Newton-Wellesley Hospital community investment boosts education, health and well-being for all

A four-year initiative spearheaded by Newton-Wellesley Hospital to support a collaborative of organizations addressing disparities in educational attainment among students in Waltham, Mass., has made positive impacts beyond education and improved overall individual and family well-being. Despite the end of the initial grant funding, the program’s success has prompted the hospital, community organizations and the city of Waltham to continue supporting and expanding the program.

In fall 2019, Newton-Wellesley Hospital awarded a four-year, $1.5 million grant to a collaborative of community-based organizations led by Waltham Partnership for Youth (WPY) and in partnership with Waltham Public Schools. This collaborative launched Wraparound Waltham, focused on supporting Spanish-speaking students and their families who had recently immigrated to the U.S. Nearly 50% of Waltham High School students’ primary language was a language other than English. The hospital’s investment was made possible by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the state’s Determination of Need, Community-based Health Initiative program.

Key components of Wraparound Waltham include:

• Welcome Class. A multiweek orientation for all Spanish-speaking and emerging bilingual students new to Waltham High School, designed to create a safe place for new students to build relationships with peers and adults while learning about school and community resources. The Welcome Class has been expanded to two Waltham middle schools. 
• Academic case management. An educator who co-teaches the Welcome Class at WHS also checks in regularly with Wraparound students, particularly those at risk academically or behaviorally or with attendance issues. Follow-up includes developing individual goals and strategies and referring students for tutoring, counseling and academic support as needed. 
• Nonacademic support services and community partner referrals. Wraparound staff from the WPY meet with Wraparound students to learn about their interests and goals and identify any unmet student or family needs, including access to food, housing, health care and English classes. The Wraparound team makes referrals to school and community resources as needed. 
• Mental and behavioral health support services. Community partners, including Children’s Charter and Doc Wayne, offer individual therapy, group support sessions and sports-based therapy to students onsite at the high school and one middle school. More than 300 students participated in Wraparound Waltham through the 2023 school year, although the reach and positive effects extended to their families and the broader community of Spanish-speaking immigrants in Waltham. The initiative has improved attendance, grade advancement and graduation rates while also addressing food and housing needs; physical and mental health care; linguistic and social inclusion; and engagement and belonging.

A report prepared for Newton-Wellesley Hospital by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute describes the initiative’s launch, challenges, factors for success, and impacts at the individual, organizational and community levels, and includes feedback from students and families.

Overall, feedback from students and families has been positive: “The group therapy taught me that I was not alone, that there were other students that were having the same problems,” said one Wraparound student. “I found a support system outside home, a support system that I needed. When I cried, we all cried; when another girl shared her story, we all listened. I felt in community,” she concluded. .