YOUTH PROGRAM

The be well Youth program is now in its 10th year of working with schools on wellness efforts and has been involved with 27 schools in Denver and Aurora since 2012.

In collaboration with two school districts, Denver and Aurora, be well assists schools with coordinating a School Wellness Team, including recruitment, meeting organization, and
structure. Each wellness team completes an assessment/inventory to learn the current “health status” of their school and is then charged with developing and executing a
roadmap to improve healthy living at their school.

• School Wellness Teams are comprised of various stakeholders such as principals, teachers, parents, students, nurses and community members. Students play a key role on the school wellness team in that they have unique insight on how to engage their peers in healthy living activities through first-hand experience and innovative interactions.
• School Wellness Teams influence school operations and promote local policy change at the individual school level, advocate and help make sustainable built environment changes and/or provide programs, events or seminars to address specific health topics tailored to their student body or the surrounding community.

In both districts be well provides resources, support, and technical assistance to the School Wellness Teams to create healthier school environments and aid in the development of the roadmap. be well also provides funds to schools via the healthy schools mini-grant program, and leverages funds for schools to carry out their activities described in their roadmaps.

​In 2022, be well’s Healthy Schools Program partnered with 19 Denver and Aurora schools to establish Wellness Teams made up of students, parents, and staff. Below are just a few of this year’s projects.

• Working with SustainEd Farms to plant and harvest a Community Garden, support the creation of a gardening curriculum, and install water filters and ice machines for clean drinking water at Ashley Elementary School in Denver.​
• Supporting a Staff Self-Care Challenge and Crockpot Cook-Off at McGlone Academy in Denver.
• Assisting Denver Green School Northfield with procuring hoses, seedlings, and spray bottles for the creation of a pollinator garden.
• Providing blankets, mats, and blocks to Swigert Elementary School in Denver for yoga classes.
• Creating a half-mile walking loop with benches, restrooms and art supplies at John H. Amesse Elementary School in Denver.
• Providing students at STRIVE Prep RISE High School in Denver with wellness kits filled with food, clothing, and other resources.
• Supporting monthly celebrations for staff at Crawford Elementary School in Aurora with a coffee cart and massage therapy.
• Providing Paris Elementary School in Aurora with bean bags and fidget spinners to create Calm Corners in classrooms.
• Supporting an annual Spring Health Fair and weekly Zumba Fit classes for staff and students at New Legacy Charter School in Aurora.
• Providing Boston K—8 School in Aurora with sports equipment for students.
• Establishing School Wellness BINGO for staff and students at Aurora Central High School.
• Creating a Zen Den at North Middle School in Aurora to support mental wellness for teachers.

We also partner with Montview Elementary in Aurora, McAuliffe International in Denver, Northfield High School in Denver, Monarch Montessori in Denver, Montbello High School in Denver, Denver School of the Arts, and High Point Academy in Aurora. We can’t wait to collaborate further with them this year!
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For more information on school wellness or the Healthy Schools mini grant program, please contact Meredith Fast at mfast@fsucommunities.org.