CREATING
HEALTHY SCHOOLS: Lessons Learned from 2012
Champions
Raising the bar in school health The Healthy School Champions Score Card is a voluntary program evaluation and recognition program that rewards the healthiest schools in Colorado. In 2010, partners invested in school health created the program to ensure that schools successfully engaging in health and wellness could evaluate their initiatives and share their results, stories, and efforts. An online tool, the “Score Card,” is used to identify Healthy School Champions—those schools that are implementing the Coordinated School Health model and addressing its eight components to ensure the connection between health and learning is present and thriving.
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Introduction
Section 1:
One Size Doesn’t Fit All Customizing the Coordinated School Health (CSH) Structure The 2012 Healthy School Champions represent a wide range of schools, from some of the largest school districts in Colorado to some of the smallest. They represent urban, suburban and rural parts of the state. Some of them are relatively new to school health programming, some have been doing this work for years. There are even a couple of repeat winners from 2011. What they have in common is a demonstrated desire and commitment to make school health an integral part of their school. In this paper, we have focused on four specific areas in which these schools exemplify success, creativity and passion for school health. The following sections provide examples, often in their own words, of how the school health teams and advocates are raising the bar to address the health of their students, staff, families and communities. In the final section, we’ve pulled out 10 darn good ideas from the 2012 Healthy School Champions that other schools could replicate. Section 1: One Size Doesn’t Fit All Section 2: Using Data to Inform Decisions Section 3: Emphasis on the “Whole Child” Section 4: The Importance of Partnerships
In the vast majority of cases, Colorado schools that are new to Coordinated School Health (CSH) tend to follow the “Roadmap to Healthy Schools: The Colorado Model,” which outlines four phases of planning, implementing and sustaining a CSH program at the building level. The Roadmap includes strategies for building a multi-component CSH team, assessing need using the School Health Index, creating a School Health Improvement Plan, using data to track progress, and sustaining school health efforts. This structured process provides a strong framework, helps immerse the school in best practices, and establishes common language and direction. Over time, schools that have a long-standing CSH program tend to adapt parts of the Roadmap structure to meet their changing needs and increasing sophistication related to school health programs. The following are examples from the 2012 Healthy School Champions, in their own words.
The Team We have lots of teams; our principal meets with an administrative team weekly. There is always time for staff and student concerns, particularly around how are we meeting non-academic needs. It’s a combination of leadership and skillful people.
Section 5: Ten Darn Good Ideas! We congratulate the 22 schools who were $500 winners and the following top ten 2012 Healthy School Champions for their determination and tenacity in making school health a priority and an example for other schools! $3,000 - $5,000 Award Level
The Health Advisory Committee (HAC) meets quarterly with subcommittees that meet more often. About 25 people attend the HAC meetings every time, including community members like the Chief of Police and a local dentist. Members sign a Memorandum of Understanding that they will be actively involved. Our Health Advisory Committee is written into the wellness policy. We have grade-level problem solving teams that meet on a daily basis and have representation from CSH – anyone can attend. Staff meetings have community involvement; they want to learn what we are doing and how they can best work with us. The PTA works with physical education teachers to figure out how they can help with funding. A local mentoring program comes in twice a week to help. We do everything together. Our coordination happens because of our relationships and willingness to talk to each other. The more informal structure and multiple teams serve us better. In a small school, we really do interact so often. We live on top of each other, we shuck and jive together.
Center High School, Center Consolidated 26JT Gunnison Elementary, Gunnison Watershed Re1J Manitou Springs Elementary, Manitou Springs 14 Skoglund Middle School, Center Consolidated 26JT $2,500 Award Level Coal Creek Canyon K-8, Jefferson R-1 Columbia Elementary, Colorado Springs 11 Cougar Run Elementary, Douglas RE-1 Monroe Elementary, Colorado Springs 11 Place Bridge Academy, Denver Public Schools Southern Hills Middle School, Boulder Valley RE-2
The CSH team became a “gold” team, which means it has the same status as reading and math teams. The CSH team gets 60 minutes each month to meet and coordinate. CSH monthly meetings are on the calendar with as much value as other meetings. We share updates on our website and in a monthly newsletter. We don’t have an official CSH team [anymore]. Our related teams are the committees/meetings noted below. They cover the 8 components. Healthy Schools Champions 2012 | ii
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• Monthly staff meetings • Social committee (primarily for staff) • Climate committee (how to support students). The climate committee has two school goals – 1) how safe do students feel; 2) is there a trusted adult in the building. That committee is now focusing on how students are treating each other. • Diversity committee (comprised of teachers and administrators) • Accountability committee (includes parents) • Our greatest coordination is through weekly team meetings. Teachers, administrators, counselors sit for an hour to discuss students: social/emotional wellness, academics, etc. It’s a great source of teamwork and camaraderie
The Assessment Using an assessment is a critical step for schools to identify their strengths and gaps. Many Colorado schools utilize the School Health Index regularly. Some of the 2012 Healthy School Champions have become very adept at collecting and using other kinds of data (see the Data section on page 5 for examples). The availability of the Score Card has proven beneficial as an alternate assessment tool. We are so familiar with the SHI that we almost don’t have to do it anymore. We are aware of our deficits because we have so many other teams meeting. When we identify a need, we immediately address it. The Score Card was really good for us, it served as an assessment. We have done the Score Card but not the SHI; we also use the Mazlow Hierarchy.
