East Hartford Public Schools
East Hartford Public Schools (EHPS) is the priority LEA (Local Education Agency) for this partnership. EHPS serves over 6,400 students and is committed to providing a high-quality learning experience for every child, every day.
CT WSCC Partnership team discussing implementation of the WSCC model with EHPS faculty and staff.
Collaboration with Whole Child Teams
In the first year of the partnership (2023-2024), the CT WSCC Partnership team engaged in focused collaboration with East Hartford’s District WSCC Team and School WSCC Teams to help identify opportunities for strengthening implementation of the WSCC model and set the foundation for this multi-year project. As the partnership progressed, District and School WSCC teams established processes to identify areas of priority and develop school-specific goals.
Each March, East Hartford's School WSCC Teams assess school practices using evidence-informed tools from the CT WSCC Partnership. After identifying potential areas for growth, teams develop goals and action plans for the following year. Teams then implement these goals to support student, staff, and family well-being. From increased opportunity for physical activity to new social and emotional learning programs to expansion of nutrition education, these plans address a wide variety of goals to meet the needs of each unique school community.
Celebrating Successes
East Hartford School WSCC Teams were featured in a UConn Today piece in April 2025. The article described how students and staff are benefiting from implementation of strategic whole child goals and action plans. Two school teams were featured: East Hartford Middle School and Sunset Ridge School. For more examples of success stories in East Hartford and across the state, please visit our Whole Child Spotlight Series.
East Hartford Public Schools also received the 2025 Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Award from the American School Health Association. This national honor recognizes the district's success in bridging health and education to drive student achievement.
Conferences
In October 2024, leaders from the East Hartford Public Schools collaborated with the CT WSCC Team to deliver a presentation at the National Family Engagement Summit in Savannah, GA. Titled, “Putting the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model into Action,” the presentation outlined the district’s systems and structures for supporting whole child initiatives and highlighted key programs led by the Office of Family & Community Partnerships.
In November 2025, East Hartford Public Schools and the CT WSCC Team presented at the Convention for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CABE/CAPSS). East Hartford Public School leaders shared strategies for success in whole child approaches.
CDC Site Visit
In spring 2024, the CT WSCC Partnership celebrated a productive first year with an eventful site visit from CDC representatives. Stephanie Domain and Melissa Fahrenbruch from the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), observed one of the East Hartford Public Schools professional development sessions led by the UConn team, took part in a schoolwide Wellness Day at the Connecticut IB Academy, and visited Mayberry Elementary School, where they learned about the different resources available to support students, from the school garden to the school-based health center. Read about their visit.
