What have we learned from collaborative partnerships to concomitantly improve both education and health?

BACKGROUND

Collaborative partnerships are an essential means to concomitantly improve both education outcomes and health outcomes among K-12 students.

METHODS

We describe examples of contemporaneous, interactive, and evolving partnerships that have been implemented, respectively, by a national governmental health organization, national nongovernmental education and health organizations, a state governmental education organization, and a local nongovernmental health organization that serves partner schools.

RESULTS

Each of these partnerships strategically built operational infrastructures that enabled partners to efficiently combine their resources to improve student education and health.

CONCLUSIONS

To implement a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Framework, we need to purposefully strengthen, expand, and interconnect national, state, and local collaborative partnerships and supporting infrastructures that concomitantly can improve both education and health.