A Collective Action Formation to Address Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in Schools: The District 87 Wellness Collaborative

Abstract

The District 87 Wellness Collaborative is a multi-dimensional, interprofessional initiative in the Midwest region of the United States that was co-designed to facilitate collaboration, civic engagement, and partnerships among university scholar-practitioners, community agencies, and school administrators and personnel. The primary aims of the Wellness Collaborative are to develop, enhance, and extend school initiatives that address mental, emotional, and behavioral health outcomes of school-age children, their families, and the education workforce. The Wellness Collaborative is composed of disciplinary expertise in kinesiology, school counseling and psychology, social work, nursing, geography, and community health. Broader campus and community partners include specialists from civic and community engagement offices, extension services, and healthcare providers. This ecologically framed initiative supports strategic and system-level change within the district (system) and individual schools (sub-systems). It addresses complex school-level organizational factors (i.e., environment, norms, organizational culture, incentives, etc.) that influence wellness behaviors that affect school and physical education workforce professionals.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily M. Jones

Emily M. Jones ([email protected]) is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.

Leslie Blockman

Leslie Blockman is a social–emotional learning coordinator, and

Caroline Bubulka

Caroline Bubulka is the director of school nutrition in the Bloomington Public Schools District 87 in Bloomington, IL.