Partners For Healthy Children

1. Partners For Healthy Children A discussion of the benefits of Comprehensive School Health Program

2. Mission Statement • The American Cancer Society is the Nationwide Community-based Voluntary Health Organization Dedicated to Eliminating Cancer as a Major Health Problem by Preventing Cancer, Saving Lives and Diminishing Suffering From Cancer, Through Research, Education, Advocacy, and Service.

3. American Cancer Society’s 2015 Goals: • Decrease cancer incidence by 25% • Decrease cancer mortality by 50% • Measurably improve quality of life for cancer patients

4. Primary Focus on Cancer Prevention • Health risk behaviors begin in childhood and persist into adulthood. • Many of these behaviors place adults at risk for cancer. • To prevent many cancers we need to prevent young people from engaging in health risk behaviors.

5. “Schools have more influence on the lives of young people than any other social institution except the family and provide a setting in which friendship networks develop, socialization occurs, and norms that govern behavior are developed and reinforced.” • Healthy People 2010, U.S. Department

6. The Link Between Health And Learning • "Health and success in school are interrelated. Schools cannot achieve their primary mission of education if students and staff are not healthy and fit physically, mentally, and socially.” • Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: Part 1 – Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and Tobacco Use Prevention, 2000

7. Academic performance is compromised by poor health. Physical Inactivity and Poor Diet contribute to risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. • 27% of children age 5-10 have 1 or more heart disease risk factors • 1 in 3 children born in the year 2000 will develop Type II Diabetes (based on current trends) Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

8. The Vision of Healthy Schools • The implementation of an integrated approach which promotes the betterment of academic performance by supporting good nutrition and physical activity as part of a total learning environment. • Accomplished with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Coordinated School Health Program

9. The Fragmented Approach to School and Community Programs

10. Comprehensive School Health Education Family & Community Involvement Physical Education School-site Health Promotion for Staff School Health Services Nutrition Services Healthy School Environment Counseling, Psychological & Social Services What is a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP)? • An integrated framework for delivering coordinated and consistent messages to kids in our schools and communities

11. Family and Community Involvement • Students whose parents are involved in their education show: • Significantly greater achievement gains in reading and math than students with uninvolved parents • Better attendance • More consistently completed homework • Henderson, 1987; Shaver and Walls, 1998

12. Comprehensive School Health Education • Students who participate in health education classes that use effective curricula: • Increase their health knowledge and improve their health skills and behaviors • Connell, Turner, and Mason, 1985 • Decrease risky behaviors relative to the program • Botvin, Griffin, Diaz, Ifill-Williams, 2001 • Dent, Sussman, Stacy, Craig, Burton, and Flay, 1995

13. Physical Education • Students who participated in school physical education programs did not experience a harmful effect on their standardized test scores, though less time was available for other academic subjects • Sallis, McKenzie, Kolody, Lewis, Marshall, and Rosengard, 1999 • Shephard, 1996 • Dwyer, Coonan, Leitch, Hetzel, and Baghurst, 1983

14. School Health Services • Designed to promote the health of students, identify and prevent health problems and injuries, and ensure care for students • Includes preventive services, education, emergency care, referral and management of acute and chronic health conditions • Health is Academic, 1998

15. Nutrition Services • Food-insufficient children (ages 6 to 11) are more likely to: • receive lower math scores • repeat a grade • visit a psychologist • have difficulty getting along with other children • Alaimo, Olson, and Frongillo, 2001

16. Counseling, Psychological and Social Services • Children who participated in a social service intervention aimed at promoting student success by improving parent-child and parent-teacher communication resulted in improved academic performance • Bowen, 1999

17. Healthy School Environment • The physical, emotional, and social climate of the school • Designed to provide a safe physical place, as well as a healthy and supportive environment that fosters learning • Health is Academic, 1998

18. School Site Health Promotion for Staff • Teachers who participated in a health promotion program focusing on exercise, stress management, and nutrition reported: • Increased participation in exerciseand lower weight • Better ability to handle job stress • A higher level of general well-being • Blair, Collingwood, Reynolds, Smith, Hagan, and Sterling, 1984

19. Schools must reduce the frequency of conflicting health messages that contribute to risk behaviors: • Tobacco use 4. Injuries • Poor dietary habits 5. Physical activity • Alcohol/drug use 6. Sexual behavior

20. Conflicting Messages: • Unhealthy fundraisers • Unhealthy food and beverages in vending machines • Tobacco use • Decreased time for health education, physical education, and promotion of life long skills for healthy living • Inconsistent use of conflict resolution skills

21. In Addition, Did You Know? • Scientific evidence suggests that about 1/3 of the cancer deaths that occur in the US each year are due to nutrition and physical activity factors, including obesity. • Data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (1994-1996, 1998) indicated that the consumption of snack foods has doubled in the last 20 years. • In the United States, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past 20 years. Research indicates that the situation is worsening rather than improving (CDC, 2001). • The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey showed in 2001 less than ¼ (21.4%) of US high school students ate five or more vegetables and fruits per day.

22. Students who engage in positive health behaviors have: • Improved attendance • Better grades • Higher graduation rates • Increased standardized test scores • Lower dropout rates • Fewer behavioral problems at school • More participation in school activities • Higher aspirations for post secondary education

23. What are the Goals of a CSHP? • Keep kids healthy over time; • Support students’ capacity to learn; • Impart skills, knowledge and judgment to help students make healthy choices for life; • Reinforce positive behaviors throughout the day; • Involve parents;

24. How To Make A Coordinated Approach Happen ... • Organize a school health council to coordinate the school health program • Many schools are already implementing some components of CSHP • Initially it may seem difficult • There are no set rules…consider what will work best in your school community

25. What Is A School Health Council? • An advisory body comprised of faculty and staff from the coordinated school health program • School nurses; health educators; physical educators; administrators; counselors; food service personnel • Additional members • Parents; members of community health agencies; faith community; local businesses; students • Members should be committed to the health of children and youth

26. What Do School Health Councils Do? • Provide support for health-related activities to reduce the targeted CDC risk behaviors • Conduct assessments to determine • Student health needs and interests • Availability of health personnel and resources • Current program offerings • Parental concernsregarding student health

27. What Do School Health Councils Do? • Promote adoption of health-enhancing school policies • Support selection, writing and revision of health curriculum • Assist individual schools to identify health needs • Support school health activities • Health fairs, informational workshops, staff development workshops • Develop advocacy activities • Public speaking, letter writing, publicity campaigns

28. How Can School Administrators Help? • Help to start a school health council in your district • Be a good role model by practicing healthy behaviors • Review and revise health policies in your district • Food and beverage availability • Tobacco policy • Vending and fund-raising • Safe physical environment • Safe emotional environment

29. How Can School Administrators Help? • Support staff development for members of the school health council • Use the National Health Education Standards to revise the health education curriculum • Support budget needs of the health council

30. The Goals • Healthy students! • Healthy staff! • Healthy schools! • Healthy families! • To accomplish these goals, parents, schools, and communities must become partners in providing consistent health messages.

31. Benefits of a School Health Council • Improve overall health education • Link schools with community health resources • Provide a means for improving school health policies and programs • Educate the community about the school and health issues • Increase parent and community involvement in the school

32. The American Cancer Society Supports School Health Because: • Health education in schools can help to prevent cancer. • Health education in the classroom must be reinforced and coordinated with other components of the school health program. • A coordinated school health program can lead to healthier students and communities, and can ultimately reduce cancer risks.

33. THANK YOU!!! 1-800-ACS-2345 www.cancer.org

34. “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” • ~ Margaret Mead