Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model

"The key to moving from model to action is collaborative development of local school policies, processes, and practices. The day-to-day practices within each sector require examination and collaboration so that they work in tandem, with appropriate complementary processes guiding each decision and action. Developing joint and collaborative policy is half the challenge; putting it into action and making it routine completes the task.

To develop joint or collaborative policies, processes, and practices, all parties involved should start with a common understanding about the interrelatedness of learning and health. From this understanding, current and future systems and actions can be adjusted, adapted, or crafted to jointly achieve both learning and health outcomes."

- From The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model: A Guide to Implementation :

"The coordination of policies, processes, and practices (represented by the white band around the five Whole Child Tenets) plays a critical role in creating and sustaining a school environment that supports both learning and health. Districts and schools can use the WSCC model to guide coordination and collaboration between component areas, facilitating awareness of issues across administrators, staff and community partners in different areas. As a result, schools are often able to leverage new resources, reduce duplication, and provide consistent messaging to create awareness and garner support for the identified priority areas.

One of the strategies to achieve coordination is establishing a WSCC team or building on an existing district - and/or school-level team, such as a school improvement team or wellness committee, and expanding it to Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model: Ideas for Implementation include representation from as many WSCC components as possible. Guidance for this is provided in Part II. In addition, provides examples of how districts have approached forming a team and integrating WSCC into school district processes and practices. Working collaboratively, a team can take a district or school priority, such as improving school climate and reducing disciplinary referrals, and work through the WSCC components, identifying what evidence-based strategies and practices are already in place, and what might be implemented in each of the component areas that would support the priorities. Some strategies or practices might fit in one or two components, but also reinforce other components. Depending on the priority, it may not be necessary nor make sense to have all ten components involved in every implementation or action. However, using the WSCC model affirms that all ten components are important, and helps to facilitate coordination between them.

Support for the WSCC model and opportunities to leverage and strengthen policies and practices exist at the federal, state and local levels."

There are opportunities in the following areas, some of which can foster integration:

Federal Education Policy
State-Level Policies
District and School-Level Policies and Strategic Plans
- District and school improvement plans
- District and school-level policies and practices supporting health and wellness
  - Wellness policies under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (2010) and the USDA Final Wellness Policy Rule (2016). Example model and sample wellness policies and guidance.
  - Policies related to various health-related topics (e.g., tobacco use, bullying, school safety)