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Wellness Committee

Join the Wellness Committee Today!

We are committed to supporting students, staff and community members with skills and knowledge to contribute to personal & communal thriving health. We embrace and are committed to learning about the various approaches to wellness across cultures.

Ways to Participate

  • Join the committee email group to keep up on the monthly information. (Email mauld@bccs286.org to be added to the list.) 

  • Attend the monthly committee meetings, as available. 

  • Participate in any of the free or low cost wellness programs offered during the school year.

  • What works for you? Connect with the Wellbeing Specialist to ask questions and/or offer feedback: mauld@bccs286.org.

 

The Brooklyn Center Community Schools District Wellness Committee currently meets on the third Thursday of every other month. The meeting schedule is based on members attending availability, and is flexible based on need. Currently, the committee meets in the morning on odd-numbered months (January, March, May, July, September and November), remotely via Zoom. 
We welcome family members, community members, students, staff and partners to join us. We are committed to and embrace the various approaches to thriving health and wellness across cultures and invite BIPOC members of our schools and community to share your interests and expertise. If you are unable to attend the meetings, but would like to be involved, there is a place for you! We often have subcommittees that work on time-limited wellness projects. Please contact the Wellbeing Specialist at mauld@bccs286.org for more information, or to send your wellness-related questions or ideas. 
The District Wellness Committee works to keep the District Wellness Policy current and aligned with federal and state mandates as well as our community needs and interests. We also plan and implement the many employee, student and community wellness initiatives and programs throughout the school year, often aligned with current grants and projects.
 
The BCCS Wellness Program completed a third-party facilitated strategic planning process and have identified the priorities and action steps for the 2024-25 school year, based on stakeholder feedback. Staff, administrators, family members and partners were involved in the process. Follow the links to the full report and the final presentation.  
 
Check out the 2024-25 wellness program calendar. Based on the wellness strategic plan, many of the programs in 2024- 25 will be focused on staff professional development on various wellness topics, as well as personal and collective wellbeing resources. Seasonal wellness classes and activities at district events will be available for families and community, including low-cost yoga and fitness classes through generous funding from Medica. Watch for more information on the "Current Community Wellbeing Programs" web page and in the district newsletters. 
Here is a list of the Top Five Wellness Tips, which are simple-to-implement daily practices to support your self-care habits. 

Recognition

BCCS is excited to announce we have received the USDA Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for Innovation in the Cultural Diversity of School Meals! This award comes from Action For Healthy Kids and the USDA and is part of our Healthy Meals Incentives grant projects. We’re proud to offer culturally diverse, healthy meals for our students, and are grateful for our nutrition staff for standing front and center for our students.

Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award

 

For the second year in a row BCCS has earned the mspWellness Champion Five-Star Designation! The award is earned based on a thorough application and reporting process. The mspWellness Champion program is a partnership between Hennepin County Public Health, Minneapolis Regional Chamber and Minneapolis Department of Health, working to create healthier work environments.  

 

Check out the BCCS Spotlight story on the MN Department of Education website: Minnesota Healthy Schools:  Spotlight on Success.

Read the Healthy Schools Story of Achievement that the CDC published about BCCS.

ConTACT

Michelle Auld
Wellbeing Specialist
mauld@bccs286.org
763-561-2120 x2108

WELLNESS PROJECTS WITH PARTNERS

  • Action For Healthy Kids: In the 2024-25 school year, BCCS is excited to implement the second year of the two-year Healthy Meals Incentive grant! We were awarded $144,000 to implement internal scratch cooking skills for kitchen staff, and nutrition education and activities for staff and students, with a focus on increasing culturally-diverse menu items, as advised by our students and families. (See above for the Recognition Award we earned from the USDA for this work in the 2023-24 school year.)
  • BCCS has also participated for multiple years in the Harvest of the Month project through the MN Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the MN Department of Education During the 2024-25 school year we will continue to offer monthly cafeteria taste tests, featuring locally-sourced produce and foods and using culturally diverse recipes.
  • The BCCS District Nutrition Guidelines Committee, comprised of students, parents, staff and partners, worked to develop a set of nutrition guidelines from which the District Nutrition Services and the school administration teams work. After a comprehensive needs and interest assessment of our community, three foundational guidelines were identified and are being implemented. The scratch cooking guideline is supported by the 2023 Ingredient Guide for Better School Food Purchasing.
     
  • SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Partnership): SHIP funding is from the MN Legislature and is distributed through Hennepin County School Health and Health@Work teams to Brooklyn Center Community Schools. The funding in 2024-25 will support comprehensive adult and student trauma training for all BCCS staff groups, with resources and practices to support greater wellbeing for our stakeholders.
  • MnDOT Grants and MN Bicycle Alliance: BCCS is excited to announce we have received the MnDOT Safe Routes To Schools (SRTS) Coordinator grant. This three-year funding will provide the district with a full-time SRTS coordinator position. The focus will be on increasing the scope and accessibility of SRTS programs and resources for our students and families and will kick off at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
    BCCS was also the proud recipient of the MNDOT Boost grant and procured a district bike fleet in the spring of 2023. This five-year project increases bike-riding skills and safety lessons for students in grades 3 - 12. The bikes are used in PE classes, and in Out of School Time and Family and Community Engagement programs.
    In addition, staff have the opportunity to attend Walk, Bike, Fun curriculum training, through MN Bicycle Alliance, in order to be trained to use the bikes with students. Families, students and community members are encouraged to join the District Safe Routes To School steering committee to share the needs and interests of all stakeholders around walking, biking and other forms of Active Transportation.
     
  • Medica supports BCCS employees with Wellness Credits that the Wellness Committee uses to supply holistic wellbeing programs and courses, such as movement and fitness, nutrition education, mindfulness sessions and more. Find registration information on the BCCS Eleyo site.
     
  • The Trust For Public Land: BCCS is excited about our partnership with The Trust for Public Land! This partnership is helping to drive the creation of reimagined outdoor spaces at Brooklyn Center Elementary (BCE). Throughout the process, staff, students, families and community partners will work together to design and implement new BCE schoolyards. The Trust for Public Land states, "A Healthy Community Schoolyard is a school space reimagined to address issues of health, equity, and climate, designed through a community-led participatory design process, and open and welcoming to the public."