Coordinated School Health Program

• Teaching children how to live healthy lives
• Providing health services to children
• Expanding teacher training
• Keeping schools free of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
• Making schools free from violence and gang activity

Coordinated School Health Focus:

• Tobacco education prevention: Children need to know that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs can harm the mind and body
• Health education: School health policies, such as universal precautions, help make sure illnesses are not spread among children.
• Physical fitness: Being physically fit can help children lead longer healthier lives.
• Nutrition: Children need to know that the food choices they make today can have long-term effects.
• HIV/AIDS: Young people need to learn the importance of disease and injury prevention.

Contact Information

Lori Paisley
CSH Program Coordinator

931-526-9777
paisleyl1@k12tn.net

Components of a Comprehensive School Health Program - A Coordinated Approach

Comprehensive School Health Education: classroom instruction that addresses physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions of health; develops health knowledge, attitudes, and skills; and is tailored to each age level. Designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and reduce health-related risk behaviors.

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Possible Activities - Handwashing coloring pages, health fairs, reading books on health related activities, parent activities to involve and inform the family of health related issues.

Physical education: Planned sequential instruction that promotes lifelong physical activity. Designed to develop basic movement skills, sports skills, and physical fitness as well as to enhance mental, social, and emotional abilities.

Possible Activities - Tetherball, walking contests, encouragement towards activities that are not always team oriented such as dancing, tumbling, walking or aerobics.

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School Health Services: Preventive services, education, emergency care, referral, and management of acute and chronic health conditions. Designed to promote the health of students, identify and prevent health problems and injuries, and ensure care for students.

Possible Activities - Training on universal procedures, providing in-service for staff on certain medical conditions, counseling with parents and children on identified health related conditions, assist families in obtaining appropriate health services, coordination with health department services, assure that appropriate first aid supplies are in the school, hold a health-screening event.

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School Nutrition services: Integration of nutritious, affordable, and appealing meals; nutrition education; and an environment that promotes healthy eating behaviors for all children. Designed to maximize each child's education and health potential for a lifetime.

Possible Activities- Recipe contests for parents, utilization of county extension agent, develop curriculum for teachers to incorporate into other classes, staff training and in-services teach parents how to develop healthy meal plans.

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School Counseling, Psychological & Social Services: Activities that focus on cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social needs of individuals, groups, and families. Designed to prevent and address problems, facilitate positive learning and healthy behavior, and enhance healthy development.

Possible Activities - Incorporate the use of conflict resolution principles into all classes, coordinate activities with school guidance counselors, development of a mentoring program utilizing volunteers from the community, development of a parenting newsletter, development of peer mediation and/or peer tutoring programs.

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Healthy School Environment: The physical, emotional, and social climate of the school. Designed to provide a safe physical plant,as well as a healthy and supportive environment that fosters learning.

Possible Activities - Periodic checking of playground/physical education equipment to assure safety, monitor where accidents occur, continue practice of a disaster plan, continue practice of a fire plan, continue to make faculty aware of a violent episode plan, continue to assure handicap accessibility.

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School-Site Health Promotion for Staff: Assessment, education, and fitness activities for school faculty and staff. Designed to maintain and improve the health and well being of school staff, who serve as role models for students.

Possible Activities - Provide health screenings for employees by utilizing the school nurse, wellness coordinator, or other community agencies, provide preventive health information on a variety of topics to staff, access or develop employee assistance programs, provide training for teachers in conflict resolution and stress reduction, develop walking programs.

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Family and Community Involvement in School Health: Partnerships among schools, families, community groups, and individuals. Designed to share and maximize resources and expertise in addressing the healthy development of children, youth, and their families.

Possible Activities - Have a representative attend community health council meetings, utilize community centers for after school activities, partner with churches for mentoring programs, utilize law enforcement agencies for faculty training on safety issues, enlist parents to oversee activities, enlist the Red Cross, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society to help provide decision making skills curriculum.

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