School Health Councils Building Teams of School Health Champions.

School Health Councils

Building Teams of School Health Champions

Ripped from the Headlines

Read the headline to your group.Currently, how would your district respond

to this situation?Who in your school district/community

would care about this issue? List school & community members

Ripped from the Headlines

High School Senior Killed in head on collision rushing back from lunch

Mold Discovered in Local Elementary school

Public Health Announces Outbreak of Oral Gonorrhea among Middle School Students

Sophomore Highly Allergic to Peanuts Dies After Kissing Her Boyfriend

Schools Alone Cannot Be Responsible

Health and well being of children and youth are also a community issues.

Through school health advisory councils schools can Find partners Identify concerns Set priorities Design solutions

School Health Advisory Council

An advisory group of school and community representatives who act collectively in advising the school district on a Coordinated School

Health Program.~North Carolina Healthy Schools

Functions of a School Health Council

Program PlanningParent and Community InvolvementAdvocacy for Coordinated School HealthRecruitment of Community Health

ResourcesFiscal PlanningEvaluation, Accountability, Quality Control

District and School Health Teams

District Level Team/Council: Focus is on policy and the common mission of several district programs. Able to identify gaps and locate the district and community resources to address them.

School Level Team: Focus is on the needs of students, families and staff in a specific building. Able to implement programs and activities to meet these needs.

What Can We Do?

•Health Education

•Physical Education

•School Health Services

•Healthy School Environment

•Food Services

•Community-School Connection

•Counseling and Support Services

•Staff Wellness

Membership Criteria

Demonstrated Interest in YouthAwareness of the CommunityProfessional Abilities (agency or individual)Willingness to Devote TimeRepresentative of the PopulationCredibility/LeadershipRepresents a Component of CSHP

Not Another Meeting…

Think about groups or committees that already are meeting in your school/district.

What are their missions/interests?Who are their members?Is there overlap of mission or members?Are any of these groups likely to take on

coordinated school health?

Your School Health Advisory Council

Meet with key school and/or community representatives.

Identify existing school and community groups that address health issues.

Name a coordinator for the council (team leader).

Organize and conduct meetings.Gather data to assess student/staff health

and wellness.

SHAC Resources

Shirer, K. (2003). Promoting healthy youth, schools and communities: A guide to community-school health councils. American Cancer Society; Atlanta, GA.

North Carolina Healthy Schools. Effective school health advisory councils: Moving from policy to action. www.nchealthyschools.org

Marx, E., Frelick Wooley, S. (1998). Health is academic: A guide to coordinated school health programs. Teachers College Press; NY.

Final Thought…

Coming together is a beginning, keeping

together is progress; working together is

success.~H. Ford