The context

An independent school names student wellness as a strategic priority. While the school has implemented programs and conducted periodic student well-being surveys, leadership recognizes that a single survey snapshot does not provide a comprehensive understanding of how wellness is experienced across the community.

The Head of School, academic leaders, and student support team—including school psychologists and counselors—want to move beyond one-time data collection toward a more thoughtful, school-defined understanding of student wellness grounded in their mission, developmental philosophy, and lived experience.

Rather than asking only “How are students feeling?” the school is asking broader questions:

• What does student wellness mean in our specific school context?

• What are the markers or indicators of wellness we want to see across divisions?

• How do students, parents, teachers, and support staff experience the school’s academic and social environment?

• Where do perceptions align—and where do they diverge?

How we support schools

Wasatch Education Group approaches student wellness as a collaborative, multi-dimensional inquiry, not a standalone survey.

From the outset, we work closely with school leadership and student support professionals—including psychologists, counselors, and learning specialists—to ensure the study design reflects both developmental expertise and the realities of the school community.

A comprehensive engagement typically includes:

1. Co-Defining School-Specific Markers of Wellness
Through working sessions with leadership and student support teams, we help the school articulate what student wellness means in its context. This may include academic engagement, belonging, stress management, ethical development, peer relationships, purpose, sleep, workload balance, and more. The goal is to define mission-aligned markers rather than import a generic framework.

2. Collaborative Study Design
We partner with administrators, counselors, and faculty to determine:

• Which stakeholder groups (e.g., students, families, teachers, etc.) to include

• What questions are most important to explore

• How to design developmentally appropriate instruments

• How to communicate the purpose of the study to families and students

This ensures the work is not imposed externally, but integrated into the school’s culture and priorities.

3. Multi-Stakeholder Data Collection
Rather than relying solely on a student survey, a typical study gathers perspectives from multiple groups, such as:

• Students (via survey and/or focus groups)

• Parents or caregivers

• Faculty and staff

• School psychologists, counselors, and support staff

This allows the school to examine both lived student experience and adult perceptions of workload, stress, belonging, and support.

4. Cross-Source Analysis and Ongoing Partnership
Throughout the process, we maintain regular touchpoints with school leadership and student support teams to review emerging themes, test interpretations, and ensure contextual accuracy.

We analyze findings across stakeholder groups to identify:

• Areas of alignment and divergence

• Patterns across grade levels or divisions

• Structural factors influencing student well-being

• Strengths to preserve and tensions to address

What schools gain from this work

Through a comprehensive, collaborative wellness study, schools gain:

• A clear, mission-aligned framework for defining student wellness

• Insight into how students’ lived experiences compare with adult perceptions

• Evidence about how academic structures, expectations, and culture intersect with well-being

• Shared language across leadership, faculty, and student support teams

• A foundation for thoughtful, coordinated action rather than reactive change

Typical deliverables

• A concise executive summary highlighting key themes and implications

• A comprehensive report integrating survey findings, focus group insights, and cross-stakeholder analysis

• A facilitated findings session with leadership, counselors, and faculty to support reflection and next steps

Why this work matters

Student wellness is too important to reduce to a single survey or trend-based intervention. By partnering closely with school leadership and student support professionals throughout the process, schools are better positioned to understand how their academic program, culture, and structures shape student experience—and to make informed decisions that support both rigor and well-being in sustainable ways.