District staff presented a strategic-plan update on student and staff wellness at the Jan. 7 Board of Education work session, reporting gains in student sense of belonging and detailing ongoing staff wellness initiatives.

Why it matters: Student belonging is a named goal in D51’s three-year strategic plan; staff wellness programs are positioned as supports to improve student outcomes, the presenters said.

Dan Bunnell, a member of the student and staff wellness team, said the district uses the Panorama perceptual survey twice a year to measure student sense of belonging. Bunnell said elementary schools are trending toward the national norm for belonging (national norm cited as 68 percent for elementary), with the district’s elementary spring score at 64 percent, the highest in four years. Middle and high school cohorts are improving as well; Bunnell said middle schools moved from about 39 percent to 43 percent and high schools reached 42 percent, meeting the national norm for the first time.

The presenters emphasized disaggregated subgroup tracking: the district is focusing on students with disabilities, Hispanic students, students of color, gifted students and students on free and reduced-price lunch to close gaps.

On staff wellness, the district plans to issue a Panorama staff survey in late March or early April for all staff and said it will align some questions with the Colorado Teaching and Learning Conditions (TLCC) survey to compare trends, while noting the TLCC targets educators and school-based staff only. The presenters said staff survey participation rose 19 percent last year and the district seeks similar gains in the spring.

Connie Mack and Amy Zortman described monthly staff wellness challenges that began in March and listed activities: a “be prepared� challenge in August, a digital-detox month in September tied to a new cell phone policy, walking events in October, gratitude activities in November (8,100 gratitude guides distributed), a plant-based cooking series in partnership with Monument Health and CMU Tech, and benefits fairs with health services. The district also reported a 27 percent year-over-year increase in Employee Assistance Program utilization from 2023 to 2024.

Questions from board members focused on why belonging scores decline from elementary to middle and high school; presenters noted developmental factors and recommended attention to transitions (5th to 6th grade, 8th to 9th, pre-K to kindergarten, and graduation to postsecondary).

Ending: The team said schematic and spring/fall survey data will guide next steps and principals will receive building-level staff and student data to inform campus-level strategies.