The 2025-2026 school year offers much of the same routine for many returning students and staff alike. The same brunch items, after school practice, and teachers’ lectures soon become monotonous in a student’s day to day life. Yet there are a few notable additions that give promise to the new year. One of these additions includes Campo’s all new Wellness staff, a group of four who have entered Campo with the goal of destigmatizing mental health and supporting every student every day.
A resource provided throughout the Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD), Wellness Centers provide a variety of services for their students. According to the FAQ page on the Campo Wellness Center site, the wellness centers work with several school-affiliated departments and administrations to support the educational, developmental, social-emotional, and physical needs of the student community.
Here at Campo, new Wellness Coordinator Chelsea Wetherell plans to facilitate just that. Beginning her mental health and wellness career during the Covid pandemic, Wetherell began going to school for a masters in counseling while working in the AUHSD District. “I did my first year of school while I taught at Las Lomas and then I did an internship as a Wellness Support Counselor at Miramonte,” said Wetherell when explaining her experience in the district. “Last year, I was working in the Wellness Center at Las Lomas again.”
Wetherell acknowledged the services that the Wellness Center currently provides for students: “We offer one-on-one counseling on a drop-in or on a continuing basis. Students are able to make referrals for themselves or friends. We offer group counseling, wellness breaks… and a bunch of lunchtime activities for students who want access to Wellness support without actually engaging in counseling.”
In addition to their current available services, the new Wellness Center’s mission is to support every student every day in accordance with the Campo staff motto. A dual-function mental health spot and student support center, Wetherell envisions the Wellness Center as a place for all students: “Whether that’s needing to access us because you need a Band-Aid or because you feel like your world’s falling apart a bit, I want the Wellness Center to function as a community center,” she said.
Furthermore, Wetherell sees it as her goal to destigmatize mental health on campus, “We know that adolescent mental health has been on the decline, and we know that students spend a significant amount of time on campus,” she noted. “Being on a high school campus helps us support students so that they can learn. If you’re emotionally dysregulated or having a hard time going through something, you can’t really enter the learning environment to the best of your abilities,” Wetherell added.
Doing their part to remedy this issue, Wetherell and the team plan to bring in more curriculum and community based organizations to aid Campo students and support their mental health. Working with organizations such as the Rainbow Community Center as well as affinity organizations, the Wellness Center feels the solution to mental health is a community effort.
Many students acknowledge that they were unaware of the change in staff even though it was briefly announced at each respective grade’s Back to School Orientation. Senior Daphne Wang stated that while she officially found out about the new staff during the interview for this article she received “clues” over the summer when collaborating during her Scout Project because she “couldn’t get any communication” with previous Wellness staff.
Wang sees value to the Wellness Center, agreeing that mental health is pretty stigmatized on campus, “Wellness Centers are useful for mental wellness, and feeling more comfortable in school,” she stated. Students should use it when they need to.”
“Our next big event is Hollow Wellness [on] October 29th,” said Wetherell when discussing the center’s future plans. “We’re still in the process of planning, but you can imagine the convergence of Halloween and Wellness activities so there will probably be sweets there.”
Those interested in keeping up with the Campo Wellness Center can follow their Instagram @campowelllness or contact Wetherell at [email protected].
