Three years ago Greater Schools opened The Greater Dayton School (GDS). It is Ohio’s first private secular school to serve under-resourced students. The school model was designed to serve the entire student – academically, emotionally and physically – and we believe it one of only a few schools of its kind nationally to feature an onsite wellness center.
GDS’s Connor Wellness Center provides pediatric, vision, dental care, as well as mental health therapy, speech pathology and occupational therapy for all its students and their younger siblings. After students graduate, they will continue to get this care at our facility. The facility is run through partnerships with Dayton Children’s Hospital and Equitas Health, who bill Medicaid for their services. Operationally, it runs in the black.
Although it’s only been open a short time, the capital investment we’ve made has had a multiplying effect on health outcomes. For example:
- 94% of our students receive two well-child visits a year, compared to 58% of their peers on Medicaid.
- 98% of our kids participate in annual dental visits, compared to 42% of their peers.
- 96% of our students are up-to-date on vaccines, compared to 25% of their peers.
- 97% of our kids avoid childhood obesity, compared to 78% of their peers.
- At enrollment, 58% of GDS students had unmet mental health needs. Now, only 14% have ongoing support needs.
Greater Schools partners with Caresource, a managed health care plan serving Medicaid members, to track health outcomes. Next, Greater Schools plans to scale this model into other markets, starting in Cincinnati. School leaders expect The Greater Cincinnati School to open and produce the same or better results with a one-time capital investment of $5 million.
The school will open in 2028 or 2029.