Resources For and About Coordinated School Health Programs
A wealth of resources exists and more are being developed to support the growing interest in coordinated school health programs across the US. Whether you are working at the district or building level; are an experienced CSH team member or a CSH “rookie,” there are resources to help you advance your CSH efforts. A selection of helpful resources from Colorado and other states/agencies follows, organized by topic.
COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH - GENERAL
Center for Safe and Healthy Schools of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)
The NASBE website offers several new and recent school health publications for free. A new chapter of Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: A School Health Policy Guide,"Chapter H: Policies on Asthma, School Health Services, and Healthy Environments" (2005) is now available for download in PDF format along with four previous chapters. Coming in 2007 are updated and expanded versions of the five original chapters, plus two new chapters: “Policies to Promote Safety and Prevent Violence” and “Policies to Prevent HIV Infection, Other STDs, and Pregnancy.” Also, more than three dozen Policy Briefs on various school health topics are available for download on the NASBE publications page.
Coordinated
School Health Overview (PowerPoint Presentation, 3.7mb)
From Colorado Connections for Healthy Schools, this PowerPoint presentation presents
an overview of CSH programs and their benefits.
CSH Components (PDF,
816k)
An illustrated look at the components of CSH.
Facilitating Change
in School Health: A Qualitative Study of Schools’ Experiences
Using the School Health Index (PDF, 296k)
From Harvard University, this article describes the results of a qualitative
research study examining school staff and community members’ experiences
working with the School Health Index, a self-assessment and planning tool that
addresses nutrition and physical activity.
Healthy Schools
Builder
Created by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the
American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, this easy online
tool helps schools take steps to create a healthier environment for students
and staff. A series of questions related to policy, systems, healthy eating,
physical activity, and staff wellness help schools create customized action plans
and provides tools to schools for reaching specific health and wellness program
goals. It also identifies whether a school is eligible to apply for the Alliance’s
platinum, gold, silver, or bronze awards and provides tools to help them reach
the next level of recognition. Any school can register online free of charge
to become part of the Healthy Schools Program and gain access to the Alliance’s
tools, resources and school awards program. If you are a school health professional
who doesn’t work in a school setting and would like preview the Healthy
Schools Builder, email HSB@HealthierGeneration.org or
call 1-888-KID-HLTH.
Healthy Schools, Healthy
Students (PDF, 448k)
From the National School Boards Association, this newsletter is intended for
school boards that wish to be proactive about school heatlh.
How to engage school leaders in CSH
Action for Healthy Kids has released a new field report with proven strategies for gaining attention and support from school leaders for important school wellness initiatives. The report, From the Top Down: Engaging School Leaders in Creating a Healthier, More Physically Active School Environment, is available on the Action for Healthy Kids website.
Improving School
Health: A Guide To School Health Councils (PDF, 4.5mb)
Research shows that the most effective vehicle for interacting with the local
community on school health issues is through a School Health Council (SHC) .
This guide from the American Cancer Society (ACS), presents an overview of SHCs,
and how local ACS offices can influence their function.
Summary
Of Selected Evidence-Based Research From Healthy Kids Learn Better and Making
The Connection: Health And Student Achievement (PDF, 188k)
From the Center for Research Strategies, this fact sheet summarizes the available
evidence linking coordinated school health programs and academic achievement/outcomes.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Community/School Partnerships
Despite the fact that nearly every school and district experiences some level of support from the surrounding community, very little research has been done in the area of community/school partnerships. A 2007 Survey Of External Support For K-12 School Districts by DeHavilland Associates offers insights into how community/school partnerships are structured and what types of relationships schools and districts have established.
Key findings from this survey include:
- When asked to rank the importance of current partners to their efforts, respondents put individual businesses first, parent organizations second, and booster clubs third;
- When asked to rank the partners with whom they'd most like to develop relationships, business coalitions came in first, followed by individual businesses and regional/national foundations;
- Most school districts do not have established systematic procedures to recruit and monitor partnerships;
- There were clear differences in the responses of suburban, urban, and rural schools and districts. Those in suburban areas note generally higher levels of support from community-based partners; those in urban areas receive greater support from institutional partners (nonprofits, foundations, and postsecondary institutions); and those in rural areas record below-average levels of support from every partner with the exception of booster clubs; and
- 46 percent of school districts report receiving support from a local education fund or school foundation.
To download a copy of the report, please visit DeHavilland Associates' website.
Promising Practices
Network: A One-Stop Source for What Works to Support Children and
Families
Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families and Communities, is
a unique partnership that is dedicated to providing quality, accessible, evidence-based
information about what works to improve the lives of children, families, and
communities. Operated by RAND, the site provides impartial, results-oriented
research information that filters the evaluation literature and finds programs
whose effectiveness has been soundly demonstrated. PPN was recently named one
of the 18 most innovative government activities in the United States as part
of the Innovations in American Government Awards.
Tapping into the Power: Engaging Parents in the Fight Against Childhood
Obesity
This report, from the Action for Healthy Kids website, illustrates the
disconnect between parents' beliefs and expectations for their children's
nutrition and physical activity at school and the actual policies in
the schools. The report also suggests ways to involve parents, using
examples of projects that have been tried by teams in Pennsylvania and
Montana.
