Coordinated School Health Programs

 A Coordinated School Health(CSH) program is a systematic approach that addresses the interrelationships between the school environment, health, and learning. An organized, coordinated approach is effective and efficient at promoting the health of students, staff and families.

The first steps to implementing a CSH program at your school are to form a school health advisory committee (SHAC) and to complete a school health assessment.

• A SHAC should be made up of school administrators, health services staff, cafeteria staff, health and physical education educators, students, parents, and other key stakeholders. A SHAC is usually comprised of about 5-15 committed individuals.
• Once a SHAC has been formed, the committee should complete a school health assessment, such as the School Health Index from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This assessment will let you know your school’s strengths and weaknesses, and will identify areas that need improvement.

The CSH model, developed by the CDC, consists of eight different components of school health:

• Healthy School Environment: The physical, emotional, and social climate and culture of the school supports and enhances the health of students, staff and families. School policies address the health of students along with academics. The school environment includes the physical, emotional, and social conditions that affect the well-being of students and staff.
• Health Education: A comprehensive health curriculum that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health. The curriculum provides knowledge and skills that help students maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and reduce health-related risk behaviors. The curriculum includes a variety of topics such as personal and family health, community health, environmental health, sexuality, mental and emotional health, injury prevention and safety, nutrition, disease prevention and control, and substance use and abuse.
• Physical Education: A comprehensive, sequential curriculum that provides learning experiences in a variety of activity areas. Quality physical education should promote, through a variety of planned physical activities, each student's optimum physical, mental, emotional, and social development, and should promote activities and sports that all students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives.
• Health Services: Services are provided for students to appraise, protect, and promote health. These services are designed to ensure access or referral to primary health care services, foster appropriate use of primary health care services, prevent and control communicable disease and other health problems, provide emergency care for illness or injury, promote and provide optimum conditions for a safe school facility and school environment, and provide educational and counseling opportunities for promoting and maintaining health.
• Nutrition Services: Access to a variety of nutritious, appealing and affordable meals that accommodate the health and nutrition needs of all students. School nutrition programs should meet or exceed the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The school nutrition services are designed to maximize each child’s health and education potential, and provide an environment that promotes health eating habits for all children.
• Counseling and Psychological Services: Services are provided to improve students' mental, emotional, and social health; this includes individual and group assessments, interventions, and referrals. School counselors, social workers and psychologists contribute not only to the health of students but also to the health of the school environment.  Prevention services facilitate positive learning and healthy behavior, and enhance healthy child and adolescent development.
• Health Promotion for Staff: Opportunities for school staff to improve their health status through activities such as health assessments, health education and health-related fitness activities. These opportunities encourage school staff to pursue a healthy lifestyle that contributes to their improved health status, improved morale, and a greater personal commitment to the school's overall coordinated health program.
• Family and Community Involvement: An integrated school, parent, and community approach for enhancing the health and well-being of students. School health advisory committees, coalitions, and broadly based constituencies for school health can build support for school health program efforts. Schools actively solicit parent involvement and engage community resources and services to respond more effectively to the health-related needs of students.