A Boost for Students’ Brain Health

Schools are on the front lines of students’ brain health. Families and students often first turn to school staff for wellness support, and at the same time, students must be able to learn how to regulate their emotions and decompress so they can be focused and ready to learn in the classroom.

That’s why the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque will work with the Dubuque Community School District (DCSD), the Western Dubuque Community School District (WDCSC) and Holy Family Catholic Schools to create and staff designated areas for brain health wellness where students can process emotions during the school day. The goal is to help students develop effective skills and tools to help with this process.

“Our research indicates that the ability of people to tend to their brain health needs is one of Dubuque’s most pressing issues,” says Peter Supple, director of nonprofits at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and facilitator of the Foundation’s Brain Health Access Initiative. “Addressing these needs early in life is key to setting our youth on a path to success."

The idea for the school spaces came from Debi Butler, who is the founder of Brain Health Now. She recently worked with the Foundation for Dubuque Public Schools, a Community Foundation partner organization, to fund and build Brain Health Retreat Rooms at Hempstead and Senior high schools.

“Many students in our community go to school each day and try to cope with stressors and traumas in their lives while learning,” Butler says.

Last year, the Community Foundation received funding from the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors and the Mental Health and Disability Services of the East Central Region to support youth brain health, and $90,000 of the $205,000 total will support the salaries of two certified brain health staff members, one at each high school, for one year.

Recognizing the value of the DCSD rooms the Butlers are supporting, the Community Foundation wanted to provide additional resources so WDCSC and Holy Family could move in a similar direction and begin to create spaces in their schools that meet the needs of their students. The new county funds will support these spaces as well as additional brain health resources for the two school systems.

To further support the building of Brain Health Retreat Rooms, the Butlers have started a new fund with the Community Foundation called the Debi and Andy Butler Brain Health Fund. Gifts to the fund will help finance Brain Health Retreat Rooms in more local schools. Gifts to the fund can be made below.