SHWAC

Student Well-Being & Academic Services Center at Zona Rosa - Rooms 204, 206, 208

As part of our CSIP objectives, the Park Hill School District began the process of writing a comprehensive student well-being plan. This plan will serve as a clear outline of the initiatives and practices we currently have in place to support student well-being, as well as areas where we can continue to grow and improve.

After a year of engaging in learning, creating a student well-being team, listening to student voices, and reflecting on what we are already doing to support our students, a dedicated team representing the various components of the WSCC model helped write and shape a comprehensive Student Well-Being Plan that truly reflects the thoughtful input from the Park Hill community. As we know, students who are supported in their well-being are better positioned to succeed academically.

We are excited to share the Student Well-Being Plan for review by the SHWAC.

The Employee Wellness Program has officially transitioned to the Staff Wellbeing Program! This change reflects our expanded focus on supporting the whole person, not just the employee. The program now includes our new Staff Wellbeing Coordinator, Shelby Nace, LMSW, whose work centers on mental and emotional wellbeing.

The Park Hill School District believes this new name better represents the many dimensions of health within each staff member and reinforces our commitment to fostering a true sense of belonging. Our goal is to provide every staff member with practical tools, meaningful support, and opportunities to nurture their own wellbeing journey.

Program Highlights

The Staff Wellbeing Program has been off to a busy and exciting start this year!

• Flu Shot Clinic: The drive-thru flu shot event was held on October 2nd and 3rd, with a total of 526 vaccinations provided to employees, spouses, and retirees.
• Districts on the Move: Game Day Hustle Challenge: This wellness challenge kicked off on October 6th, with Park Hill staff joining 12 other area school districts in a friendly competition to stay active and earn points.
• Fitness Center: Since July 1, 2025, we’ve welcomed 32 new members to the Fitness Center! Out first group exercise session wrapped up with 27 participants, who attended 56 total classes, resulting in 290 total check-ins.
• Health Screenings: Megan Brooks, Health Enhancement Coordinator, has completed 60 metabolic tests for employees.
• Health Coaching: Virtual health coaching through Blue Cross Blue Shield began in September and continues monthly.
• Mobile Mammography: Diagnostic Imaging visited the district on October 28th with the mobile mammography bus for staff screenings.

Expanding Mental Health Support

The expansion of mental health services for Park Hill School District staff is well underway! To date, Shelby has met with 32 staff members from a wide range of roles across the district. These wellbeing appointments have included:

• Crisis counseling and planning
• Supportive conversations around workplace stressors
• Guidance for managing anxiety and relationship challenges
• Referrals and warm hand-offs to community partners, including our Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

EAP utilization remains healthy, with 6.41% of staff (annualized 119 cases) reaching out for support. Current EAP data and staff wellbeing surveys indicate that the most common concerns among staff include emotional wellbeing, anxiety, and relationships.

The Park Hill School District is excited to share that the High School Health and Family Education curriculum revision was completed this summer.

Health and Family Education is a quarter-long course that equips students with essential tools to support lifelong health and well-being. The updated curriculum emphasizes practical skills, informed decision-making, communication strategies, and self-advocacy - skills that empower students to make healthy choices in all areas of their lives both now and in the future.

Students explore five key areas through engaging, age-appropriate lessons and activities:

• Health & Wellbeing: Exploring the essential components of a healthy and fulfilling life, examining how physical and mental well-being, effective communication, goalsetting strategies, and informed decision-making contribute to a balanced lifestyle. Empowering students to make informed choices and develop lifelong habits that enhance their overall well-being.
• Nutrition & Fitness: Building healthy eating habits, understanding physical activity, and exploring how daily choices influence long-term wellness.
• Prevention: Providing students with foundational knowledge and practical skills to understand, prevent, and respond to various health scenarios, focusing on the differences between infectious and non-infectious diseases, methods of prevention, and essential first aid techniques, including CPR.
• Substance Education: Exploring the physical, emotional, and social effects of various substance use and misuse, including examining the reasons why people use substances, the risks involved, and how to apply refusal skills, boundary-setting, and decision-making strategies to stay safe and support others.
• Sexual Health & Relationships: Building knowledge and skills for developing healthy relationships, understanding consent and communication, preventing violence, and making informed decisions about sexual health. Students will explore emotional, physical, and social aspects of relationships and learn how to protect their health and well-being through understanding contraception and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

