On Friday, March 21, ahead of spring break, Tecumseh Public Schools sent an email to parents announcing it would participate in a county-wide wellness program for middle and high school students from iWellness Center.

The email reads, in part, “Beginning after spring break, students will be able to do a quick 5-7 question survey at school once per week to “check in” on how they are doing. Questions focus on school safety, and social and emotional wellbeing. This data will help alert us to student needs in a more effective, efficient, and meaningful way.” 

The school provided a link to the company. 

In an April 2024 White Paper published on the National Center for Youth Success website, iWellness Center said that the foundation for its weekly check-in process was “rooted in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, recognizing the fundamental importance of ensuring students feel safe and supported.” 

The questions are: 

• Do you feel happy? 
• Do you feel s safe at school? 
• Do you feel like you can handle challenges?
• Do you feel connected to others? 
• Do you think your friendships are healthy?
• Do you feel calm throughout the day?
• Do you have strong self-esteem?

Students can answer the question with one of four answers, according to the paper. They are: 

• Not at all
• Somedays
• More than half the days
• Nearly every day

Read more about the validity of the program here at Educate Tecumseh.

Tecumseh Parents can apparently opt their kids out of the weekly evaluation, but the school did not share this information with them in the original email.

According to the company’s General Terms of Use:  

The policy also states that iWellness “may use and maintain de-identified data.” It reads: 

iWellness is part of a larger county-wide program. 

At the August 2024 Lenawee Intermediate School District Board of Education meeting, members approved spending $1.23 million on the program. The money came from the $1.25 million the state allocated to the LISD through the state’s 2024-2025 School Aid Act “for a student wellness software pilot program case study.” 

Whitney Foley of Linden, Michigan, and iWellness’ CEO, according to her LinkedIn, registered iWellness Center, LLC, with the State of Michigan on December 28, 2021. Other employees include AJ Hartley, iWellness co-owner and chief innovation officer. Nicole Hartley lists herself as an iWellness co-owner and chief operating officer. 

Both are former employees of Swartz Creek Community Schools, according to their public LinkedIn pages, which announced in a November 2024 newsletter that it would implement the program later that year. Adam Hartley is the director of partnerships and business development at the company and the co-founder of Hartley Bros Design, the company that manages the iWellness website.