Tempe Union Governing Board Adopts New Wellness Policies

Tempe AZ

22 June, 2021

5:10 PM

Description

Press release from TUHSD: June 22, 2021 June 17, 2021 – Tempe Union High School District's Governing Board unanimously adopted akey set of social-emotional wellness policies during their meeting on June 16. The Governing Board had previously unanimously adopted a social-emotional wellnessresolution at their April 21 meeting. The resolution established an ad-hoc committee, chairedby Board Member Armando Montero and composed of students, staff, parents, communitymembers and other stakeholders. The full text of the resolution can be found online here - PDF. The committee presented the results during a special Governing Board meeting held on June 9,2021, and the policies passed last night were a direct result of the committee's work. "We believe that this is the most comprehensive mental health policy for an educationalinstitution in Arizona," said Montero. "This makes Tempe Union a statewide leader in thisimportant topic and reflects the deeply important message to our students and staff that wecare about their mental health." Superintendent Dr. Kevin Mendivil noted that the policies would have both an immediate andlong-lasting positive impact on both TUHSD students and staff. "Board Member Montero led the charge on this important issue, and we also appreciate thetremendous staff support from Assistant Superintendent Sean McDonald, and Ron Denne, ourCoordinator of Social and Emotional Wellness," Dr. Mendivil said. "The ad-hoc committee cametogether and worked hard to create this thoughtful set of policies that both support andprioritize the social emotional work within the District." Governing Board President Brian Garcia, Vice President Andres Barraza, and members BerdettaHodge and Sarah James also expressed their enthusiasm and support for the new policies. The full Board meeting is available to watch on Tempe Union's YouTube channel (weblink). Thenew policies will be available on the Arizona School Board Association's policy website(weblink) as soon as they are finalized. This press release was produced by TUHSD. The views expressed here are the author's own.