At Park Hill Nutrition Services, we believe that food has the power to bring people together—and that building high trust through low-stress, joyful experiences helps students feel connected and willing to explore new, healthy foods.

At Park Hill High School, the kitchen crew’s “Joke of the Day” has become a lunchroom favorite, with students sharing jokes back and staff joining in the fun—dressing as tacos, avocados, or even dancing with a giant inflatable banana. These playful moments help build community and connection every day.

During National School Lunch Week, students embarked on a global food adventure with our “Taste the World” theme. Cafeterias featured international flavors, raffles, and activities tying culture and geography to food. Elementary students carried “tasting passports” to try new foods and earn stamps, with a chance to have a family recipe featured on a future menu. Secondary schools joined the adventure too—making every lunch an opportunity for learning and fun.

Our program works hard to ensure every student feels seen, heard, and cared for. Students with food allergies or medical needs enjoy custom menus created by our registered dietitian, Emma Montgomery, ensuring safe, varied meals that still look like what their friends enjoy. Emma also connects with students through nutrition education at all levels—from preschoolers at Gerner to high school athletes—meeting students where they are.

Our creative, student-focused approach is gaining attention locally, statewide, and nationally—showing that when students are at the center of your program, success and recognition follow.

Every day, we build success through community, connection, and healthy habits.

Health Services is excited to introduce Sarah Light, MSN, RN, as our new Nurse Educator/Trainer. Sarah began the school year by organizing a comprehensive skills lab training day for our nurses at William Jewell College of Nursing. During this session, nurses had the opportunity to review essential clinical skills and procedures, as well as complete certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Stop the Bleed.

In addition to leading this training, Sarah provides monthly professional development sessions for Health Services staff via Microsoft Teams and is available for individualized 1:1 education and support. In the future, we look forward to expanding Sarah’s educational initiatives across the district to further strengthen our nursing practice and to provide education for non-nursing staff on medical topics to enhance student support.

We are also proud to share that Angeline Washington has become our final school to achieve Project ADAM certification. This milestone means that all 21 Park Hill schools are now officially “Heart Safe Schools” and have established Medical Emergency Response Teams (MERT). Additionally, our nurses are now Stop the Bleed trainers and will be equipping their MERT teams with this lifesaving knowledge. Stop the Bleed kits are being installed in Park Hill buildings near the AEDs to be available for an emergency involving life-threatening bleeding.

With recent legislation regarding emergency response preparedness, and since we now have all schools Project Adam certified, we are now working on getting additional sites Project Adam certified. The Academic Services and Student Well-Being team housed at Zona Rosa, the Aquatic Center, and District office are organizing MERT Teams, so Park Hill will have personnel at all buildings who are trained and regularly practice responding to medical emergencies.

Substance Use Education & Prevention Task Force

This fall, Park Hill launched a project to evaluate and select updated resources and programming for substance use education and prevention. The landscape has shifted significantly in recent years, with factors such as marijuana legalization, vaping, and the rise of laced prescription drugs, creating new challenges for schools and communities, not to mention new ways of obtaining substances through social media.

Research shows that the earlier someone begins using substances, the more likely they are to become addicted to them. In fact, 90% of adults with a substance use disorder began using before the age of 18 (SAMHSA, 2024). The goal of prevention experts is to delay a child’s first use as long as possible. The role of trusted adults in the lives of children is critical to delaying the first use. A consistent message – from all aspects of a student’s life, including from those at home and those at school – is a strong preventive factor in reducing student substance use.

