Colton Joint USD Wins Golden Bell as its Wellness Centers Log 14,362 Annual Visits
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A Wellness Center staff member welcomes a student into a Colton Joint Unified Wellness Center, which provides school-day drop-in support, counseling and crisis intervention on campus.
A campus-based mental health program that draws 14,362 student visits a year has earned Colton Joint Unified School District a Golden Bell Award, recognizing its Wellness Centers as a daily, school-day support system for students navigating stress, trauma and barriers to learning.
The California School Boards Association honored Colton Joint Unified for “Equity Through Wellness: Serving the Whole Child at Every Site” in the Social-Emotional Health/Wellness category, citing the district’s Wellness Centers as school-based access points that provide drop-in counseling, group sessions, crisis intervention and case management. The centers are staffed by Master of Social Work professionals and interns, and the association highlighted the district’s focus on timely, equitable and sustainable care.
The district received the award at the annual California School Boards Association conference in Sacramento earlier this month.
District leaders who attended the recognition included Board President Dan Flores, Vice President Bertha Flores, Clerk Israel Fuentes and Board Member Patt Haro, as well as Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Anthony Ortiz, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Brandon Dade, and Antonio Castro, the district’s Director of Mental and Behavioral Health, who is credited with building the program.
Flores said the centers have become core to how the district supports students beyond academics.
“Our Wellness Centers have become the heart of our secondary school campuses. They create a safe space for students to find respite and seek guidance for challenges they may be facing. With so much stress and negativity in the world, our students find support for their mental health and wellbeing in our Wellness Centers. That is why we are committed to supporting the Wellness Centers on our campuses. We want every student to feel they are heard, seen, and supported by their schools,” Flores said.
Colton Joint Unified launched its first Wellness Centers in 2020 at Colton and Grand Terrace high schools, grounded in the district’s view that chronic stress, anxiety and trauma — amplified by the pandemic — can undermine academic success. District leaders structured the program around the belief that mental health supports are most effective when they are immediate, accessible and available during the school day, including moments when students may be dysregulated and need support to return to learning.
The centers are designed as calm spaces where students can access brief interventions and coping strategies. The district also uses a workforce pipeline that includes bachelor’s and master’s-level interns who deliver direct services and group support while gaining field experience under professional supervision. Each center partners with Colton Joint Unified’s Department of Behavioral and Mental Health to triage students and connect them to outside services when needed, creating what the district describes as a seamless continuum of care.
As the model took hold, the district expanded beyond its initial sites. In 2023–24, centers were added to alternative high school campuses at Slover Mountain and Washington. Last year, Colton Joint Unified secured a $2 million School-Based Mental Health Grant to hire four Wellness Center Associates and establish a center on each middle school campus. In April 2025, the federal government rescinded the grant funds, but the district said it reapportioned funding to sustain the middle school programs and uphold its commitment to student well-being and academic success.
The program spans multiple secondary campuses, including Bloomington High School, Colton High School, Grand Terrace High School, Washington High School, Slover Mountain High School, Colton Middle School, Joe Baca Middle School, Ruth O. Harris Middle School and Terrace Hills Middle School.
District leaders say the Wellness Centers are rooted in two objectives aligned with the district’s whole-child approach: increasing access to timely mental health services during the school day to reduce the impact of trauma and strengthen students’ sense of belonging, and mitigating barriers that prevent students from learning — including trauma, housing insecurity, food scarcity and emotional dysregulation.
The district says students with emerging or ongoing mental health needs can walk in daily for support, including individual and group counseling and social-emotional skill-building. At the same time, the centers operate as access points for students and families to receive case management, basic resources and short-term support services, with the goal of helping students arrive to class emotionally and physically prepared to engage.
The district reported that during the 2024–2025 school year it received more than 1,000 mental health referrals and more than 500 referrals for case management and outreach services. Across nine Wellness Centers, the district recorded more than 13,000 student walk-ins, which it points to as evidence of accessibility and day-to-day use.
The district also reported shifts in student engagement indicators over time. From 2023 to 2025, average daily attendance increased from 92.41% to 92.61% and chronic absenteeism decreased from 26.73% to 24.53% — changes the district connects to the idea that readily available mental health supports can strengthen students’ connection to school.
Student exit surveys collected after Wellness Center visits, the district said, showed 84% of students reported improved emotional coping skills, 82% reported improved self-image, and 70% said they viewed school as a more positive place.
District leaders also point to student testimony as a measure of the centers’ impact. At an AVID Stole ceremony at Colton High School, senior Vivian Guevara honored her school’s Wellness Center Associate for what she described as a profound influence on her life.
“When it comes to the topic of mental health, most turn toward the negative side of it. However, Mrs. Villa helped others see the positive in seeking help. Thanks to her, I will go to college and shout proudly that I did it,” Guevara said.
Colton Joint Unified said sustainability has been embedded into the Wellness Center model since its launch, with systems and infrastructure designed for long-term continuity. The program is currently funded through diversified sources including Title I, a CYBHI Capacity Grant, and the California Community Schools Partnership Program Implementation Grant, which the district says demonstrates fiscal stability. The district also committed general fund resources to Wellness Center positions to ensure continuity beyond the lifespan of current grants.
Starting in 2025–2026, Colton Joint Unified plans to bill eligible mental health services through the CYBHI statewide fee schedule, generating ongoing revenue to support sustainability. District leaders say long-term viability is also reinforced by a districtwide structure in which Board and Cabinet leadership prioritizes student wellness in strategic planning and budget decisions, and by an internal workforce supported by four licensed clinical social workers and a university internship pipeline that expands capacity and creates future hires.
With diversified funding, an intentional staffing model and built-in flexibility based on student needs, district leaders say the Wellness Centers have demonstrated success over the last five years and are positioned for sustained, long-term investment in student mental health and academic success.
