RESILIENCE COALITION MEMBER
Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools
ORGANIZATION
Schools are passionate about ensuring that all students succeed, but they can’t address the health of their school employees and students alone. That’s why Kaiser Permanente created Thriving Schools, our all-in engagement to improve health for students, staff, and teachers.
Thriving Schools brings together Kaiser Permanente’s extensive health management expertise and our partnerships with educational institutions and organizations working on behalf of school health to support schools in becoming a beacon of health in their community.
At Kaiser Permanente, we’re committed to helping shape schools to be healthy and vibrant places of learning and development for all.
NOTABLE INITIATIVES
Resilience in School Environments
Kaiser Permanente’s Resilience in School Environments, or RISE, empowers schools to create safe and supportive learning environments by cultivating practices that strengthen the social and emotional health of all school employees and students.
Developed as part of Thriving Schools, RISE works with schools and districts to prepare school employees to better understand and integrate social and emotional well-being into all aspects of school life, both theirs and their students.
Playbook for Healthy School Communities
To assist schools in proactively addressing the health needs of the school community, a number of nationally recognized and trusted school health organizations have come together to develop a playbook for when learning starts again: “Planning for the Next Normal at School: Keeping students, staff, and families safe and healthy.”
This guide aims to equip school and district leaders with specific, evidence-informed guidance and operating procedures for keeping school communities mentally and physically safe as we shape a new approach to learning. Each chapter of the playbook includes five “starter plays” that provide practical strategies and actionable steps improving health in both in-person and virtual school environments.
THRIVING SCHOOLS RESOURCES
Schools play a critical role in promoting the health of young people and helping them establish lifelong patterns of healthy behavior. Good health is essential for learning and retention and the development of strong cognitive abilities. Ensuring good health in students has been shown to boost attendance and educational achievement, ultimately setting students up for greater success in school and in life.
To provide for the long-term development and success of young people, we believe that it’s important for schools, government agencies, and community organizations to work collaboratively to support learning and health in an integrated manner.
Explore Student Well-Being by topic:
Thriving Schools believes that school employee well-being is an essential component of helping schools to be the healthiest they can be. School employee well-being means support for the physical, social, emotional, and professional well-being of all school employees, teachers, administrators, and classified staff.
Support for employees at your school can range from on-site wellness programs and activities to creating school-wide policies and environmental changes. Successful approaches often incorporate both.
A healthy school workplace helps retain teachers and staff, reduces stress, boosts job satisfaction and supports employees to perform at their best. They are absent fewer days and more likely to stay in their positions, creating the continuity and stability that’s essential for students’ success. Teachers and staff are also influential role models for students.
Explore School Employee Well-Being by topic:
THRIVING SCHOOLS LEADERSHIP
Annie Reed, DrPH
National Director, Thriving Schools
Annie Reed is the national director of Thriving Schools at Kaiser Permanente where she leads strategic development, oversight, and evaluation of large-scale school-based programs aimed at addressing teacher, staff, and student physical and mental health. She has worked at the intersection of public health and public education for 15 years.
Dr. Reed received her bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College, her master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, and her doctorate in public health from the University of California, Berkeley where she studied how school districts can leverage nontraditional funding to invest in school-based health initiatives aimed at improving health and academic outcomes.
ABOUT THRIVING SCHOOLS
At Kaiser Permanente, we’re committed to health. That means not only delivering great health care but also creating communities where people can be healthy in all the places they live, learn, work, and play. This is especially important in schools, where better health boosts educational success and educational success leads to better lifelong health, employment, earning potential, and self-confidence.
The Education – Health Connection
Good health is critical to ensuring that students can make the most of their educational opportunities. A foundation of good nutrition and physical activity enriches students’ readiness to learn. A school environment that supports students’ social and emotional well-being ensures that young people develop the cognitive skills and attitudes needed to maintain their health and happiness throughout life.
Becoming a Thriving School
Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools seeks to impact health in schools on a broad scale while addressing high priority health needs in the specific communities where we operate.
Our vision is that every community can count on their school as a champion for good health that enables great learning. Any school can become a Thriving School. Schools that actively engage in promoting the health and well-being of students, staff, and teachers are well on their way.
Our Approach and Experience
Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools is intentional about coordinating our own knowledge and existing work in school health with the good work of others. Through our valued partnerships with some of the country’s most innovative organizations, we are able to provide concrete resources and pathways to health in schools. To create lasting change, we use our voice to advance local, regional, and national policies and a movement to make healthy schools the norm for everyone.
FROM THE THRIVING SCHOOLS BLOG
Bringing Resilience to the Center Stage with RISE UP Week for Educators
Publish date: October 26, 2020
Those who lead Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre recognized the current high level of stress and set out to offer educators a way to connect and discuss solutions for the unique challenges they are experiencing in 2020. The team organized RISE UP Week, a series of interactive live stream workshops leading up to World Mental Health Day on October 10.
Virtual Classroom: Creating a Space for Trust and Connection During the Pandemic
Publish date: July 1, 2020
With summer in full swing, Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools recognizes the teachers, staff, and district leaders who have sustained learning and health during such a challenging time. The following story is just one example of the care and dedication of so many educators. We hope it provides insight and hope for the future of schools.
Schools Cannot Thrive Until All of Us Thrive
Publish date: June 15, 2020
The past several months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the systemic inequities it has amplified alongside the recent murder of George Floyd and other victims of police brutality truly underscore the ways racism has affected African Americans and other communities of color. We must confront this racism head-on in our community institutions. This includes schools, which are centers of learning and touchpoints for social support services.
Hawaii’s Annual Fitness Run and School Fundraiser Goes Virtual
Publish date: May 21, 2020
In these days of sheltering in place, many of our beloved social gatherings that once took place in crowded arenas have had to find a new expression online. Yet, a physical activity event is likely one of the more challenging social experiences to transition to a virtual environment.
Resources for Schools and Families Impacted by COVID-19
Publish date: March 27, 2020
We’re curating this resource page as an online space that you can trust for the latest information and ideas to support learning, health, and overall well-being during these challenging times. We recognize that school communities are having to adapt to tremendous changes in a short period of time and that more support will be needed as students and teachers eventually return to in-person school life.
Thriving Schools Expands Social and Emotional Health Resources through Resilience in School Environments
Publish date: December 12, 2019
We’re curating this resource page as an online space that you can trust for the latest information and ideas to support learning, health, and overall well-being during these challenging times. We recognize that school communities are having to adapt to tremendous changes in a short period of time and that more support will be needed as students and teachers eventually return to in-person school life.