Upgrade Expands School Partnerships
At Welborn, we believe layered investments are key to the lasting change we hope to see – communities flourishing. Upgrade is a Welborn sponsored program, aimed at moving the needle towards better health in our region. The program has a school specific strategy that you can read more about here. With the launch of another school year underway, we wanted to feature a few additions to the Upgrade in Schools network for the 2026-2027 school year. But first, let’s meet Mardi.
Meet Mardi.
Mardi File is Welborn’s Healthy Communities Program Officer and currently oversees Upgrade. She visited several schools recently as part of an expansion into 7 local schools. Several of whom are included in the Evansville Promise Neighborhood (EPN). Welborn is actively engaged in partnering with several organizations collaboratively working in an ecosystem of support that includes students and families served by EPN schools. We captured her reflections in an interview you – you can read it all below!
What is Upgrade in Schools?
Upgrade uses evidence-based programs to support a culture of wellness for students, staff, and families.
Our staff uses best practices and resources to guide implementation of a school action plan and ensures outcomes that support academic success, positive behaviors, and mental and physical health.
How many schools did you visit, who went with you, and what did it entail?
Site visits were conducted with the assistance of other Welborn staff and alongside the Health and Human Science Educators from our key partner, Purdue Extension. We visited seven elementary schools in total, six of which are part of the Evansville School Corporation. During our visit, we observed breakfast, lunch, recess, PE, and passing periods in order to identify opportunities for improvement and ways to support the schools with their current initiatives.
What is a challenge you see facing healthy initiative work within the schools you visited?
One of the challenges we see is the use of ultra-processed foods as classroom rewards or milestone celebrations. This is a common struggle among some of our current Upgrade Schools. It will ultimately come down to changing the school culture around using ultra-processed foods – finding good substitutes will be key. In general, culture change is a lengthy process and it takes clear communication and leadership buy-in. With time, support, and dedication, the schools should be able to work through this barrier.
Why is the expansion of Upgrade programming into several Evansville Promise Neighborhood (EPN) schools an exciting aspect of this cycle's cohort of schools?
Upgrade in Schools creates and promotes opportunities for healthy living for students, teachers, and families. Integrating healthy eating and physical activity into EPN schools is vital because it establishes lifelong health habits, prevents chronic disease, and directly improves cognitive function and academic performance. Welborn also recognizes the importance of layered investments. The extension of Upgrade in Schools to schools served by EPN demonstrates the intentional decision to contribute to an ecosystem of support that has many community players rallying for the success of these students. Many of these community partners receive direct funding or support from Welborn – reinforcing our commitment to layered investments in our community.
What has been personally motivating about seeing Upgrade's programming applied in these new schools?
The opportunity to have a positive impact on the health of thousands of young people and on generational health is very exciting. Upgrade in Schools promotes a positive culture around nutrition and physical activity, supports health by encouraging lifelong healthy behaviors, strengthens mental well-being, and reduces the risk of chronic disease. Through the combined efforts of schools and families, this shift helps build healthier communities. All of which points us towards the vision of a flourishing region that we at Welborn work towards every day.
New Teammate!
We also want to mention that we are very pleased to have Ashley Tenbarge join the Welborn team as Healthy Communities Program Manager, overseeing the Upgrade in Schools initiative. Ashley will be working closely with Mardi and the Upgrade schools to make sure we continue to create the best kind of learning environments for our students across the region!
