Addressing the Whole Child

Project Success Executive Director Adrienne Diercks recently contributed her thoughts on defining and addressing the term “whole child” on the blog for Generation Next, a partnership of key education, community, government and business stakeholders across the Twin Cities dedicated to educational excellence and narrowing the achievement gap.

Recently, Adrienne has noticed the phrase “whole child” — a term she has used for many years — appearing more frequently in conversations about youth development and has been asked what she means when she uses that term. She writes that to her, serving the whole child means “working to ensure that each child experiences academic success, yes, but also makes good choices, feels connected to their peers and to caring adults and is physically, socially, and emotionally healthy.”

She writes, “…data points such as standardized test results, GPAs, attendance, graduation rates, and college enrollment are frequently described as desired outcomes. Rather, these data are important markers on the road to the true outcome we all desire – engaged, connected, healthy young people with a plan for the future and the skills, opportunities and confidence to get there.”