Building Student Wellness

When you think about student wellness in Douglas County School District (DCSD), it is two-pronged: physical health and psychological health.

Physical health encompasses a child's general safety from being physically hurt by another person. It also includes ensuring their stamina to make it through a school day, their choices they make when eating food, and their choices to be physically active (e.g. the way they play at recess, sports they play outside of school, or other active hobbies). This MUST come first before students can begin to feel psychologically safe.

Psychological health encompasses a child's feelings of self-esteem, confidence, as well as the ability to control various negative and positive emotions following significant or routine life events. ONLY AFTER physical safety has been put in place can psychological safety be worked on.

DCSD is dedicated to building both the physical and psychological health of all students. All schools are locked throughout the day and visitors must check in at the front desk before entering the school. Likewise, schools practice fire/tornado drills and lockdown drills multiple times per year to ensure everyone is clear on what to do in different situations. Finally, Bear Canyon is a school involved in the Marshall Program where an off-duty, uniformed police officer periodically patrols the school and grounds throughout the week.

DCSD also takes the act of bullying and general school violence very seriously. As mandated by House Bill 1254, all Colorado schools must take action to actively prevent bullying through various social and emotional lessons. They must also actively intervene when a known issue of bullying is identified by a parent, teacher, or student. However, it is critical that the situation be identified as either bullying or peer conflict.

The critical components of both bullying and peer conflict are very different and can be easily distinguished. Use these visuals below for help to know the difference.

What can parents do?

First off - Always make sure your child feels the physical safety of their home. Make sure they know they have a safe place to come home to and that they have adults around them to meet their physical needs: meals and a place to sleep. Likewise, make sure you are showing them various levels of love including explicit things like setting limits as well as giving them hugs, kisses, and reading them bedtime stories. This gives that psychological safety of love and belongingness in the home. After physical and psychological safety have been provided, help your child learn what empathy is and how to show it. Have discussions and ask questions about your child's day. Talk to your child about what the word bullying means. This is something they will talk about at school but it's important that parents talk to kids about it too. This is particularly important because the word is used more freely than it should be. Now that the word is associated with a law, it is paramount to teach children the exact definition of what bullying is and what it isn't. Also, when your child comes home from school, ask them to tell you about their day. Listen for if they consistently share that recess is hard for them or that a particular child consistently is bothering them. As you hear these types of issues, talk to them about what happened. Ask them what happened before, what specific things are happening they don't like, and what did they do after. If the story continues to be the same each day, be sure to contact your child's teacher. Let them know the details you know of from your child. Be assured that your child's teacher will take this information seriously. If the story your child tells you is changing or is inconsistent, continue to ask questions. Be mindful of issues related to conflict. If your child appears to be struggling with conflict, help them understand this issue as well and give them strategies for how to work things out with their peer. I recommend conflict resolution strategies including:

Staying calm

Identifying the problem at hand

Come up with a minimum of 3 solutions

Try out the best one that is safe, fair, and will make everyone feel good

If the first solution worked, great! If it didn't try the others.

IF all three solutions do not work, seek further adult help

Finally, help your child by building their self-esteem. This link is meant for teachers but can also be helpful for adults to keep in mind at home as well. This is critical to helping kids avoid experiencing anxiety and/or depression when they experience negative feelings or receive negative feedback from peers and adults. It helps to build a strong ego rather than a big ego. As we go through life, there are unfortunate events that take place including loss of friendships, arguments amongst peers, receiving negative feedback about performance on an academic or social task, etc. As these events occur, it can stir up negative feelings. A child with low self-esteem or weak ego will take this feedback and feel they are no good or that they are "dumb." Kids with high self-esteem or a strong ego will see the experience as an opportunity to grow or do something better. They see the event as a moment in time and not something that defines who they are for the rest of their life. See the techniques in the above hyperlink for ideas on how to build your child's self-esteem.