Aspirus Stanley Hospital - Stanley, 2025 Community Benefits
Aspirus Stanley Hospital Helps Greenwood Elementary Launch Second Step Program
Aspirus Stanley Hospital is supporting Greenwood Elementary School’s efforts to strengthen social-emotional learning (SEL) through a $5,000 Community Health Improvement Grant that will be used to implement the Second Step program for students in grades 4K through 6. Second Step is a research-based SEL program designed to help children develop the skills needed to manage emotions, build positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. The program aims to promote self-regulation and emotional well-being at a critical stage in a child’s development—before they reach adolescence—by laying a strong foundation for lifelong resilience.
“Too often, we see interventions targeted only at high school students,” said Deenah King, Community Health Improvement Specialist with Aspirus Health. “We believe in supporting students early, when foundational behaviors and responses are forming and by investing in Greenwood’s youngest learners, we’re helping them build the tools they need to meet life’s challenges with confidence and care.”
The funding from Aspirus Stanley Hospital will cover both in-school classroom kits and out-of-school kits, ensuring that the reach of the program extends beyond the classroom and into after-school environments. This broader implementation ensures consistent messaging and learning across settings and has the potential to impact not only the current 177 students enrolled at Greenwood Elementary, but many more in the years to come.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this opportunity,” said Christy Zierer, Greenwood Elementary Principal. “Securing this program will have a positive impact on our students today—and well into the future. The Second Step Out-of-School Time program would allow us to expand our reach even further and support emotional development wherever our students are.”
“Too often, we see interventions targeted only at high school students,” said Deenah King, Community Health Improvement Specialist with Aspirus Health. “We believe in supporting students early, when foundational behaviors and responses are forming and by investing in Greenwood’s youngest learners, we’re helping them build the tools they need to meet life’s challenges with confidence and care.”
The funding from Aspirus Stanley Hospital will cover both in-school classroom kits and out-of-school kits, ensuring that the reach of the program extends beyond the classroom and into after-school environments. This broader implementation ensures consistent messaging and learning across settings and has the potential to impact not only the current 177 students enrolled at Greenwood Elementary, but many more in the years to come.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this opportunity,” said Christy Zierer, Greenwood Elementary Principal. “Securing this program will have a positive impact on our students today—and well into the future. The Second Step Out-of-School Time program would allow us to expand our reach even further and support emotional development wherever our students are.”