Dr. Deayon, Chief Access and Inclusion Officer, and Dr. Schuerman, Coordinator of Belonging, who lead the district’s school social work and school counseling programs (respectively), convened a multi-identity, cross-functional, and multi-disciplinary task force to study this issue and make recommendations. The work of the task force will end by Winter Break, so Dr. Deayon and Dr. Schuerman have time during second semester to plan for implementation of how the district will move forward to prevent our students from using substances.

From programs like Project Alert, Red Ribbon Week, and Arrive Alive, along with related standards taught in the School Counseling, Life Education, and High School Social/Emotional Learning curricula, the team will make recommendations as to how to most effectively proceed when it comes to substance use prevention. By bringing together the right people, the goal is to ensure our students receive meaningful, effective substance use education and prevention strategies.

With ideas of how we can effectively and efficiently build knowledge and skills among our students at various grade levels to help them abstain from illegal and illicit substance use, feel free to reach out to Dr. Deayon or Dr. Schuerman!

High School Counseling Curriculum Update and Revision

Park Hill uses a 3-6 year curriculum revision cycle. The High School Counseling Curriculum was approved for the first time by the Park Hill Board of Education in 2019, so it was time for an update. A team of high school counselors, led by Learning Facilitator, Becky Morse, and district coordinator of the K-12 School Counseling program, Dr. Andy Schuerman, was assembled to update and revise the curriculum.

Park Hill Social Workers Mission Statement: Park Hill Social Workers respectfully collaborate with students and families by removing barriers, as well as ensuring access to information, services, and resources, to promote successful futures and enhance well-being.

Exciting News!

• We have a new website! https://www.parkhill.k12.mo.us/families/social-work
• The 2025-2026 school year is the first time each of our school sites have their own social worker – with all three high schools having two social workers.

*** End of 2024/2025 Highlights ***

Miles Of Smiles Dental Visits:

• Over 720 students served across elementary, middle, and high schools

I Care 4 Kids Vision Services:

• 404 students seen (287 on-site in van)
• 291 pairs of glasses dispensed

School-Based Mental Health (SBMH):

• 35 referrals
• 28 students received individual therapy
• 8 students participated in Synergy group sessions
• 21 students on waitlist at year’s end

Community Supports:

• Harvesters BackSnack program: 180 participants
• ReFRESH Hygiene Pantry: 36 families (147 individuals)

Questions about data or programs? Please reach out!

The district continues to invest in the safety and security of our staff and students through increased safety measures within buildings, upgraded surveillance technology, and additional training for staff regarding safety and security.

The district has partnered with Strategos International to place School Protection Specialists (SPS) in our elementary schools. Four SPSs rotate at every elementary school in the Park Hill School District. While we partner with our local police departments for our School Resource Officers at the middle and high school level, these new specialists for the elementary level will be specifically dedicated to our elementary schools.

Park Hill Schools are in compliance with Missouri Senate Bill 68 in regard to safety and security within the district. This includes the areas of:

• Age-appropriate drills
• Anti-intruder locks
• School safety coordinators
• Comprehensive Emergency Response Plans

A multi-disciplinary district safety team has been formed for the 2025-2026 school year. This group will:

• Review current district processes and procedures.
• Make recommendations and considerations within the district.
• Partner with local community first responders and emergency managers.
• Provide valuable feedback for safety program audit.
  

The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child, or WSCC model, is CDC’s framework for addressing health in schools. The WSCC model is student-centered and emphasizes the role of the community in supporting the school, the connections between health and academic achievement and the importance of evidence-based school policies and practices.

The WSCC model has 10 components:

1. Health Education
2. Physical Education & Physical Activity
3. Nutrition Environment & Services
4. Health Services
5. Counseling, Psychological & Social Services
6. Social & Emotional Climate
7. Physical Environment
8. Employee Wellness
9. Family Engagements
10. Community Involvement

Learn more about each of the 10 components.

Source: CDC Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child