Whole Child Policy Study Group

The Whole Child Policy Study Group deepens state board of education content expertise and public leadership in whole child policymaking in the wake of COVID-19. The pandemic  highlighted longstanding inequities and presented an opportunity to improve the many systems, policies, and practices contributing to student success. State boards play a vital role in ensuring this education ecosystem is based on sound research, collaborative partnership, and equity so that students of all backgrounds and circumstances are prepared to succeed in school, work, and life. This study group is one of the many actions NASBE is taking to support state boards in this critical work.

The study group was originally convened in partnership with the Learning Policy Institute between  June 2020 through April 2021. This learning collaborative supported state boards in meeting the needs of the whole child. The goals of the project included:

• Establishing a collaborative forum of state board of education leaders;
• Developing the capacity of these leaders to leverage a whole child policy audit to spark policy changes and identify research-based strategies to improve state policies that affect student success and wellness; and
• Equipping these state leaders with press and intergovernmental relations resources to be trusted spokespersons on whole child policymaking.

NASBE is proud to have had a strong, diverse cadre of state board leaders participate in the Whole Child Policy Study Group. Members include the following: Candice Fifer (Delaware), Christine Benson (Illinois), Claire Batt (Kentucky), Darren Fleischer (District of Columbia), Deanna Townsend-Smith (North Carolina), Elaine Bobrove (New Jersey), Erin Benham (Connecticut), J. Wendell Hall (North Carolina), Janice Mak (Arizona), Jeffrey Van Hulten (Utah), Jenna Ahner (Delaware), Jo Allison Slone (Kentucky), Kathy Busch (Kansas), Lisa Fricke (Nebraska), Lu Young (Kentucky), Max Mickelson (Wyoming), Nedd Johnson (New Jersey), Pamela L. Davis-Vaught (Virginia), Patricia Rucker (California), Steve Durham (Colorado), and Carol Lear (Utah)

Contact Megan Blanco, NASBE’s director of safe and healthy schools, with questions about this project or opportunities to get involved in future study groups.