The Plan In the Roadmap, schools are provided direction on developing an annual School Health Improvement Plan. The Healthy School Champions tend to take their plans to a higher level, and incorporate them into overarching school policies and goals. This year, we started to hear more about how schools are incorporating school health plans into the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). The UIP is designed to closely support the reporting requirements of both No Child Left Behind and SB09-163. It allows districts to submit one plan that incorporates the previously separate Title I, Title II, Title III and accreditation plans. CSH is part of our Unified School Improvement Plan. We’ve had lots of staff turnover, but it’s such a part of our culture that things keep going.
On a Slightly Different Note…how Coordinated School Health (CSH) gets started Over the years of observing CSH grow and thrive in Colorado, we’ve noticed that there are several different ways that a school/district adopts a CSH program. All of these methods can produce strong, sustainable school health programs. Trickle-down Often, the impetus for a school-based CSH program comes from the district receiving funding. Many Colorado funders target districts rather than schools. In this model, a district coordinator is typically hired, and schools are recruited to participate. Support, funding and resources “trickle down” from the district or region. The Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools is working toward developing a centralized resource bank for CSH programs. Check the website at: http://www.healthyschoolchampions.org/ Bubble-up Some schools just seem to have a natural tendency to adopt school health programs. Often it’s because the school is located in a community that has a broad health orientation or has an active, outdoor lifestyle. Other times, the impetus comes from a health champion, parents, or a precipitating event at the school level. When a school has a successful, visible school health program, it often gets the attention of people at the district level. Here is one example: The district coordinator inquired about how we were doing specific programs, then came out and watched. It was an opportunity for us to share our stories and activities and for her to take our ideas and disseminate them across the district. We get ideas from her, she gets ideas from us. The district always comes to our school first to see what we are doing. “Hey, we could do that too!” Often, a school starts a health program, and other schools in the district hear about it. Many of the Healthy School Champions have influenced other schools with this kind of “lateral dissemination” of school health programs. Our Health and Wellness group (mainly run by parents and staff) has incorporated things such as PACK (Pack Assorted Colors for Kids) Week – devoted to physical education and Healthy Eating. Each day, the focus is on specific colors and corresponding veggies and fruits. It’s held in fall and spring. Families, students and staff members participate. Other schools in the district have picked up on this activity.
We just finished our Unified Improvement Plan. In that plan there’s a whole process where we can plug in assessment and observational data. We can analyze how we did last year, and set goals for the following year. We are also including three overarching goals for next year; one of them is a safe, healthy and collaborative school environment. Healthy Schools Champions 2012 | iv
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Section 2:
Using Data to Inform Decisions We’ve gone from 24% attending post-secondary education in 2004 to 72% in 2011. We’ve immersed them in health topics. We’ve set high expectations and use those assessments to make sure that all students are succeeding and progressing. Whether it is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), School Health Index (SHI), or locally grown climate surveys, most of the Healthy School Champions indicated that data drove their decision-making. Nearly all of the award winning schools had some type of School Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). Many schools still utilize the SHI to develop their SHIPS, but for many of the Champions, numerous sources are reviewed to formulate plans that address the health and safety needs of students. Through conversations with the Healthy School Champions, it’s clear that plenty of data exists on which to plan programs. The hard part for some schools is finding the time to sit down and make sense of the data and then develop programs based on the findings. Some data sets utilized in program planning include: • Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKC), based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and Hawkins and Catalano’s Risk and Protective Factors • YRBS, middle and high school • School Health Index • Healthy School Champions Score Card • Alliance for a Healthier Generation tools • PBS Climate Inventory • Assets • FITNESGRAM® • Pre and post assessments in health education • School climate surveys (many homegrown) • School discipline data Some schools did an excellent job of showing how they connected their findings from surveys and other tools to the development/acquisition of programs: Counselors administer climate surveys with students twice a year that include questions that measure students’ perceptions of their safety and wellness at school. Based on the results, the staff focuses on key questions that need improvement and hold student focus groups to allow their voices to be heard. In support of this inclusive environment, our school is designated a ”No Place for Hate” school: http://regions.adl.org/mountain-states/programs/no-place-for-hate.html Healthy Schools Champions 2012 | vi
We surveyed kids to find out what they want and need, and found out they are hungry during the day. We offer water, Gatorade, a new snack machine within dietary guidelines. We installed cold-water fountains in more places in the building. The kids created a survey about lunch choices and made suggestions that have been implemented by the food services. High School kids looked at Healthy Kids Colorado data and found that parent support was lacking. So they started planning the parent education nights and it’s amazing to see them be so successful. I’ve taken them to some health leadership programs and they are now the leaders: armed with data, best practices and interventions that work. They are great leaders and our school is willing to listen to them and support them. Earthroom – data that boys learn better with more outside learning time was the reason for starting this program. Health Jam – made it an all day event because of survey data, also used data to decide which parts are most popular and need expanding. Concussion management program – documenting concussions with physicians, involving teachers, counselors, do weekly cognitive assessments as a quality improvement to improve safety. Staff wellness survey at the end of last year; have implemented Zumba as a result and have opened it up to other schools.
