Area Schools Earn Award For Wellness

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The Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) Wellness Council announced in late December 2024 that eight schools including Jones Elementary School, Severn River Middle School and Severna Park High School were the 2024 winners of the AACPS Wellness School of Distinction award. Other county schools to receive the award were Marley Elementary School, Ridgeway Elementary School, Old Mill Middle School North, Southern Middle School and Southern High School.

The award recognizes schools that demonstrate a high priority for the health and well-being of students, staff and school supporters by going beyond the curriculum to produce positive outcomes for the entire school community.

To win the prestigious honor, a school must show that its culture encompasses wellness as reflected in the 10 components of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. WSCC is a coordinated and collaborative school health approach outlined by the Centers for Disease Control.

The components of the WSCC framework are health education; physical activity; health services; nutrition environment and services; counseling, psychological and social services; social and emotional climate; physical environment; employee wellness; family engagement; and community involvement. In support of all schools, the AACPS Wellness Council created a Wellness Toolkit, which provides a plethora of information for schools on how to successfully implement all of the components.

From mindfulness in nature activities to staff-focused self-care initiatives to energy conservation projects, each winning school’s approach to creating a culture of wellness is unique, but with one common factor: collaboration and motivation to be a well community.

This year, schools that won the award in 2021 or prior were eligible to apply to maintain their statuses. Jones Elementary School and Southern High School earned their third designations while all of the other schools achieved the distinction for the first time. As an extension of the Board of Education policy on wellness and the AACPS Wellness Council, the award is given annually.

The application window for the 2025 award will open in the spring. Schools that won the award in 2022 will be eligible to apply to maintain their designations.

Parents and community members are highly encouraged to be involved in the application process. While a copy of the application can be reviewed on the Wellness Schools webpage, final submissions must be made online by a school employee with approval by the principal. Only online applications submitted via the school system intranet will be accepted. General information about the Wellness Schools of Distinction program can be found at www.aacps.org/wellnessschools.

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