Teacher Preparation for Whole-Child Design

Many educators and policymakers have long recognized the need to transform schools and classrooms to better support students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. The increased stress, mental health challenges, disconnection and disengagement, and inequities observed during the pandemic have reaffirmed the need to create safe, welcoming learning environments for students and educators alike. A whole-child approach, which prioritizes the full scope of a child’s developmental needs—academic, social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychological—is an important  step toward this end. This approach can improve student and school outcomes. When it becomes part and parcel of educator preparation, it can also overcome major hurdles such as the teacher shortages nearly every state is facing.