EDUCATOR AND STUDENT WELLNESS
Wellness is an Essential Subject
"Every time I get a grant from the Ed Foundation, it's like, this grant came because they believe in me - I cannot express how much it feeds me. I don’t know what I would do without PCEF. It serves me so I can serve my kids." Melissa Nikolai, PCHS English Teacher
Wellness Stories and More
The pandemic showed us just how essential it is to support educators and students beyond pure academics. That’s why we invest thousands of dollars in programs that promote mental wellness for our educators who’ve been on the frontlines, and for our students who’ve suffered more anxiety and stress than ever before.
Programs from Excellent Educators to Coffee Camper visits help our teachers alleviate stress and deal with challenges.
Our long-term initiatives like Preschool, Afterschool, Bright Futures, and programs funded by Classroom Grants have been giving students the hard and soft skills they need to navigate our changing world for decades. And newer programs supporting resources like mindfulness training and calming rooms are building the resilience and resourcefulness students need more than ever - in the classroom and beyond.
When you help PCEF foster more wellness – you help foster more teacher and student success.
Important News!
PCEF is thrilled to announce the funding of a new position focused on student Wellness at Treasure Mountain Junior High, thanks to a transformative gift from the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation.
This Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Coordinator will conduct a three-year pilot program infusing Wellness best practices and curriculum into Advisory classes and throughout the school. The coordinator will use the PCSD Wellness Plan, Utah State Board of Education Social and Emotional Learning Plan, and the Utah Portrait of a Graduate.
The hope is that learnings from the pilot will then be used to inform practices to support students at Ecker Hill Middle School and Park City High School.
According to Treasure Mountain Junior High counselor Niko Jensen, "We spend a lot of time as a community focusing on the treatment side of mental health care and do not have a systemic approach for prevention. Wellness education offers us a powerful way to address personal and social development needs before issues reach the need for treatment. It is truly the heart of prevention, and I believe we need to invest in this as a community."
Local residents Ed and Caroline Lewis were moved to support students in this manner, inspired to take action as they learned about the difficult journey so many teens and preteens are going through, especially since the pandemic.
The pilot is in year 2 during the 2024-2025 school year.
