
Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Classroom Success, Creating Optimal Conditions for Learning
SMART (School Health Model for Academics Reaching All and Transforming Lives) is an educational solution that focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty and improving the trajectory of lives by supporting academic achievement through onsite SMART Centers. Our centers identify and address the physical, behavioral, social, and emotional barriers to classroom success through the proactive delivery of on-site integrative health services, in real time.
The SMART Model delivers a comprehensive, system-wide strategy for education-driven health services. The model is built on the numerous, well-documented interconnections between the “Whole Child” factors of physical and behavioral health, wellness, social and emotional learning, and educational attainment.
The SMART approach not only increases the health, success, and overall well-being of individuals; it reaches families and school staff, positively impacting entire communities.
Origins of SMART: Analyzing the Health Center Challenge
- Ginn Group Collaborative had been evaluating school-based health centers’ lack of sustainability and utilization. Key factors that were identified as undermining their success were reactiveness, a failure to manage costs, siloed operations, and the misallocation of resources away from activities that deliver key outcomes.
- Poor health outcomes were adversely affecting academic achievement and graduation rates, which in turn lowered competency rates and the ability to meaningfully participate in future workforce opportunities.
GGC’s innovative solutions quickly increased productivity, increased billing revenue, and broadened outcomes to more stakeholders. - In 2012, CVS Health brought their support for this landmark work as a Legacy Sponsor with a long-term commitment to SMART as an innovation in health care delivery that meets unmet needs, closes health equity gaps, and improves outcomes at lower costs for individuals on their path to improved socioeconomic status.
The Science of SMART
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Salutes SMART Teams
SMART Clinics
What makes SMART Student Health and Wellness Centers Unique?
- Academic Purpose
- Collaborative Approach
- Interdisciplinary Viewpoint
- Focus on Wellness of All Students
- Prevention-Based and Proactive
- Outcomes-Oriented
- Entrepreneurial Culture
- Data-Driven
- Permanent Asset Managed by Local Stakeholders

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