Kuimarisha Ustawi wa Shule: Jumuiya ya Mazoezi ya Shule

Historically, School Community of Practice meetings have been enjoyed and attended by school health and physical education leaders in Houston and Austin, Texas, with support from Chuo Kikuu cha Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Together during the 2024-2025 school year, we expanded this initiative to the Rio Grande Valley in partnership with the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation.

Across these three regions of Texas, twelve meetings were held. Each meeting served as an open invitation to leaders with a range of titles and expertises, all dedicated to supporting students in either large or small school districts. These gatherings offered structured and unstructured time to collaborate on building a culture of health and well-being at their schools where everyone can thrive in mind, heart, and body.

School leaders find this time invaluable. Many have shared that the meetings help them build strong relationships across districts, exchange ideas, solve problems, and ultimately foster health and well-being for students — paving the way for a healthier future.

With the support of our partners, we were able to engage school leaders in Houston, Austin, and Rio Grande Valley, as well as award $50,000 in grant funding to 11 school districts reaching more than 40,000 students in these three regions. These grants further empowered school leaders to implement impactful wellness programs.

The success we’ve seen at the district level has been outstanding. Initiatives span physical activity, nutrition, family engagement, safe and supportive environments, alignment with district and state mandates, student empowerment, and more.

At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the CATCH team had the incredible opportunity to visit four elementary schools in Brownsville Independent School District. These schools have cultivated thriving gardens as part of their One Seed, One Community initiative, showcasing the strength of community-driven efforts in wellness.

School Community of Practice participating districts are not required to use CATCH programs. If you are interested, we invite you to contact CATCH’s Director of Implementation & Engagement, Abby Rose at [email protected] na maswali yoyote.