NUTRITION and/or PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Calories In, Calories Out
This study, prompted by concern over the rate of obesity among school-age children, was designed to obtain current national information on availability of foods and opportunities for physical activity in public elementary schools. The report includes findings on the types of food sold at one or more locations in schools and in their cafeterias or lunchrooms; the types of food sold at vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and times when foods were available at those locations; food service operations and contracts with companies to sell foods at schools; scheduled recess, including the days per week, times per day, and minutes per day of recess; scheduled physical education, including the days per week, class length, and average minutes per week of physical education; activities to encourage physical activity among elementary students; and the physical assessment of students.
CDC's Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) now available!
The Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) will help school districts conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of written physical education curricula, based upon national physical education standards. The PECAT is customizable to include local standards. The results from the analysis can help school districts enhance existing curricula, develop their own curricula, or select a published curriculum, for the delivery of quality physical education in schools.
Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2005 (PDF, 4.1mb)
From the USDA, this document is intended to be a primary source of dietary
health information for policymakers, nutrition educators, and health
providers.
Eat Smart.
Play Hard.TM Kids' Web Page and
Eat
Smart. Play Hard. TM Healthy Lifestyle Website
These two web
sites created by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service aim to provide kids, parents
and caregivers with resources on healthy eating and physical activity.
The Eat Smart. Play Hard.TM kids' web page
provides kids with interactive learning and skill-building experiences
in a virtual community setting. The web page encourages and motivates
kids to make better lifestyle choices using songs, experiments, activity
sheets, comics, clipart, worksheets, games, posters, e-cards, recipes,
and other materials that help to form and reinforce healthy behaviors.
The new Healthy Lifestyle web page provides parents and other caregivers
with tools for healthy living, including tasty, low cost
menus
and recipes that meet the new food guidelines. The web page has a
handy Calorie Burner Chart, the MyPyramid Tracker, and the ESPH Tracking
Card.
"Game
On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge"
This back-to-school
effort to promote nutrition, physical activity, and learning
includes a database of changes schools can make to improve nutrition
and physical activity. Topics in the "Resources to Improve
Schools" database include advertising, after school programs, a
la carte foods, assessment tools, childhood obesity, family outreach,
nutrition education, physical activity, physical education, school meal
programs, and staff wellness.
A General Overview of Physical and Nutrition Intervention Programs
This PDF document, which can be downloaded from the website of the
International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Center for Health Promotion,
provides a summary of the intended audience, goal(s), accomplishments,
and contact information for a number of evidence-based programs.
How
Schools Work and How to Work With Schools on Healthy Eating (PDF,
2.1mb)
This presentation, by James F. Bogden of the National Association of
State Boards of Education, provides an overview of strategies for working
with the education system to facilitate better school nutrition.
The
Knowledge Path: Physical Activity
The Knowledge Path: Physical Activity is an electronic guide to recent,
high-quality resources that analyze data, describe public health campaigns
and other health-promotion programs, and report on research aimed at
identifying promising strategies for improving physical activity levels
within families, schools, and communities. Produced by the Maternal and
Child Health Library at Georgetown University, the knowledge path also
provides resources that describe the consequences of sedentary behavior.
The knowledge path is intended for use by health professionals, policymakers,
educators, coaches, and families who are interested in obtaining timely
information on this topic.
School Foods Report Card (PDF, 1mb)
From the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a state-by-state
comparison of each state's policy on foods sold out of vending machines,
school stores, a la carte, and other foods sold outside of school meals.
Teacher's
Toolbox
The monthly Teacher’s Toolbox shares ideas for promoting quality physical
education, physical activity and youth sports programs. The resources
are aimed at physical education teachers and classroom teachers interested
in promoting physical activity, and all activities are tied into the National
Standards for Physical Education. The Teacher’s Toolbox
is written and presented by members of the National Association for Sport and
Physical Education (NASPE) Public Relations Committee.
SCHOOL-SITE HEALTH PROMOTION FOR STAFF
CDC Healthier Worksite Initiative
This
website was designed as a resource for worksite health promotion program
planners. You will find information, resources, and step-by-step
toolkits to help you improve the health of your employees. Featured
items include StairWELL to Better Health, Garden Market, and Cost Calculators. Topics
include Program Design, Policies, Toolkits, and Quick Resources.
School Employee Wellness:
A Guide for Protecting the Assets of Our Nation’s Schools
The
first of its kind, this comprehensive guide provides information, practical
tools and resources for school employee wellness programs. It
will help schools, school districts, and states develop and support the
implementation of school employee wellness programs that promote employee
health, improve workforce productivity, and reduce the costs of employee
absenteeism and healthcare. Download
the guide in PDF format here (3.5mb).
Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA)
WELCOA
is a national resource for worksite wellness that helps organizations
of all kinds build and sustain results-oriented wellness programs. WELCOA
serves as a national clearinghouse and information center on worksite
wellness and publishes a number of source books, a monthly newsletter,
and an extensive line of brochures. WELCOA also focuses on building Well
Workplaces—organizations that are dedicated to the health of their
employees. The Well Workplace process provides business leaders and members
with a structure or blueprint to help their organizations build results-oriented
wellness programs. Ultimately these programs help employees make better
lifestyle choices, and positively impact the organization's bottom line.
