GGUSD Board of Education Adopts Resolution Launching Wellness Campaign

Thursday, September 5, 2019

At its September 3 meeting, the Garden Grove Board of Education adopted Resolution No. 11 expressing the board’s ongoing commitment to support student wellness. As part of the resolution, the Board of Education called for a “Choose Wellness GGUSD” awareness campaign with an increased focus on mental health awareness, including:

Educating students, families and staff about general wellness awareness, stigma reduction for mental illness (including seeking treatment) and methods to refer individuals for additional support when needed;
Ensuring that all students have access to mental health and wellness support, and that special efforts are made to support our most vulnerable students who may feel stigmatized in society due to their ethnicity, nation of origin, gender/sexual orientation, perceived disability, religion or any other characteristic;
Equipping all students with targeted skills to improve motivation and growth mindset and increase engagement in their education and school community;
Providing high quality school-based wellness services that are linked to community wellness services and are readily accessible to all GGUSD students, families and staff;
Emphasizing the importance of the wellness support that certificated school psychologists, school counselors, school nurses and school social workers provide, as well as the need to have a small student to school wellness provider ratio at our school sites;
Embedding mental health and wellness supports into the school day to foster a positive climate and culture at all sites.

The resolution aligns with goal two of GGUSD’s strategic plan, The Garden Grove Way, that “all learners will develop the personal skills necessary to achieve academic and social goals.” The campaign, “Choose Wellness GGUSD” will engage all stakeholders and shine a light on resources that support students’ motivation, socio-emotional well-being, and climate and culture -- the three components of goal two.

“We want all students, staff members, and families to make mental health and wellness a priority,” said Board of Education Trustee Walter Muneton. “We never want our students to feel hopeless. Our district has a plethora of mental health resources and thousands of caring staff members who are ready and willing to give students the care they need in a time of crisis.”

“Kudos to Trustee Walter Muneton for championing the mental health resolution,” said Board of Education Trustee Bob Harden. “Since adolescent mental health is the focus of his professional career, Trustee Muneton took the lead on this initiative and the board has given our full support.”

Click here for the entire resolution.