Obtaining Administrative Support for School Employee Wellness Programs Joan Brucha Alliance for a He

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Obtaining Administrative Support for School
Employee Wellness ProgramsJoan Brucha
Alliance for a Healthier GenerationSeptember
17, 2007

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Session Objectives

• Participants will learn
• Why administrator support is crucial
• Who should be targeted for support
• How to secure administrator support
• What information your administrator wants to know
• Available tools and resources

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School Employee WellnessA Guide for Protecting
the Assetsof Our Nations Schoolswww.schoolempwe
ll.org
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School Employee WellnessThe Nine Steps

• Step 1 Obtain Administrative Support
• Step 2 Identify Resources
• Step 3 Identify a Leader
• Step 4 Organize a Committee
• Step 5 Gather and Analyze Data
• Step 6 Develop a Plan
• Step 7 Implement the Plan
• Step 8 Evaluate and Adapt the Plan
• Step 9 Sustain the Program

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• To survive and be successful, a health promotion
  program must contribute to the mission, long-term
  goals and short-term priorities of the
  organization it serves and to the special
  interests of those who approve its budgets.
• -Michael P. ODonnell, Editor-in-Chief, American
  Journal of Health Promotion

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• How will a school employee wellness program help
  our district achieve its primary mission?

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Critical Support

• Superintendent
• School Board
• Principal
• Vice Principal

• Chief Financial Officer
• Human Resource Manager
• Employee Assistance Manager/Counselor
• Bargaining Unit Officials

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Data Can Help!

• Employee absenteeism
• Financial and academic costs for substitutes
• Injury incidence and workers compensation claims
• Health care utilization and health care costs
• Employee turnover rate
• Union or employee grievances
• Chronic health conditions
• Employee interest surveys

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Administrator Support

• Program Planning
• Secure and Approve Budgets
• Communicate Support
• Role Model Active Participation

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SEW Program Benefits

• Improve health and health behaviors of school
  staff
• Increase productivity
• Reduce exposure to environmental health threats
• Improve employee-related expenses
• Absenteeism
• Healthcare and insurance costs
• Workers compensation and disability
• Improve morale
• Provide role models for students

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Support for School Employee Wellness Programs

• Built-in facilities
• Fitness centers
• Walking track
• Swimming pool
• Professionally trained staff
• Staff development opportunities

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Tips in Gaining Support

• Send a team to a statewide wellness conference
• Contact other schools with an employee wellness
  program
• Present the need for and benefits of a SEW
  program
• See www.schoolempwell.org for sample PowerPoint
  and Appendix of resources
• Use the grapevine

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Tips in Gaining Support

• Specifically ask for support
• Distribute a signed letter of support
• Designate leader or committee
• Include Administrators signature
• Involve administrators and board members
• Communicate
• Revise or update policies
• Highlight your program
• Evaluate

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• Health and success in schools are interrelated.
  Schools cannot achieve their primary mission of
  education if students and staff are not healthy
  and fit physically, mentally, and socially.
• -National Association of State Boards of Education

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Contact

• Joan Brucha
• National School Employee Wellness Manager
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Joan.Brucha_at_healthiergeneration.org