Resources
Healthy
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Strengthen your school and community's commitment to health using resources related to
- School Health Advisory Councils
- Routine Student Health Screenings
- Lifetime Healthy Behaviors
- Healthy Food Choices
School Health Advisory Councils
A National Snapshot of Local School Wellness Policies. Journal of School Health, American School Health Association (ASHA), 2008. (article, available for purchase) The study finds schools need assistance in staff development, implementation, revision, and evaluation of wellness policies as mandated by the federal government.
The Quick & Easy Guide to School Wellness. Healthy Schools Campaign and School Health Corp., 2007. (free web guide) This multimedia how-to guide is filled with comprehensive information, practical advice, tools, and resources to help you take action.
A Supersize Problem. Education Update, ASCD, 2007. (web article) U.S. schools are increasingly adopting wellness policies to tackle the problem of overweight students.
Build Stronger Schools with ASCD's Healthy School Report Card. Education Update, ASCD, 2006. (web article) This article describes the ASCD Action Tool, Creating a Healthy School Using the Healthy School Report Card, which helps schools assess their health practices, identify needs, and incorporate appropriate changes into a school-improvement plan.
Healthy Youth! Coordinated School Health Program. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion provides an informative website outlining the eight components of a coordinated school health program (CSHP) model.
Healthy School Communities: An ASCD Whole Child Initiative. This website contains a variety of resources designed to help schools achieve their vision of a healthy school community.
Routine Student Health Screenings
Give it a Shot!: Toolkit for Nurses and other Immunization Champions working with Secondary Schools. American School Health Association (ASHA), 2006. (PDF, 67 pgs.) A tool to help schools prepare for and implement immunization requirements for adolescents. Includes tips for working with students, families, other health care providers, and the media.
Lifetime Healthy Behaviors
Recommendations on Helpful Ways for School Professionals and Families to Talk about Mental Health Related Concerns. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and coalition partners, 2007. (PDF, 2 pgs.) Developed by a national coalition of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and physicians, this tip sheet helps educators and families talk together about children's mental health issues.
The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in our Schools. Action for Healthy Kids, 2004. (PDF, 54 pgs.) The seminal report on the connection between achievement, inactivity, and nutrition.
Healthy Food Choices
School Food Unwrapped: What's Available and What Our Kids Actually Are Eating. Child Trends, 2008. (PDF, 9 pgs.) An examination of the prevalence of vending machines, school stores, other outlets in elementary schools that often provide non-nutritious foods, the types of food and beverages sold within these outlets, and student consumption of food at school among a nationally representative sample of fifth-grade students.
The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in our Schools. Action for Healthy Kids, 2004. (PDF, 54 pgs.) The seminal report on the connection between achievement, inactivity, and nutrition.
Research
A Policy-Based School Intervention to Prevent Overweight and Obesity. Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008. (web article) A multi-component school-based intervention can be effective in preventing the development of overweight among children in grades 4 through 6 in urban public schools with a high proportion of children eligible for free and reduced-priced school meals.
"We Move Kids": The Consensus Report from the Roundtable to Examine Strategies for Promoting Walking in the School Environment. The American College of Sports Medicine, 2008. (web report, available for purchase) In conjunction with the Walking for Health Conference, a dialog between practicing school teachers and a group of researchers was initiated to identify practical and effective strategies for increasing physical activity, particularly walking, in the school setting.
Adolescent Health, Wellness, and Safety. National Middle School Association (NMSA), 2006. (web article) A research summary from the NMSA addressing the specific health, wellness, and safety needs of adolescents.
Student Health, Supportive Schools, and Academic Success. California Department of Education, 2005. (PDF, 89 pgs.) This report reviews original research from WestEd on the link between health and academic success, and offers suggestions on putting research into action in schools.
Making the Connection: Health and Student Achievement. Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (SSDHPER), 2003. (PPT, 74 slides) A presentation developed by SSDHPER and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) which presents the research supporting each aspect of a coordinated school health program in a clear and concise format.
Facts and Stats
Unclaimed Children Revisited: The Status of Children's Mental Health Policy in the United States. National Center for Children in Poverty, 2008. (PDF, 160 pgs.) This report is based on a study that documents how current child mental health policies across the United States respond to the needs of children and youth with mental health problems, those at risk, and their families.
America's Health Starts With Healthy Children: How Do States Compare? Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, 2008. (PDF, 32 pgs.) This report ranks states based on two metrics: infant mortality and children's general health status; provides benchmarks for states to strive towards; and makes recommendations for practice.
2007–08 School Beverage Guidelines Progress Report. American Beverage Association, 2008. (PDF, 24 pgs.) The beverage industry continues to significantly cut calories in schools two years into a three-year implementation period of the national School Beverage Guidelines. The guidelines limit portion sizes and reduce the number of calories available to children during the school day.
School Foods Report Card 2007. Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2007. (PDF, 27 pgs.) A state-by-state summary and grading of school food policies.
School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006. (PDF, 4 pgs.) A quick fact sheet from the latest School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) that identifies changes between 2000 and 2006 in school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels.
School Wellness Policies Fact Sheet. Action for Healthy Kids, 2005. (web brief) A brief description of the local requirements for wellness policies.
Tools
Recommendations on Helpful Ways for School Professionals and Families to Talk about Mental Health Related Concerns. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and coalition partners, 2007. (PDF, 2 pgs.) Developed by a national coalition of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and physicians, this tip sheet helps educators and families talk together about children's mental health issues.
Choosing the Right Treatment: What Families Need to Know about Evidence-Based Practices. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 2007. (PDF, 52 pgs.) NAMI is a grassroots mental health organization that works with persons living with mental illness and their families. This pamphlet provides families with information about evidence-based treatment options for their children and questions to ask providers about treatment plans for children with mental illness.
Give it a Shot!: Toolkit for Nurses and other Immunization Champions working with Secondary Schools. American School Health Association (ASHA), 2006. (PDF, 67 pgs.) A tool to help schools prepare for and implement immunization requirements for adolescents. Includes tips for working with students, families, other health care providers, and the media.
Other Resources
Healthy Bodies, Well Minds. American Association of School Administrators (AASA), 2008. (web publication) AASA shares articles and resources for school district efforts to reduce obesity and provide critical mental health services in The School Administrator magazine.
Choosing the Right Treatment: What Families Need to Know about Evidence-Based Practices. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 2007. (PDF, 52 pgs.) NAMI is a grassroots mental health organization that works with persons living with mental illness and their families. This pamphlet provides families with information about evidence-based treatment options for their children and questions to ask providers about treatment plans for children with mental illness.
Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist and Classroom Teacher. ASCD, 2006. (book, available for purchase, 125 pgs.) The first book written by someone who is both a neurologist and a classroom teacher identifies and translates the brain research most relevant to classroom teaching.
Who Cares for the Caregivers? Education Update, ASCD, 2005. (web article) This article discusses the importance of providing aid to administrators and faculty in times of crisis in schools.
Healthy and Ready to Learn. Educational Leadership, ASCD, 2005. (web article, available for purchase) Former Surgeon General David Satcher describes the link between health and academic achievement, and urges schools to play a role in better health.
The Center for Safe and Healthy Schools. A website developed by the National Association for State Boards of Education (NASBE) and the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that includes a database of state school health policies.
National Resource Center on AD/HD. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention and Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), this website is a clearinghouse for science-based information about all aspects of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). Content is offered in English and Spanish.