Shannen Byrne

Lydia Garrison
Ashley Hart
Kaela Isaacson
Emily Patton
Matthew Pompa
Arizona State University
Modeling Personal Wellness
October 24, 2016
Dr. Hesse

IntroductionOur group has devised a business plan for promoting health and wellness as the
backbone to the success of our company, our employees, and our students. Our business
consists of a newly founded charter school, Apple Elementary School. We are based out of
Phoenix, Arizona and the group is comprised of teachers, department chairs, and administrative
members, as well as newly appointed change agents. We are fully aware of the weaknesses our
school has faced over the past five years and are committed to combating these issues in order to
promote a healthier environment. As we reviewed past findings and conducted research we
discovered our three main areas of concern are obesity, stress, and smoking. We have also
included some other risk factors that are directly caused from the geographic area of Apple
Elementary.
Obesity is considered weight that is higher than what is considered as a healthy
weight for a given height (Centers for Disease Control and prevention, 2016). We have come to
realize that any of the positions held within our school require individuals to be seated for long
periods of time, which makes them stationary for much of their 40 plus hour work week. This
physical risk factor does not allow adequate movement and physical activity for individuals. We
have considered many techniques to help reduce the risk of this issue, such as providing stand up
desks and incentives to help employees become motivated to become more physically active.
According to the article, Guide to Workplace Wellness (2016), supplementing the cost of gym
memberships or providing incentives for walking, for instance, can also positively impact the
health of employees (P. 7). These are small measures Lydia will enforce to help build a
healthier, happier, and team oriented atmosphere.
Action plan for obesityEmily informs us that obesity is a main risk that is the home of chronic diseases
that can be understood as diabetes and even heart disease. companies spent more than $13
billion annually in medical fees and lost productivity due to obesity (Unknown Author 2016).
So we should be sure let our staff understand how serious obesity is. Looking deeper into the
loss of staff year after year, we discovered stress had become a leading cause for departure.
Mathew discovered that 8 out of 10 teachers were under stress during their time at Apple
Elementary. Some reasons for stress included poor interpersonal relationships, lack of support
for creative expression, geographical and physical conditions. Kaela will help promote a healthpromotive environment, which highlights the interdependencies that exist among sociocultural,
political, economic, spatial, and technological features of environmental settings, ranging from
homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools to regional and global environments that
influence personal and collective well-being (Jamner, 2001, p. 135). This will allow space for
employees to comfortably and safely speak their minds, address issues and concerns, ask
important questions, and express emotions to reduce further constraints, stress, illness, and
harmful behaviors.
Action for for stress management classesWhile all members of our team do not engage in smoking, we have become aware
of the negative effects it had on our school, employees health and the retaining rates of our staff.

Missed work due to illness that has risen due to stress.. Work can also lead to stress and some
find that smoking can relieve stress; however smoking is doing nothing good for you.
Being a school for young children, we do not allow smoking on the premises, however we
cannot prevent individuals from making their own choices off campus. In order to become more
health conscious and provide the school and staff needed information, Ashley will be in charge
of administering a Health Risk Appraisal for each team member and ensure all information is
current and up to date. The HRA will help our school foreshadow future health risks and
potential harmful effects. Along with a HRA, our school will also promote the use of an
Employee Health Survey, which Shannen will be in charge of completing. The survey will be
including, but not limited to, questions regarding the employees sleep, exercise and eating
habits. This type of survey will be given at the beginning, middle and end of each school year.
The feedback received will indicate which areas the future surveys can focus on, whether it be a
single issue or a range of issues that upper management believes most important.
Action plan to reduce smokingOverall, Apple Elementary is committed to providing its staff with effectively
advocating micro to macro level adjustments in order to comprise itself of a safe and healthy
atmosphere. Each of our team members will work together in order to ensure all employee's
needs are being met, safety is the highest priority, and an engaging and beneficial school is being
ran for the children who attend. While there are major risk factors that will be presented to our
school, we will become prepared to address and solve them as quickly and safely as possible.
The overall well-being is our top priority and our school promotes nothing less than remarkable
results.
Intro for heat related illnessAs a school which is located in Phoenix, Arizona we find ourselves exposed to really
high heat temperatures indoors and outdoors. During the Summer, temperatures can reach up to
120 degrees fahrenheit and that alone is a concern for our school faculty, staff, and students. In
2015 the Maricopa county had released a report that documented over 80 deaths due to heat
related illnesses such as heat strokes. Heat exhaustion and heat strokes are two serious illnesses
that we as a school want to help reduce for the safety of our employees and students.
Action plan for heat related illnessOur plan is simple, we will avoid letting students play outside during extreme
temperatures that reach over 115 degrees fahrenheit and promote water consumption. We will
encourage our staff members to consume the recommended daily amount of water a day which is
about 1.9 Liters a day (Mayo Clinic) especially during summer times. To do this, we will
challenge our staff by having friendly competitions between grade levels to reach their goal as a
whole. For example, third grade teachers which consist of 8 teachers at Apple Elementary would
have to reach their goal of (1.9:liters of water per day, times 8;number of teachers, times
5;number of days in a school week) which would equal about 76 liters per week. Every grade
level would vary by the number of teachers but, it would be manageable and fair. Although this
competition would be based on an honest system, its still a way to encourage our teachers to
avoid heat exhaustion year round.

