Sequoia leaders describe expansion of district wellness centers that reached about 31% of students

District wellness leaders and an outside consultant presented a multi-site expansion of wellness services on April 24, saying the district has reorganized supports to serve students at all tiers of need and has piloted a wellness-center model at multiple campuses.

"Students across all of our sites are accessing wellness supports," said the district wellness presenter, reporting 2,687 unique students served and 22,014 direct contacts between August and March, including counseling sessions, check-ins and group services. The presentation named community partners, described youth advisory boards at each site, and highlighted MA's redesigned wellness space now called "Pause."

Staff described new practices to professionalize operations: regular cross-site training for mental-health support specialists and wellness assistants, a district data tab for confidential records, community-partner orientation, and plans to expand internship pipelines and pursue multi-payer reimbursement options so certain school-based services can be billable.

Substance-use strategy: presenters said the district is pursuing a phased approach that includes prevention education, motivational interviewing, and targeted cessation or alternatives-to-suspension programs developed with university partners. They also flagged parent-caregiver education as a priority.

Why it matters: wellness centers are central to the district's multi-tiered support strategy and the data and operational steps presented indicate a significant scaling of services. Trustees asked detailed questions about substance-use programming, proctoring coordination with MTSS and how parent referrals are handled.

Next steps: expand wellness center model to additional sites, standardize parent-referral forms, streamline data collection and pursue internship and reimbursement partnerships to sustain services.