They say it takes a village to raise a child. In South Carolina, a village has come together to impact more than 175,000 children.
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness has partnered with schools and school districts to integrate health and wellness strategies for students and staff. In the 2025-26 school year, they worked with 21 school districts and nearly 300 schools across the state in their School-based Wellness Initiative.
To Sarah Piwinski, Boeing Center director, schools are a clear place to start when it comes to positively impacting children.
“School is where kids are; it’s where they spend the majority of their waking hours,” Piwinski said. “School staff spend so much time with students, much more than doctors during clinical visits. Often it’s where we start to see indicators of changes in physical and mental health, whether it’s chronic absenteeism, behavioral health, or social needs.”
Piwinski and her colleagues at the Boeing Center know school staff buy-in is imperative. They may have the expertise to provide strategies, but staff will be the ones responsible for implementing changes into their school days.
“The key to success is integrating health and wellness into the culture of a school,” Piwinski said. “If it feels like just another thing staff have to do, it’s more challenging to engage them. If we truly have a change in the culture of a school system, where health and wellness become a key component, that’s when we’ll see beneficial outcomes.”
A central feature of the initiative is the establishment of a school wellness committee. Made of school staff, administrators, families, and community partners, the committee works with the Boeing Center to conduct an annual assessment of the school’s health environment and unmet needs.
The assessment informs the creation of a specialized action plan using the Boeing Center’s School Wellness Checklist. The checklist incorporates evidence-based strategies to promote health and wellness.
The checklist addresses seven pillars: getting started, nutrition, physical activity, social emotional wellness, wellness culture, staff wellness, and sustainability.
Much of the success of the initiative can be attributed to intentional community partnerships. To better address issues within their communities, the Boeing Center and school districts have partnered with organizations such as Diabetes Free SC and Handle with Care. The Boeing Center also works with Clemson University Health Extension to partner with their staff in rural communities to better serve the districts in which they live.
“What really excites me about this work is that it brings systems together to serve children across our state,” Piwinski said. “We’re breaking down barriers to access and equity and bringing resources directly to where students are.”
The School-Based Wellness Initiative ensures those resources will continue to support schools. When they implement health and wellness strategies, schools track and report data to the Boeing Center. Schools are rewarded with a monetary wellness award; that financial award is reinvested to continue building their health and wellness efforts. In the 2025-26 school year, the Boeing Center awarded $255,000 to schools across the state.
Formed in 2010, the initiative has continued to grow and support students throughout South Carolina. The results are undeniable. Among participating schools:
- 2,900 high school students participated in a wellness survey, and nearly 500 of them were referred for behavioral health support.
- Average student BMI decreased between 2014-2019, while it increased in non-participating schools.
- There were 12% fewer asthma-related urgent care visits and hospitalizations by Charleston County students.
- High school graduation rates and attendance have increased for schools that participate at a high level.
Piwinski encourages children’s hospitals and health systems to pursue their own school partnerships, even if they start small.
“You don’t have to cover your whole region right off the bat,” Piwinski said. “Small-scale doesn’t mean small impact. Know the tools and resources you can share with schools, and start developing relationships to figure out how you can work together. Anything you can do together will have a positive impact on students and the community.”