Summary
Combatting these potential health factors will require participation by each individual
and our staff as a whole. On a micro-level, participation is entirely of your own volition,
however, as a staff, we are pushing for each of you to assess your health and take part in any of
our new healthy options. You have the opportunity to sign up for a personal wellness coach that
can help you identify any of the areas you may be struggling in. If you are uncomfortable sharing
with a wellness coach, Shannen has offered a questionnaire for you to assess where you stand
within each category. Lydia pointed out that quitting smoking has to be a choice you make, but
we offer support systems to help you through this process. Each health risk we are battling
requires the individual to just say yes, and take advantage of some of our new company policies.
Here at Apple Elementary we value each staff members health and are implementing
several new health support policies on a macro-level. To address physical activity; we have made
the onsite gym available for use and will be implementing 30minutes of paid time to utilize these
facilities. We have established a partnership with several local training gyms that you, as Apple
Elementary staff, can access. In regards to stress management we will be offering a stress
management and time management workshop twice a year. These workshops will be onsite and
can count as paid time if you chose to participate.
We have realized that establishing community is important to a healthy workplace. We
are in the process of planning our first annual staff retreat. The retreat will be Friday- Sunday and
will incorporate team building exercises and an opportunity to get to know each other outside of
our classrooms. Of course these are optional but we recommend attendance in order to help us
continue our progress towards health.
Alongside of the above policies we are offering an incentives program. If you register and track
your progress towards establishing a healthier lifestyle online using E-health, fitbit, or any other
program, you can earn points towards rewards from our school such as: up to $500 in rewards,
discounts at local gyms, and $75 reduction on monthly medical premiums These are just a
couple of our incentives. Please contact your manager if you are interested in participating in this
program or have any more questions.

Reference
Jamner et al (2001). Promoting Human Wellness: New Frontiers for Research, Practice, and
Policy. 131-162. Retrieved from http://www.site.ebrary.com
Overweight & Obesity. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html

Unknown Author. (2016). Guide to Workplace Wellness, 220-223. Retrieved from

http://www.healthadvocate.com/

CDC. (2016, March 30). Trends in current cigarette smoking among high school students and
adults, United States, 19652014. Retrieved October 25, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/trends/cig_smoking/
Staff, M. C. (2014). Nutrition and healthy eating water: How much should you drink every day?
Mayoclinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthyeating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
http://www.maricopa.gov/publichealth/Services/EPI/pdf/heat/2015annualreport.pdf

Rubric
Exceeds
[18-20 Points]
Personal
Contribution

To the
Learning
Community
Discussion

Consistent and
timely engagement
in the discussions
(See due dates).
Frequent attempts
to advance group
discussion.
Response post ends
with a question to
engage the reader
further.
Presented creative
approaches to
topic/prompts as
they related to the
group discussion.

Meets
[15 - 17 Points]

Needs
[0 - 14 Points]

Made some
contribution to the
discussion.

Did not make an

effort to participate in
the discussions.

Occasionally made
reflections on the
group discussion.

Made a marginal
effort to become
involved with the
group.
Did not respond to
the topics/prompts as
they related to group
discussion.

Presented basic
information on
topics/prompts as
they related to the
group discussion

Exceeds
[9 - 10 Points]
Quality and
Content of
Posts

Consistent use of
grammatically
correct posts and
free of misspellings.
Posts were well
thought out and
language was
appropriate for this
level of instruction.
Online formatting is
easy to read: Single
spaced, one space
between every 3-5
sentences, no
indenting
At least 1 outside
source and 1 from
our reading are cited
in APA format only
for the final product.

Substantive,
Clear and
Consistent
Responses

Provided thoughtful
and understandable
responses to others.
Response posts
showed an
understanding of the
content offered.
Engaged in back
and forth dialogue,
not just one
response or one
question.
Responded to all
prompts in a timely
fashion, not always

Meets
[8 - 6 Points]

Needs
[0 - 5 Points]

Evidence of some
errors in spelling
and grammar

Used poor spelling

and grammar in
posts.

Most posts
evidenced some
thought and were
satisfactory for this
level of instruction.

Posts appeared
hastily thought out
and were
unsatisfactory for this
level of instruction.

Most online
formatting is easy to
read: Either double
spaced, or one long
paragraph with no
space or indents

Online formatting is
hard to read: double
spaced, no space
between lines,
indents
No Sources are listed

At least 1 outside
source and 1 from
our text are cited but
not in APA format
only on the final
product
Responses to other
posts were not
always
understandable and
were superficial.

Responses to others
posts were unclear,
short, and were not
related or
understandable.

Response posts
were not always on
target with the
content offered.

Response posts
showed no
connection to the
content offered.

Inconsistent back
and forth dialogue
with others.

No back and forth

dialogue with others.

Often responded
later in the

Participated only
when prompted by
faculty.

last to post.
Appropriately
responded to
feedback from
colleagues.

discussion.
Always last to post
Did not respond to
all prompts.
Responded most of
the time to feedback
from colleagues.

Evidence of
Learning

Readings, prior
experiences and
outside sources are
evident in the posts.
Knowledge gained
was incorporated
appropriately,
objectively and
effectively into
posts.
Learner shows
excellent integration
of course content
evidenced by their
critical analysis and
application.

Did not respond to

feedback from
colleagues
I agree statements
were used with no
supportive details

Some evidence of
the content of
readings, prior
experiences and
outside sources are
evident in the posts.

There was no
evidence that
readings or course
materials were
understood or used in
the learners posts.

Opinions and ideas

were stated clearly
but not consistently
connected to the
topic or readings.
Some evidence of
integration of course
content and
application.

Irrelevant remarks
were made that were
unrelated to the topic
being discussed.
No evidence of
integration of course
content or
application.