In 2013, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened leaders from the fields of health, public health, education and school health to develop the next evolution of school health. The group’s focus was to ensure that the health of the student, the teacher and the school are taken seriously by educators and, in particular, by those involved in the school improvement process.

This effort resulted in the 2014 launch of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model.

The WSCC model calls for schools, families and communities to work together to create healthier school environments. It expands on the coordinated school health initiative to provide a collaborative approach to learning and health. The model encompasses the whole school and acknowledges that learning, health and schools are reflections of the community.

Recently, the CDC launched the Virtual Healthy School, an interactive tool that shows educators how components of WSCC model can be integrated into their schools. The Virtual Healthy School gives life to the WSCC model through the familiar environment of a school, showing education professionals that schools just like theirs can easily be transformed to meet the needs of the whole child so that every student is ready to learn. This tool can be used by anyone looking to make their local school a healthier place for students and staff.