Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness Programs

Healthy families, healthy community

Wiseburn Education Foundation is dedicated to the continued mental, physical, and emotional wellness of Wiseburn Unified School District’s students and their families. Our goal is to support the district as they equip our students and families with lifelong healthy habits, while also supporting programming that brings our families together.

At school, we know that today’s students face a unique educational landscape, with prominent impacts from the pandemic and pressures to achieve academically. By providing enhanced physical education, we ensure our local students have a healthy outlet for much-needed physical exercise. Plus, we know it has a proven positive impact: physical activity during the school day improves memory, attention, and concentration, reduces disruptive behavior, and improves social and emotional development, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WEF's support of healthy lifestyle & wellness programs

In addition to our own family-centered event programming like Rock Around the Block, Wiseburn Education Foundation has also partnered with Wiseburn Unified School District to support many healthy lifestyle and wellness initiatives.

CARE Team programs focused on equity and social-emotional learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion

WUSD students can look forward to a full curriculum on social and emotional learning (SEL). Our SEL education will enable the youth of WUSD to gain, and learn how to apply, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to manage difficult emotions, achieve their goals, develop empathy, and make responsible and compassionate decisions. SEL education has proven to increase students’ academic performance by 11 percentile points when compared with peers who did not participate, and researchers noted an improvement in classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress, and healthier attitudes about selfness, others, and school.

Support of a district-wide, TK-5 physical education program

Lauren Shakstad, WUSD P.E. teacher (and WUSD's 2021 teacher of the year!), has developed a TK-5 physical education program with support from WEF. Currently in its second year, the Wiseburn TK-5 P.E. program has provided coaching for over 1,300 students at Anza, Cabrillo, and 138th Street schools. With WEF’s aid, Wiseburn USD was able to purchase enough high quality athletic equipment to ensure that every student can maximize their P.E. time by actively participating, rather than passively waiting on the sidelines. Because of WEF, each morning students are excited for what the day’s activities will be.

Middle School CrossFit Training Program

Peek into Dana Middle School’s gym, and you’ll find equipment you might not expect to see in a middle school gym: pull-up bars, rowing machines, power racks, heavy dumbells, and so much more. It’s all a part of a unique, transformational CrossFit program, offered to Dana Middle School students and staff. WEF supports the purchase of equipment and upgrades as well as empowers teachers to get the certifications and professional development they need to deliver a beloved CrossFit program to the school community.