About one-third of Los Angeles Unified students miss close to a month of school — or more — in a given school year. On-campus health care may play a role in helping students attend school more consistently . When health researchers looked at the outcomes of students after they visited L.
A. school health clinics, they found attendance stabilized or improved — particularly for students who sought mental health treatment. “A lot of times there may be health challenges that are getting in the way of students coming to school ready to learn every day,” said pediatrician Rebecca Dudovitz.
Jordan High School senior Katherine Castro was one of the students who advocated for the recent re-opening of her school’s wellness center. “I think a lot of the students are going to go there, especially because it's at our school,” Castro said. “It feels safer, like, trustworthy.
” There are currently 20 wellness centers on LAUSD campuses that are open to students and community members and run by outside healthcare providers. To continue expanding, the district will have to designate more funding toward building and renovating space for health care on school campuses and find community partners willing to serve both students and their families. “In previous bond efforts and in future bond efforts the allocation of resources for this type of partnership and venture will continue to be a priority for all of us,” said Alberto Carvalho, LAUSD’s superintendent, at the Aug.
5 .