On the first days of school at our YES Prep East End campuses, students are beginning very different chapters of their educational journeys.

For some of the youngest students at East End Elementary, it is the beginning of their first experience in school. Next door at East End Secondary, sixth- and ninth-grade students are adjusting to new routines, new classmates and a new stage of growing up. And for seniors, the first day marks the beginning of their final year at YES Prep.

At every stage, students are growing academically, socially and emotionally, and through YES Prep's longstanding partnership with Legacy Community Health’s School-Based Health Care (SBHC), they also have access to healthcare designed to grow with them.

As YES Prep continues expanding its pre-K–12 feeder patterns through the Power of YES campaign, creating an elementary school for every secondary campus, the partnership with Legacy provides a parallel pathway of support. From a child's earliest years in school through graduation, on-campus clinical and behavioral health care helps students stay healthy, remain in the classroom and learn how to advocate for their own well-being.

Building trust from the beginning

For younger students, simply visiting a healthcare provider can be intimidating. The Legacy SBHC team sees this firsthand at East End Elementary.

Quetzalli Zavala, a Legacy nurse practitioner who serves students at both East End Elementary and East End Secondary, said "younger students may initially arrive nervous or unsure about visiting the clinic. Over time, those interactions begin to change”.

As students become familiar with the clinic and the people caring for them, they become more comfortable recognizing when they don't feel well, communicating their needs and asking for help.

The clinic team also uses those visits as opportunities to teach students about their health. Conversations can include healthy eating, exercise, screen time limits, safety and other everyday habits, while routine care helps families stay on top of vaccinations, appointments, and referrals.

"We always make sure to give them education according to their needs, in addition to healthy eating and exercise counseling," said Zavala. "They tend to become more independent and more able to speak out for their needs, 'I don't feel well, or, " I talked to my mom. She told me to come."

That familiarity extends to families, too. Parents can contact the clinic when a child wakes up with a fever, allergies, cold symptoms or another concern and, when appropriate, have their child seen without having to navigate a separate trip to a doctor's office.

Over time, those interactions build something bigger than convenience. "It's more like a partnership. They become community," said Zavala.

Growing students need different kinds of support

As students move from elementary to secondary school, their needs change.

For some sixth and ninth graders, entering secondary means navigating a campus without the friends they relied on in elementary or middle school. For others, it is an opportunity to meet new people, try something different, and begin figuring out who they want to become.

Judith Alvarado, a Legacy therapist at East End Secondary, sees those transitions reflected in her conversations with students.

"A big topic is, 'I lost a lot of friends who went to a different school, and now I have to navigate high school without them,'" said Alvarado. "But there's also an opportunity to meet new people. We work on self-esteem, social skills, and social anxiety. Ninth grade can almost be a chance to say, 'This is a new me. What can I try?'"

Having behavioral health services on campus (both in elementary and secondary) means students have an accessible place to work through those experiences. Legacy's behavioral health team supports students navigating anxiety, bullying, low self-esteem, relationships, and other challenges while connecting them with additional support when needed.

And those relationships can deepen over time.

Alvarado said students sometimes return after summer eager to tell her about what happened while they were away and how they have grown.

"They'll come back and say, 'I talk more to my mom now. I kept up with friends,,'" said Alvarado.

Those relationships don't necessarily have to end when students graduate.

"Even beyond high school, I can see some of the students transitioning to college. They can still see me virtually, so there's a continuity of care that we can provide," she said.

Keeping students healthy—and in the classroom

For families, having healthcare available where their children already spend their day can remove barriers that might otherwise result in missed school and missed work.

Legacy SBHC clinics can address a range of student health needs, including common illnesses, respiratory concerns, vaccinations, sports physicals, asthma action plans, preventive care, and behavioral health support.

Instead of a parent automatically needing to leave work, pick up their child, travel to an appointment and have the student miss hours of instruction; many healthcare needs can be addressed right on campus.

For Evelyn Gutierrez, principal of YES Prep East End Elementary, having that care available in a place families already know is an important part of making healthcare more accessible.

