Wolf Creek Public Schools board of trustees have refused twice to fund the Alberta Healthy School Community Initiatives grant program having seen two proposals, but it was a visit from Alberta Health Services-WCPS joint staff that changed the trustees’ minds.
Trustee Donna Peterson was the first to move that the board enter into the grant program, at the May 7 meeting. “I just think it’s a good thing. I think we need to do it.”
Grants under the program, for example, the School District Wellness Implementation Grant, gives a school a total of $120,000 over a three-year period and in return, the school must contribute $60,000 back, over the same amount of time.
The board, as well as superintendent Larry Jacobs, agrees if the $60,000 needs to be taken out of reserves to make the decision work, that is what they’ll do.
“I’m in favour of using $60,000 for this worthwhile project but how is it going to unfold?” Bob Huff, trustee, asked.
The grant money will be allocated to a steering committee for it to determine how the funds will be used.
In previous years similar funds were used to support the projects of designated “health champions.” But without the health champions in each school to maintain health practices in schools, the importance of health among both staff and students diminishes, says Jacobs. “It becomes less and less of a priority and just drifts away on its own accord.”
Health champions are school staff members heavily invested in working with their staff, as well as staff from other schools, to make sure students and staff feel welcome and supported in their position, both mentally and physically. They were a popular and well supported project in the past, but have fallen by the wayside in recent years.
Huff also spoke to making health in schools a school initiative for the board so it can be further funded in the future.