179684 Reaching Beyond Health and Education Borders: Addressing the Needs of the Whole Child

Monday, October 27, 2008: 3:15 PM

Beth Stevenson, MPH , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Diane Edith Allensworth, PhD , National Center for Health Marketing, CDC, Division of Partneships and Strategic Alliances, Atlanta, GA
Theresa Lewallen, MA, CHES , Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA
This presentation describes the education community's call to action, “Educating the Whole Child: The New Learning Compact,” and provides the scientific rationale for the health sector's important role in enhancing academic achievement, not merely assuring good health. Since our most vulnerable children have many urgent needs, it is important to strengthen the historic partnerships between health and education. In 2006, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development convened key leaders from a variety of sectors and called for increased attention to the conditions necessary for learning. The premises were that schools could not address these conditions alone and that education and public health must come together to support the healthy and whole development of every child. The resulting “New Learning Compact” calls for students 1) to enter school healthy and ready to learn and to practice healthy lifestyles; 2) to be actively engaged in learning and connected to the school and broader community; 3) to have an intellectually challenging environment that is physically and emotionally safe; 4) to have access to personalized learning and qualified, caring adults; and 5) to graduate prepared for success beyond high school. Fulfilling the compact requires changes in how the education and health community think and act - how schools and community organizations work together; how funding streams are provided to schools; and how money, time, and human resources are aligned with the needs of children. Specific strategies for how to strengthen existing partnerships between public health and education will be provided.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the New Learning Compact and the essential role the education community perceives the general public health community will play in reaching academic, social and health outcomes. Provide the rationale for a public health role in an education agenda that can ultimately help achieve public health outcomes. Identify a framework for actions at national, state and local levels to deepen effective links between education and public health in order to better serve the needs of the whole child

Keywords: Children and Adolescents, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked to develop the content and was one of 3 principle authors of the ideas in the presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.