BHI Schools for Brain Health
By the time a student graduates high school, they will have spent more than 14,000 hours in school, which is the second longest exposure time after their home. For more than 50 million K-12 students enrolled in school, this is a time of critical physiological, social, cognitive, and emotional growth and development, which can be enhanced by an explicit focus on increasing brain health protective factors, reducing brain health risk factors, and optimizing brain development and performance with the school and home environments.
BHI Schools for Brain Health
The Brain Health Initiative’s (BHI) work is fundamentally rooted in the science of brain health, performance, illness, lifestyle medicine, and implications to brain plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt in response to experience. Through Schools for Brain Health, the BHI will bring scientifically proven methods for improving brain health and optimizing brain performance and overall wellness while reducing the risk of brain illness to students, their support family/caregivers, and school personnel.
Based on the individual school’s brain health priorities and baseline collected, the BHI identifies a comprehensive portfolio of curriculum, resources, services, and programs to integrate and support brain health and performance throughout the school’s culture.
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The development of Brain Healthy Schools will cultivate communities that explicitly operate with brain health and optimizing performance in mind. Bringing brain health innovations and brain science-based best practices, curriculum, and programming to schools can help to address brain health challenges related to education, general health and wellness, and other challenges, such as readiness to learn, life skills development, school engagement, learning for understanding, learning differences, stress resilience, school and home nutrition, sleep issues, behavior, depression, anxiety, addictions, childhood obesity, and so much more.
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This novel comprehensive focus on brain health and performance and the partnership between schools and the BHI will ensure that the entire school family — including staff, faculty, students, parents/caregivers, grandparents, and the greater community — have ready access to state-of-the-art methods to increase brain health and performance outcomes.
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Through Schools for Brain Health, the BHI will work with participating schools to better understand what is uniquely important to the school community and use what we learn together to create strategic plans for support and innovation to increase outcomes about brain health and performance for students, faculty, staff, parents/caregivers, and the greater community.
While unconventional, crisis is the core driver of the BHI’s mission.
Currently, there is a new global public health crisis; brain illness. Its scale is unprecedented, and its numbers (already tragic) are multiplying.
The crisis for youth is reflected in the recent national emergency declared in child and adolescent health by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 4 children experienced a surge of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, suicidality, eating disorders, and substance misuse that may have lasting impacts on them, their families, and their community.
Through Schools for Brain Health…
The BHI extends its work into the schools and provides participating schools with a means of assessing brain health protective and risk factors (e.g., nutrition, physical activity, stress resilience, social connectivity, emotional wellbeing, etc.) and then optimizing the school communities’ brain health and performance, including participants’ cognitive skills, life skills, and overall health and well-being.
The program also focuses on the science of healthy buildings, facilities, maintenance, and green, blue, and play spaces.
Upon execution of a shared strategic plan, the BHI partners every step of the way, from implementation, assessment, training, and results — results that those students and their families, as well as the workforce and greater community, can apply and benefit from every day in the classroom and in the rest of their personal lives.
Creating a CULTURE of Brain Health.
Building a lifetime of enhanced brain health, optimized performance, and reduction of risk of brain illness.
The BHI has initiated Schools for Brain Health, leading to Schools Certified as Brain Healthy and, ultimately, Brain Health and Performance Centers of Excellence.
The BHI will lead engagement, research, and innovation efforts regarding ways educating with brain health in mind can have a significant benefit to all life outcomes (e.g., development, maturing, aging, academic health, well-being, etc.) for the entire school community (e.g., students, parents/caregivers, personnel), as well as the ripple effect to the larger community. Understanding the needs and current state of brain health and illness and innovating brain-healthy interventions in partnership with this sector of society that can be measured, documented, and replicated has the opportunity to impact the greater good.
FAQs
What is the BHI Schools for Brain Health Program?
The BHI partners with academic institutions through the BHI Schools for Brain Health program to help support schools’ commitment to the health, wellness, and performance of their students, families, faculty, staff, and greater community. The BHI BE BRAIN HEALTHY • BE BRAIN POWERFUL • BE BRAIN READY! © is a comprehensive brain health and wellness literacy program that includes Educating with YOUR Brain Health in Mind, a professional development training for teachers and staff, and Families Living with Brain Health in Mind, a digestible program for families to support the brain health and well-being of those they care for and those they care about. Learning with YOUR Brain Health in Mind, a developmentally-appropriate health literacy program designed for students in kindergarten through high school and led by BHI Brain Health Scholars and faculty, is also part of the program.
Why is the BHI Schools for Brain Health Program important?
Education has traditionally focused on academics centered around teachers, youth mentors, and coaches transferring information and skills to their students. Students are assumed to learn the intended lesson by following their teacher/mentor/coaches’ direction and doing the assigned work. However, the brain and its health cannot be separated from the body’s biology. Moreover, the well-being of school community members cannot be overlooked in the process of education. We must promote and protect the brain health of our entire community for optimal learning, development, and performance outcomes.
The BHI Community Brain Health Program guides all stakeholders to develop a healthy brain, mind, and body and learn to live as BHI Ambassadors of Brain Health.
Who is involved in the BHI Schools for Brain Health Program?
A global, transdisciplinary team of BHI scientists, clinicians, educators, Scholars, and a stakeholder advisory council lead program design, measurement, and implementation, integrating knowledge and methods from many different fields of study.
When is the BHI Schools for Brain Health Program?
Throughout the school year, faculty, staff, students, families, and the greater community participate in monthly modules that follow the themes of the BHI BE BRAIN HEALTHY • BE BRAIN POWERFUL • BE BRAIN READY! © Movement.
What’s next for the BHI Schools for Brain Health Program?
Brain Health Credentials and Brain Healthy Certifications. After completing the program, participants can also apply or be nominated to become future leaders of brain health. For example, participants can earn micro-credentials as certified BHI Brain Health Community Educators, BHI Brain Health Scholars, and BHI Brain Health Coaches.