Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Wellness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wellness Council highlights Belle Grove Elementary programs, Vision to Learn screenings and district scorecard gains
Summary
The AACPS Wellness Council presented its annual update, highlighting a wellness scorecard, school-level practices at Belle Grove Elementary (including Vision to Learn screenings that provided 42 students with glasses), and districtwide data showing frequent physical-activity breaks in classrooms.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Wellness Council presented its annual update April 2, showcasing district wellness data and a school case study at Belle Grove Elementary that the council said has driven measurable gains in attendance and state report card performance.
Christiana Walsh, coordinator of health, physical education and dance and co-chair of the wellness council, said the district created a wellness scorecard aligned to the federal triennial assessment and the coordinated school health model. Walsh said staff asked every school how often students receive physical-activity breaks outside of physical education and reported, “students engage in physical activity breaks daily in 94.5% of our schools.”
Belle Grove staff described local wellness initiatives, partnerships and student results. Carrie Allen, principal at Belle Grove Elementary, and Shelly Davenport, the school’s community school manager, said a Vision to Learn visit provided eyeglasses to 42 students. Staff noted one student who, after receiving glasses, “was now on the honor roll now that I had glasses,” a detail recounted in the presentation as an example of academic impact.
Belle Grove also reported school-level outcomes since becoming a wellness school of distinction: a 10% increase in the school’s overall Maryland state report card score and a reported 28% growth in English language arts for the school. Presenters linked wellness activities (outdoor classrooms, sensory gardens, monthly pop-up community events and employee wellness supports) to improved attendance and staff retention, and student Eli Alcantara described school features such as the Beautiful Oops wall and expanded extracurricular activities.
Board members praised the district’s partnerships and said Vision to Learn and other community collaborations are important for student access to services. The council said the wellness work supports the district strategic plan priorities, including investment in staff and whole-child supports.
District staff said the wellness scorecard expands state assessment questions to cover ten coordinated school health components and will be used to identify opportunities and highlight successes across schools.
