Description:
Why is this contract needed?
Students’ academic performance, attendance and social, emotional and behavioral wellbeing are inextricably connected to their health and wellness. School-based wellness centers, also known as school-based health centers (SBHCs), are an evidence-based intervention to increase health and education equity and are a key component of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s “Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child” framework for promoting health and well-being in schools. SBHCs have been found to improve student attendance, academic outcomes and healthcare service access, connecting students to in-school preventive physical and mental health care. The listed vendors’ proposals, once operationalized, will provide sustainable and equitable access to needed healthcare services at specific, high-needs schools. Schools will be identified based on specific benchmarks, including student enrollment > 500, immunization non-compliance rates, asthma rates, Community Eligibility Provision rates above 80%, and student attendance rates. The current list of potential schools will include, but is not limited to Bartram, Dobbins, Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Olney, Roxborough, George Washington, and West Philadelphia. Once a specific school has been selected as a possible location for a SBHC, the Office of Student Support Services will work with the Department of Operations to review the facilities and develop terms for a license agreement. The School District will submit action items in the future to request approval from the Board for such license agreements.
SBHCs align with the mission and vision of Accelerate Philly and directly support Priority Area #1 (Improve safety and well-being) by connecting students to trusted resources for medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare and by contributing to a positive school climate; Priority Area #2 (Partner with families and community) by engaging families in the care of their students through consent, inviting their participation in the planning and ongoing services of SBHCs, and offering opportunities for families to engage in health-related learning opportunities; and Priority Area #3 (Accelerate academic performance) by increasing student engagement and attendance, both linked to improved academic performance.
Health and academic achievement in childhood are reciprocal and predictive of short and long term success in life. School-based health centers remove health-related barriers to learning, support academic achievement, student attendance, and promote positive mental and physical health outcomes.
How is this work connected to the District’s plan to achieve Goals & Guardrails?
SBHCs support the Board of Education Goals and Guardrails by helping to ensure that every school will be a safe, welcoming and healthy place where our students, staff and community want to be and learn each day. Additionally, SBHCs partner with parents and family members to ensure they are welcomed and encouraged to be partners in their child’s school community. Lastly, SBHCs address racist practices by removing barriers to health care in communities of color disproportionately impacted by worse health outcomes, primary and mental health care workforce shortages, and other social determinants of health, such as poverty, racism and lack of healthcare access.
How will the success of this contract be measured?
Health partners selected to be medical sponsors will be required to provide monthly and quarterly aggregated data on specific measures of service utilization and student health indicators. First year benchmarks will include reaching a consent rate of 30% of enrolled students with 50% of those utilizing services. Additionally, a data framework will be used that will monitor utilization, consent form rates, and screenings.
When applicable, is this an evidence based strategy? If so, what evidence exists to support this approach?
School-based wellness centers are an evidence-based strategy to achieve health and education equity. Broadly, the evidence points to multiple benefits of SBHCs including increased attendance and graduation rates, improved school climate, fewer discipline referrals, and improved compliance with mandated school immunizations. The centers also support health outcomes that impact learning including better control of chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes, fewer unnecessary ER visits, and improved health literacy.
When applicable, was a larger community of District community members and/or stakeholders involved in this selection process? If so, what groups and how?
Health partners were selected through a competitive RFP process. Proposals were reviewed against a standardized rubric by an evaluation committee made up of District employees from multiple offices, including Student Health Services, Capital Programs, Research and Evaluation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Prevention and Intervention, as well as school-based staff and administrators. The highest scoring proposals were selected. The entire process was overseen by the Office of Procurement.