The Wellness-Centered School

Harwood Union is uniquely situated, is an educational leader in the state, and a model school for student leadership. We have done the work to transform advisories and classrooms by shifting to proficiency-based teaching and learning while integrating the Harkness model as a tool. Now, we need to transform our community.

As many media outlets have recently reported, more teenagers than ever are suffering from anxiety and/or depression across the country. This led me to the question: “How can our school provide students with the social-emotional tools they need to survive in this ever-changing world?” As a school, we need to support students in developing emotional literacy by utilizing wellness practices to connect the heart and mind, so students can identify and communicate their feelings in a non-reactive manner.

As a Rowland Fellow, I will be investigating the ways Harwood Union can integrate a multifaceted approach to wellness to proactively support students and staff. I plan to work with students, faculty, administration, parents, and community members to integrate wellness holistically into the backbone of our school.

An intentional and supportive community with wellness at the heart needs to be created, so students walk in to school each day feeling safe enough to blossom and grow. Overall, I will work to strengthen social connections within our community to build stronger purpose in education and life. As Sir Ken Robinson once said, “Education needs to address the world around our learners but also the world within our learners.” Now is the time to address the world within Harwood students (and staff), to teach them how to love themselves and how to love one another.