Creating Coherence with a Whole-Child Lens

The number of initiatives across California seems to be multiplying. Teachers are asked to implement many different, but similar, projects and programs. School leaders are struggling to get their staff excited about these new requests while districts weigh the costs and benefits of making one more ask for one more initiative.

At the same time, the state is talking about meeting the needs of the “whole child” through all of these initiatives. These reports from the Center for Whole-Child Education are about creating greater coherence across the state’s initiatives by applying a whole-child lens, in order to highlight their common whole-child purpose, along with the specific and actionable whole-child practices that are consistent across them.

Read the TK-12 Report
See the TK-12 Executive Summary

Using a Whole-Child Lens

Whole-child education is not one singular framework, program, initiative or curricula. Grounded in the science of learning and development, whole-child education creates learning conditions in which young people build essential cognitive, social and emotional skills and mindsets, develop their identities and self-worth, and overcome barriers to healthy development, learning and thriving. It focuses on addressing relationships, environments, student skills, habits and mindsets, learning experiences, and integrated supports.

Based on the “Guiding Principles for Equitable Whole Child Design”, a whole-child lens offers six guiding questions to identify aligned purpose and practices in any initiative.

Download the Whole-Child Lens infographic

Whole-Child Practices across Initiatives

In partnership with initiative leads, we analyzed examples of specific whole-child practices and how they show up in California education initiatives. Staff from the organizations that lead CA initiatives filled out an adapted version of the SoLD Design Principles for Schools Self-Assessment Tool, identifying which whole-child practices are primary, supporting or not addressed by their initiative, based on evidence in their guiding documents.In looking across the data, it is immediately clear that there is so much mutually-reinforcing work happening across initiatives. Far from implementing siloed strategies, many initiatives are supporting the same whole-child practices across their districts, schools and classrooms. A whole-child lens makes this consistency visible and concrete so that educators at multiple levels of the system can see the connections and make sense of their work as part of a common purpose.

Here is an example from the report, looking at relationship-focused practices across initiatives:

Shared Vision, Effective Leadership

To deepen our understanding of how whole-child practices actually show up in the field, we talked to practitioners that were identified as having deep experience and expertise with at least one of the five initiatives. We discovered that these experienced school and district leaders are blending initiatives together in pursuit of a strong, shared vision, and employing a variety of strategies to help staff connect their work around that vision. Additional key actions we identified from these districts include clear communication, thoughtful implementation, and inclusive collaboration towards a shared whole-child purpose.

• Revisit your school/district vision statement with your interest-holders.
• Communicate coherence.
• Engage interest-holders in talking about each existing and new initiative.
• Invest in relationships and supportive environments for adults in the system.
• Unify your LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) around your whole-child vision and the initiatives that support it.
• Apply the whole-child lens to other initiatives.
• Pursue continuous improvement.

A Call to Action

“Strengthening Coherence Across Initiatives” is also a call to action for policymakers and leaders, with an eye toward systemic change. With insights into how initiatives like College and Career Pathways, Community Schools, Dual Enrollment, Expanded Learning, MTSS, PBIS, and SEL can be viewed through a holistic lens, this report aims to spark conversations and inspire actions that bring us closer to a unified approach to education in California. Ultimately, the goal for each of these initiatives is to create positive, equitable learning experiences in which every young person can learn and grow.

This project is not about putting one idea above another, creating technical checklists, or comparing initiatives point by point. It is about finding the threads that tie our work together, aligning our efforts around a whole-child purpose that supports all students to thrive, and building on the incredible work already happening across the state.

With the release of these reports, we invite you into a conversation about how we can all seize this potent moment and contribute to a more coherent, focused, and joyful way of supporting our students. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to California’s students and for being an essential part of this collaborative effort.

Interested in partnering with the Center to create better coherence across your county, district, or school? Reach out to us at WholeChildASU.edu.

Special Thanks

The Center and co-author Katie Brackenridge would like to share thanks for support and partnership from the Stuart Foundation, and contributions from district representatives, education agencies, and educators across the state. (See the full list of contributors in each report.)