We have compelling evidence of the need for, and efficacy of, school health programs and policies, and of their popularity with the public. Yet we find ourselves fighting for every scrap of funding, every minute of teacher training and curricular time, every ounce of administrative support. We eagerly courted school reform, but the most avid reformers are leaving little room for school health. This presentation is designed to stimulate discussion among audience members. It begins with assumptions and goals underlying both school reform and a broad school health agenda. Foremost among these is the imperative to reduce racial/ethnic and class disparities in both learning and health, and the implications of that imperative. Then we examine other key tenets around which the school reform and school health agendas dovetail, including school readiness, respectful and effective classroom management, active learning, and structured collegial learning and support for teachers. We will examine how each advances, and is advanced by, school health practice. Finally, we will expand on a theme on which school health and school reform advocates should ally, but often clash: Expectations and standards. Can we address community and family impediments to learning, and still insist that academic success is not only possible, but necessary? Can schools that set high academic expectations for students and teachers set comparably high expectations for systematically preventing health problems? And how might school health and school reform advocates join to articulate high expectations for the most important player in health and learning outcomes: Parents?
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: 1. List 3 important shared goals or principles in school health and school reform 2. Identify 2 action implications for school health advocates concerned with the interaction between health and learning disparities by race/class
Keywords: School Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.