthy habits and peer support.

"A wellness champion is an employee who is passionate about promoting wellness in the workplace," Alexander said. She described a board exercise that asked participants to classify well‑being statements under domains such as purpose, social, financial, physical and community well‑being.

Board members and staff praised the initiative and asked how the district is measuring impact. Alexander said the effort is at an early stage: engagement on the district's Schoology page has increased during Mental Health Awareness Month and the district will collect feedback to shape next year's work.

The presentation included an invitation for board members and community members to review a handout in the meeting packet and noted that the district will return with subcomponents of the wellness model in future meetings.