School Wellness Councils
A School Wellness Council (SWC) is an advisory group comprised of students, their family members, and school staff dedicated to improving the health and well-being of students, staff, and the school community. The DOE Citywide Wellness Policy (opens in new window), posted on the DOE employee InfoHub, strongly encourages all schools to establish a School Wellness Council.
School Wellness Councils engage School Leadership Teams, students, families, and other school community members to provide opportunities for everyone to be healthier and more active. They promote inclusivity and play a key role in ensuring that physical education and health education instruction are valued subjects in schools. Wellness councils connect the skills students learn in Health Education and PE, improve students’ well-being, and promote school-wide social and emotional learning activities that support the whole child and entire school community.
School Wellness Council Professional Learning Opportunities
We will update this page with new professional learning opportunities, resources, and events for the 2023-2024 school year. To stay informed throughout the year, subscribe to our School Wellness Weekly newsletter (opens in new window). Thank you for your dedication to teaching students what they need to know to make healthy, informed choices now and throughout their lives.
School Wellness Council Resources
School Wellness Council Grant Funding
Please check back for updated information about School Wellness Council Funding and other opportunities for this school year.
Questions? Email your Borough Team (opens in new window).
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC)
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model (opens in new window) emphasizes the importance of schools, communities, public health agencies, and health care sectors collaborating to create and achieve common goals that serve the whole child. School Wellness Councils are crucial for identifying each school’s unique needs and promoting a healthy school community.
Consisting of students, families, school staff, and other community members, School Wellness Councils can support principals and School Leadership Teams in the development and coordination of their school’s approach to the NYCPS Wellness Policy. Strong School Wellness Councils lead school-based plans grounded in providing students with high-quality physical and health education instruction and consistent health and wellness policies, programs, and activities before, during, and after school.
Professional Learning Policies and Expectations
Digital Citizenship: The Office of School Wellness Programs promotes positive digital citizenship (opens in new window) and practices that lead to safe, effective online learning. In accordance with the NYC Department of Education Internet Acceptable Use Policy (opens in new window), the Office of School Wellness Programs reserves the right to terminate any user’s access to our online professional learning opportunities and online communities, at any time, should activities/posts be deemed inappropriate or in violation of this policy.
Participation: We love professional learning in person because we have the opportunity to learn from each other face to face. Virtual PLOs also afford us many conveniences, so in order to maintain the same level of engagement, we ask that you fully engage with the presenters, the materials, and each other. Full engagement will ensure that you are also able to attain CTLE credit for the session. If you are experiencing technological issues preventing active participation, please inform the facilitators immediately. “Full engagement” includes but is not limited to: accessing the online sessions via a computer or mobile device (preferably located in a space with minimal distractions and not while in transit), completing pre-work (where applicable), and participating in all activities in the session. Contributions to the “chat,” polls, midpoint check ins on google forms, breakout discussions, feedback surveys, and any tasks included in the session are required and appreciated. Being on camera for webinars is also strongly recommended. We thank you for your time and commitment to student learning and we look forward to working with you during our professional learning sessions.
Contact Your Borough Team For Support
Please contact your Borough Team with any questions: