Supporting the whole child through coordinated policies, processes, and practices.

Background: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model provides a framework for promoting greater alignment, integration, and collaboration between health and education across the school setting and improving students' cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. By providing a learning environment that ensures each student is emotionally and physically healthy, safe, actively engaged, supported, and challenged, the WSCC model presents a framework for school systems to evaluate, streamline, implement, and sustain policies, processes, and practices.

Methods: This article examines the essential roles of the school district and of schools in aligning, developing, and implementing policy, processes, and practices to create optimal learning environments that support the whole child.