NVUSD Supports Student Wellness: Community Schools

The Napa Valley Unified School District’s focus on social-emotional learning, prevention and early intervention, and community engagement continues to grow with the official launch of our four community schools at McPherson Elementary, Phillips Magnet, and Snow Elementary as well as at Shearer TK-8 School.

What is a Community School? According to the California Department of Education, “The California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) supports schools’ efforts to partner with community agencies and local government to align community resources to improve student outcomes. These partnerships provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.” The California Community Schools Partnership Act was launched in 2021 and the legislature expanded the program to 2031. In other words, the Community School Program provides more resources to our school communities and students.

Now McPherson Elementary, Phillips Magnet Elementary, Snow Elementary, and Shearer TK-8 School, each have a full-time Community School program administrator who coordinates community and family engagement, expanded learning opportunities, multi-tiered systems of support, and shared leadership structures. Thanks to the community schools grant, each site also receives support from community-based organization service providers, including behavior interventionists from Burnett Therapeutic Services, Triple P Parenting and family coaching from Cope, on-site therapists from Mentis, and more.   

NVUSD was recently awarded a second California Community Schools grant of $2.6 million to implement at Silverado Middle School and Valley Oak High School. We look forward to bolstering their existing wellness programming with similar staffing and service providers. Some next steps for the Napa Valley Community Schools Network include communication and messaging to the Napa community to celebrate the great work happening at our NVUSD Community Schools.

Thanks to the Napa Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees prioritization of multi-tiered systems of support, wellness, and mental health, NVUSD is also able to provide wellness staff and professional learning. In mid-July, NVUSD sent a team of over 20 social workers, counselors, multi-tiered system of support teacher leads, and site administrators to the California Department of Education and Orange County Office of Education sponsored California Multi-Tiered System of Supports Professional Learning Institute, a three-day conference aimed at promoting the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success of all learners. Additionally, for the first time, NVUSD was able to provide every school site with mental health and wellness staffing, including amazing counselors, social workers, and mental health interns. NVUSD is proud to report that a majority of our mental health providers are bilingual and reflect the diversity of the communities in which they serve.