School Wellness Council Grant Guidance:                                                                          

How do I develop a SMARTIE goal about an active and inclusive council?          

Community Wellness Scorecard Item 1 

 

Overview 


One of your goals may be to ensure that your School Wellness Council is active, meeting regularly, and includes members serving in a variety of roles within your school community.  


As a champion/member of your School Wellness Council, one of your roles is to ensure that your council is diverse and is actively meeting on a regular basis. Including individuals in your council who play various roles in your school community helps your council identify your community’s strengths and areas for growth and better respond to all community members’ needs. 

 

Meeting regularly and including diverse members in each meeting is important for your council to be able to collaboratively set its goals, choose activities and programs, and create or modify wellness policies to implement. If it is difficult for your entire council or the vast majority to meet on a regular basis, we recommend that you have a core group that meets regularly (~ once per month) and participates in School Leadership Team (SLT) meetings, and subcommittees comprised of other members who meet less frequently. Subcommittees may work on specific projects and may provide more flexibility in terms of scheduling meetings. 


In order to fully develop this goal, you may need to consult with your principal or other administrators about your core council members attending SLT meetings and adding School Wellness Council agenda items to the SLT agendas.  

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SMARTIE Goal Guidance 


Identify the relevant Scorecard Item on the School Wellness Scorecard and respond to the SMARTIE prompts to guide your goal development. 


Example: 

  • SWC 1: Our school has an active and diverse School Wellness Council that includes students, staff, families and community members that meets at least once a month. 


SMARTIE Goal Prompts: 

Specific 

Who is on your council/what roles do they serve in the school community?  

  • Student in grade X who is in an ICT class, student in grade X who is in a self-contained class, school nurse, custodian, parent of student in grade X who is ____, individual from X CBO, [subject area] teacher participating, administrator, etc. 

Why are these individual members particularly important?  

  • Why did they join your council? What/whose perspective do they represent and how will that benefit your entire school community (blended learners/staff, remote learners/staff, etc.)? How may they support your school community during the global pandemic and the challenges it presents to your school community?  

How often will your council meet? 

  • How often will the entire council meet? 
  • Will you have subcommittees? If so: 
    • How often will the subcommittees meet?  
    • How will they report back/update the entire council on their project, progress, etc.? 

 

How will your council and/or subcommittees meet?  

  • For example, in person after school during PD time? Remotely, via Microsoft Teams or Zoom? Other? 

 

Which SWC Champion(s) and/or council member(s) will participate in School Leadership Team meetings, how often, and for how long/during which parts?  

  • How often and how is the School Leadership Team meeting (once a month? four times throughout the school year? in person? other?)? 

 

Measurable 

 

How can you ensure all champions and members are active in the Wellness Council Manager?  

  • How many different roles are represented on your council? For example, if your council is comprised of your school nurse, 2 physical education teachers teaching remotely, 1 health teacher in the school building, 2 science teachers (one in the building, one remote), your parent coordinator, 2 students (one participating in blended learning and one fully remote), and 1 family member, there are 7 roles represented on your council, even though there are 10 members. 


How will you document meeting attendance, and who will you share it with? 


How will you hold champions and members accountable for attending meetings and fulfilling their responsibilities? 

Who will contribute agenda items and/or create agendas? Where will agendas be stored and how will they be shared with others? 

Which wellness goals are already on your school’s Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP)? Do they need to be modified to reflect this school year and, if so, how? Which wellness goals do you anticipate adding to your CEP? 

Ambitious 

In what ways will these be challenging achievements that will help your wellness council make progress in your school community this year? 

Realistic 

 

What skills/tools/resources do you need for your council to effectively make progress toward this goal this year?  

  • Which of those skills/tools/resources do you already have?  
  • Which will you acquire? How will you acquire them? 
  • Explain why it is worth the time and energy to utilize and acquire these skills/tools/resources. 

Timely 

When/how frequently will the above take place (meetings, setting agendas, adding to/modifying CEP goals, etc.)? 


What are some benchmark dates for the 2023-202 school year that will help you meet your goal(s) by the end of the year? Why this particular timeline? 

Inclusive 

What will you do to recruit and encourage individuals to join, particularly individuals who have been marginalized in your school community and/or larger community and who have not been active in decision-making, policy-setting, etc.? 


How will you ensure that power is shared among champions and members (e.g., an administrator does not hold more power on the council than a student or family member)?  


How will you schedule meeting times and locations/platforms to accommodate the greatest number of council members? How will you accommodate council members that were not able to attend? 


Is the technology you are using to hold remote meetings accessible, if applicable (e.g., it is formatted for people with disabilities and is easy for people with disabilities and speakers of other languages to use)? Is the digital content or printed documents you share with members of your council also accessible? 

Equitable 

What can/will you provide to champions and members so they are able to fully participate in council meetings, programs, activities, etc.?  

  • Which particular members do you anticipate will need tools/supports/ accommodations?  

How will you ensure your council informs all students and families of the opportunity to join and support council work? 

 

Find Support


Please contact your Borough Implementation Team with any questions (opens in new window).