Infusing public health principles, practices, and priorities into a new community health middle and high school

The Community Health Academy of the Heights (CHAH) is an innovative New Visions School in Washington Heights, New York City. It was created to (1) develop a community health mindset among students, teachers, non-teaching staff, and students' caregivers; (2) have students apply community health principles and practices in class, throughout the school, and within the community; and (3) promote student enrollment in community health-related college majors. The purpose is to increase awareness of the impact of community health on personal health - the typical focus of school health programs. Lessons learned may provide a useful model for middle and high schools interested in adopting a community health theme. Based on diffusion of innovation theory, we conducted a baseline Community Health Infusion Assessment of key stakeholders - anticipated early adopters. We coordinated a retreat to review CHAH mission and project goals, proposed mission-centric changes in school policies, procedures, and products/projects, and to identify immediate, near-future, and eventual strategies for infusing community health throughout the curriculum, the school environment, and extra-curricular activities. After the retreat, we conducted a Community Health Infusion Campaign Perception survey. A series of staff development programs was developed and delivered by community health and academic partners, community leaders, students, and students' caregivers. In August 2011, we conducted a preliminary Community Health Infusion Inventory to assess mission-specific activities implementation levels. We will discuss results of the two infusion assessments and the Community Health Infusion Campaign Perception survey and present implications for follow up CHAH infusion plans.