Last week the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing focused on the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The focus of much of the discussion centered on the need to emphasize the health and other needs of children in addition to academic accomplishments.

Advocates who support the focus of the “whole child” in the rewrite of the ESEA were acknowledged by lawmakers who agreed that the idea of educating children encompasses a wide range of support services.

These services include, but are not limited to, dental and mental health, prekindergarten, library services, after-school enrichment, mentoring, college counseling, and increased parent and community involvement.

Despite the acknowledgment that non-academics should be encompassed in the new ESEA, lawmakers were all too aware of the additional resources this will likely require to be successful.  As Senator Harkin stated, “as you add all this stuff on, you’re going to have to add more people, mentors, librarians…How do we do that?”

Still advocates for the “whole child” concept argued that without such a holistic approach to elementary and secondary education boosting student achievement will be very difficult.