“Having a Legacy clinic on our campus means our families have access to healthcare in a place they already know and trust,” said Gutierrez. “It removes some of the barriers that can make getting care difficult, especially for families balancing work, transportation and school schedules.”

That convenience can also provide peace of mind for families.

"They don't have that added stress of having to leave work early to get their child out to an appointment," said Violeta Castillo, a certified medical assistant at East End Secondary. "They're at work knowing that we can take care of them here. It gives them peace of mind."

At the secondary level, having physical and behavioral healthcare available on campus continues to remove those barriers while helping students remain connected to their learning.

“Students are able to attend appointments without families having to figure out transportation, cost or time,” said Kaitlan Peterson, principal of YES Prep East End Secondary. “Students are able to attend appointments without missing significant time outside of classes because appointments can happen during the school day or before the school day directly on campus.”

Gutierrez sees that same connection between health and learning at the elementary level.

“When students can receive care right here, families don't always have to choose between getting their child the care they need and getting them to school,” said Gutierrez. “Ultimately, that means more students in classrooms, more consistency in learning and fewer missed instructional minutes.”

Having physical and behavioral healthcare available through the same Legacy SBHC team can also make it easier to connect students with additional support. Alvarado noted that when a student is referred from the clinic to therapy, a relationship with Legacy SBHC has already been established, helping create familiarity and trust for the student and family.

The impact can become even more significant for students managing ongoing health conditions.

Zavala recalled working with one family whose children have chronic asthma-related needs. Over time, the clinic has become part of the family's ongoing healthcare support system. The parent keeps the team informed about specialist care, while Legacy helps the family navigate referrals and connect the children with additional services when needed.

The relationship has extended beyond physical health. One of the younger children has also participated in therapy, and Zavala said the team has seen growth in the student's ability to communicate with other children and respond to other social challenges.

It is this type of long-term relationship that illustrates what continuity of care can look like when healthcare is embedded in a student's school community.

Preparing students for what comes after YES Prep

The same journey that begins with helping a nervous young child feel comfortable walking into the clinic eventually becomes about preparing a young adult to navigate healthcare independently.

For graduating seniors, Legacy's Senior Checkout program helps students think about their health as they prepare for life after YES Prep.

"We go through what their plans are for the future and their medications. If they need refills, we do that for them," said Zavala.

The team also helps seniors address screenings and other healthcare needs and, when needed, connects them with an external primary care provider so they can continue accessing care after graduation.

The goal is not simply to care for students while they are enrolled at YES Prep but to help them develop the knowledge and confidence to continue caring for themselves as adults.

"We really invest ourselves in making them comfortable getting healthcare and helping them be successful in taking care of their health as they progress," said Zavala.

For Zavala, access to that care is fundamental. "Everybody has a right to healthcare. It's not a privilege," she said. "We want that for all of them."

It brings the journey full circle: from a young student learning that the clinic is a safe place to ask for help to a graduating senior leaving YES Prep better prepared to advocate for their own physical and emotional health.

A partnership that continues to grow

Last school year, YES Prep and Legacy celebrated 10 years of partnership and a shared commitment to making healthcare more accessible for students and families.

That work continues to grow alongside YES Prep.

New virtual-care equipment is creating additional opportunities for clinicians to see students remotely when appropriate, expanding the ways care can be delivered while students remain on campus.

As YES Prep works to create complete pre-K–12 pathways for families, the Legacy SBHC partnership, with 21 clinics across our system, helps ensure students have access to another kind of continuity throughout that journey, one that supports their physical health, emotional well-being and ability to be present and ready to learn.

A student may first walk into a Legacy SBHC clinic nervous and unsure, relying on the adults around them to explain what comes next. Years later, that same student can leave YES Prep knowing how to speak up for their needs, care for their physical and emotional health and navigate what comes after graduation. That is the power of a partnership built to grow with students, not just for a school year, but throughout their entire YES Prep journey.