Transforming Schools into Centers of Wellness
Schools as Centers Of Wellness is a practical training resource that helps County Offices of Education (COEs), school districts, and individual schools learn how to bring the Schools as Centers of Wellness model to life. Built around eight key roles that make the model work, the resource includes videos, downloadable workbooks, and a digital convening to support your team every step of the way. It’s designed to help you build strong, lasting mental health supports in schools by partnering with local health providers and using available Medicaid funding.
We believe that every student deserves to have mental health supports in the classrooms anytime they need it. Join us in transforming schools into centers of wellness.
OUR VISION
Create a statewide movement to transform California schools into centers of wellness using sustainable funding models built upon deep and enduring partnerships with health systems.
Themes of Our Work
Relationships
Foster strong, trusting connections among students, families, school staff, and mental health professionals to build a supportive and collaborative environment for student wellness.
Collaboration
Strengthen partnerships between schools, families, community agencies, and mental health professionals to create a seamless, coordinated system of care that supports student well-being.
Systems
Develop and sustain integrated, school-based mental health systems that align policies, practices, and resources to ensure consistent, long-term support for all students.
Access to Care
Ensure every student has timely and equitable access to qualified mental health professionals and support services, regardless of school, background, or circumstance.
What We Do
We believe that every student deserves to have mental health supports in the classrooms anytime they need it. We are transforming schools into centers of wellness. This is transformational work, and we need your help. Whether you are a student, parent, school administrator, job seeker, or policy maker, we invite you to join our movement.
DEVELOPMENT
It’s All About Relationships
In the work of building trusting relationships in schools, we know that the essential components are:
Empathy
The recognition of the self in the other
Unconditional Positive Regard
Respect for the dignity and worth of the person
Continuity
The ability to maintain objectivity and consistency
SCHOOL BASED MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS
Director | Dr. Christopher Williams
Promoting student mental health and wellness is a collective responsibility shared by all adults in a school, not just specific staff members. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory illustrates how students exist within multiple interacting systems that influence one another bidirectionally. Furthermore, everyday interactions among school adults, such as conversations in the teachers’ lounge, actively shape and co-construct the school environment, offering continual opportunities for positive intervention.
