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The San Diego Unified School District has introduced plans for a new “Student Wellness Index” to identify various data that will provide a more holistic evaluation of student wellness, according to district officials on Tuesday.
The district, in partnership with San Diego State University and the San Diego County Office of Education, is finalizing all “components” for a pilot program in the upcoming months. The program will correspond with schools participating in the Student Behavioral Health Incentive Program (SBHIP) in the Canyon Hills, Mira Mesa, Mission Bay, Morse and San Diego clusters to establish baseline data by May 2026.
“Student Wellness is not easy to measure, and few districts have chosen to prioritize it like us,” said SDUSD Superintendent Fabi Bagula. “We have worked with our students, staff and community to define student wellness, establish goals to strive for, and plan how to incorporate it into the culture of our school communities.”
SDUSD significantly increased mental and emotional health services, as well as student wellness monitoring, after the student mental health crisis worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, student sentiments about belonging, mattering, and caring relationships with teachers have improved by 2.7%, according to SDUSD. The district also saw its overall rate of chronic absenteeism decline for a second year and projects it will drop another 2.7% this year.
District leaders attributed the decline in chronic absenteeism to these “new strategies” and said that the Student Wellness Index will help shape student support to further reduce absenteeism.
“Unlike in the past, we are actively leveraging the available data to intervene and seek solutions that support our students, their families, and our school communities,” said Roman del Rosario, executive director of data insights and system supports at SDUSD.