The document discusses the components of a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) which includes school health services, health education, counseling services, nutrition services, and family/community involvement. It emphasizes that a CSHP requires the support of school administration, a school health council to develop policies, and addressing issues around implementation challenges, curriculum controversies, school violence, and limited funding for school health programs. The CSHP aims to promote the health and well-being of students and staff through an organized set of activities and policies.

1. The School Health
Program: A
Component of
Community Health
Chapter 6

2. Introduction
• The school health program has great potential
for affecting health of the community

3. Coordinated School Health Program
• An organized set of policies, procedures, and
activities designed to protect, promote, and
improve the health and well-being of students
and staff

4. CSHP

5. The School Health Council
• Individuals from a school or school district
and its community who work together to
provide advice and aspects of the school health
program
• Should include diverse representation
• Primary role – provide coordination of the
CSHP components

6. The School Nurse
• Can provide great leadership for the CSHP
• Has medical knowledge and formal training
• Has multiple responsibilities
• Often districts do not have resources to hire
full-time nurses

7. Teachers
• Heavy responsibility in making sure the CSHP
works
• Often spend more waking hours with children
than parents

8. The Need for School Health
• An unhealthy child has a difficult time
learning
• Health and success in schools are interrelated
• A CSHP provides the integration of education
and health

9. Foundations of the School Health Program
• School administration that supports the effort
• A well-organized school health council
• Written school health policies

10. School Health Policies
• Steps for creating local health-related policies
include
• Identify the policy development team
• Assess the district’s needs
• Prioritize needs and develop an action plan
• Draft a policy
• Build awareness and support
• Adopt and implement the policy
• Maintain, measure, and evaluate

11. Policy Development
• Should be executed by the school health
council
• Should cover all facets of the school health
program
• Gain approval from key stakeholders

12. Policy Implementation
• Policies only effective if implemented
• Distribute policies to those affected
• Distribute with a memorandum of explanation
• Place in faculty, staff, and student handbooks
• Present them at group meetings (PTO)
• Hold a special meeting for explaining policies
• Place them in the school district newsletter

13. Monitoring Policy Status
• National survey conducted by CDC every 6
years
• Assesses:
• School health policies
• School health practices at the state, district,
school, and classroom levels

14. Components of a CSHP
• Administration and organization
• School health services
• Healthy school environment
• School health education
• Counseling, psychological, and social services
• Physical education
• School nutrition services
• Family/community involvement
• School-site health promotion for staff

15. Administration and Organization
• A CSHP should be administered by a School
Health Coordinator
• Multiple responsibilities
• Often not a position required by states

16. School Health Services
• Health services provided by school health
workers to appraise, protect, and promote
health
• Health screenings, emergency care for injury
and sudden illness, chronic disease
management, communicable disease prevention
and control, health counseling
• Advantages: equitability, confidentiality,
breadth of coverage, user friendliness,
convenience

17. Healthy School Environment
• By law, school districts are required to provide
a safe school environment
• Physical environment
• Buildings and structures, and the behaviors of
those using them
• Location, age, air quality, food service,
temperature, etc.
• Psychosocial environment
• Attitudes, values, feelings of students and staff

18. School Health Education
• The development, delivery, and evaluation of a
planned curriculum
• Priority health content:
• Alcohol and other drugs, healthy eating, mental
and emotional health, personal health and
wellness, physical activity, safety/unintentional
injury prevention, sexual health (abstinence and
risk avoidance), tobacco, violence prevention

19. Development of and Sources of Health
Education Curricula
• Many available from national specialists
• Approved curricula from state departments of
education or health
• Health agencies and associations
• Commercially produced curricula

20. Issues and Concerns of the School Health
Program
• Lack of support for CSHP
• School health curriculum challenges
• School-based health centers
• Violence in schools

21. Lack of Support for CSHP
• Limited success in getting CSHP implemented
across the country
• Need supportive legislation

22. School Health Curriculum Challenges
• Controversy
• Strong opinions on various topics
• Improper implementation
• Often provided by individuals other than health
education specialists
• Barriers to school health education

23. School-Based Health Centers or
School-Linked Health Centers
• Rapidly growing concept
• Provided in different ways; most common is in
school building
• Common features among various centers
• “Cultural wars”
• Funding challenges

24. Violence in Schools
• High profile incidents of violence in schools
• Bullying
• Electronic aggression
• Recommendations for improving school
climate as it relates to violence

25. Discussion Questions
• Why is a CSHP so challenging to implement
in every school district?
• How can schools have more effective health
programs with limited funding?