A brief description/definition of each component can be found by clicking on the respective component in the figure below.   

 

To learn more about Coordinated School Health Programs, please visit the website "Health is Academic" by visting EDC website at http://www2.edc.org/HealthIsAcademic/coordinated.asp.

Definitions

The Health Education component of a coordinated school health program is a planned, sequential, K-12 curriculum that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health. The curriculum is designed to motivate and assist students in maintaining and improving their health, preventing disease, and reducing health-related risk behaviors. It allows students to develop and demonstrate increasingly sophisticated health-related knowledge, attitudes, skill, and practices. The curriculum is comprehensive and includes a variety of topics such as: personal health, family health, community health, consumer health, environmental health, family life, mental and emotional health, injury prevention and safety, nutrition, prevention and control of disease, and substance use and abuse.  Some school programs focus the health education curriculum on the priority health risk factors of the nation and the state:  i.e., behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries; tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies; poor dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity.  Qualified teachers who are trained to teach the subject should teach health education.

 

The Physical Education component of a coordinated school health program is a planned, sequential K-12 curriculum that provides cognitive content and learning experiences in a variety of activity themes such as: basic movement skills; physical fitness; rhythms and dance; games; team, dual, and individual sport development; tumbling and gymnastics; and aquatics. 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 students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives. Qualified teachers who have been trained to teach the subject should teach physical education.

 

The School Health Services component of a coordinated school health program represents services for students that appraise, protect, and promote health. These services are designed to:

  • insure access and referral (if necessary) to primary health care services,

  • foster appropriate use of primary health care services,

  • prevent and control emergency care for illness or injury,

  • promote and provide optimum sanitary conditions for a safe school facility and school environment, and

  • provide educational and counseling opportunities for the promotion and maintenance of individual, family, and community health.

The following professionals provide such services: physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, health educators, and other allied health personnel.

 

The Nutrition Services component of a coordinated school health program promotes the health and education of students through access to a variety of nutritious and appealing meals. These services can respond to the health and nutrition needs of all students. School nutrition programs and services reflect the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other quality criteria to achieve nutrition integrity. The school nutrition programs offer an opportunity for students to experience a learning laboratory for classroom nutrition and health education, and serve as a resource for linkages with nutrition-related community services. Qualified child nutrition professionals should provide school nutrition services.

 

The Counseling, Psychological and Social Services component of a coordinated school health program include broad-based individual and group assessments, interventions and referrals that attend to the mental, emotional, and social health of students. Organizational assessment and consultation skills of counselors and psychologists contribute to the overall health of students, and the health of the school environment. The following professionals provide such services: trained/certified school counselors, psychologists, and social workers.

 

The Healthy School Environment component of a coordinated school health program addresses the physical and aesthetic surroundings of the school.  It also focuses on the psycho-social climate and culture in a school that maximizes the health of students and staff. Factors that influence the physical environment include the school building and the area surrounding it, any biological or chemical agents that might be detrimental to health, and physical conditions such as temperature, noise, and lighting. The psychological environment includes the interrelated physical, emotional, and social conditions that affect the well-being and productivity of the students and the staff such as: physical and psychological safety, positive interpersonal relationships, recognition of the needs and successes of the individual, and support for building self-esteem in students and staff.

 
The Health Promotion for Staff component of a coordinated school health program provides health assessments, health education, and health-related fitness activities. Such programs encourage and motivate school staff to pursue a healthy lifestyle, thus promoting better health, improved morale, and a greater personal commitment to the school’s overall comprehensive and coordinated school health program. This personal commitment may transfer into greater commitment to the health of students, and create positive role remodeling. Health promotion programs can improve productivity, decrease absenteeism, and reduce health insurance cost.

 The Family & Community Involvement component of a coordinated school health program involves an integrated approach for school, parent, and community connections.  The synergy created from these connections and partnerships can enhance the health and well-being of students and school staff members. School health advisory boards, coalitions, and broadly-based constituencies for school health can provide a means to effectively build support for school health program efforts. Schools are encouraged to actively solicit parent (family) involvement and to engage community resources and services to respond effectively to the health-related needs of students and school staff members.