One Last Thought about Data One of the most impressive uses of data came from a small school in the San Luis Valley. In addition to utilizing data to drive all program decisions, they routinely share YRBS trend data with their administration, school board, and community. Though they are careful not to make a direct correlation between improved health status and their school health program, school health coordinators are very persuasive in making arguments that support more research-based, data driven school health programs. The Healthy Kids Colorado survey has been administered every year since 2005. We use it to look at trends. We’ve seen alcohol use drop from 55% - 25%; 27% to 15% drop for tobacco use and a drop in marijuana use. We are really proud of our statistics. Bullying has declined from 36% to 25%; absences down, physical activity is up, and sexual intercourse has dropped 14 points. Attendance has increased, bonding has increased, and GPA has increased. Pretty persuasive, don’t you think?
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Section 3:
Emphasis on the “Whole Child” Strong Connection to Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
People say that kids in our school are really respectful of each other. Perhaps the most overarching theme of the top award winners is their similar descriptions of a “whole child” focus. It was evident in reading their success stories and through the interviews that the award winners think first about creating an environment where students feel safe and can build positive relationships with each other and with staff and community members. This foundation of a safe environment was instrumental in achieving academic success. http://www.wholechildeducation.org. Our core values - respect, responsibility, safety, kindness. That’s what it’s all about, supporting the social and emotional wellness of everyone at the school.
Nearly all of the schools representing a “whole child” focus are also engaged in the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program. http://www.pbis.org/ From the view of those we interviewed, their school health efforts and PBIS were one in the same. One of the goals in the school improvement plan is: A positive climate and culture exists as evidenced by Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports system, implemented with fidelity, parent and community involvement and a sense of community.
Section 4:
Principal new to the school: Teaching the whole child is nothing new to me and something I value. I believe the kids must have a physical/emotional place of safety in the school. I fit right in here because the whole staff believes that. Our school (our whole district) priorities related to health and wellness is something I can genuinely support. To make sure we are academically successful, the whole child must be addressed. Principal: It’s an ethic of our school that we offer a relationship-based school with a focus on serving the whole child the whole day. The commitment comes from the superintendent to the school to the parents and community. Principal: It’s not an innovative school; it’s a traditional school in all the best ways; a school on steroids that ramps up what we can do for overall well-being in addition to academics. We haven’t squeezed out the best parts of a traditional school. Our superintendent walks into our office all the time and asks us “how’s the emotional health of our kids?” One of our school core values is preparing students to be successful in life. We believe in health and wellness as a major part of that core value. Middle School Student: A healthy environment is provided so that every student feels safe, welcome, and that no harm will come upon them. We make it a point to educate and be the example of what good health looks like, which includes nutrition, relationships, personal goals, physical fitness and academics. Teacher: Our high school has a strong belief in supporting the “whole” student. This focus on being more than a “school” has led to initiatives being formed to support all facets of our stakeholders. This is especially seen in the Health Advisory Committee that I have the pleasure of being on.
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The Importance of Partnerships As we discovered with the 2010 Healthy School Champions, the 2012 award winners also noted the critical importance of partnerships. It seems like it really does “take a village” to develop, implement and sustain high quality school health programs. Partnerships run the gamut from local businesses to community organizations to parents, as well as other nontraditional partners. One school described a group of about six parents who comprise a perfect storm of their abilities and our needs. These parents help with grant writing, fundraising, and provide helpful connections to others. They collaborate with stakeholders and create an environment in which all stakeholders are seen as important. They figure out how to fit two and two together. The staff describes it this way: Parents who don’t have time to volunteer in the school have connected the staff with other community groups who can provide hours (e.g., at-risk youth helped paint the dining room because of a parent connection). Connections have become partnerships. The relationships within and outside the school are important to us. In some communities, the school provides an opportunity and venue for parents to get connected and reach out to each other in ways that wouldn’t happen otherwise: The Parent Welcome Center has partnerships with mental health organizations that provide direct services to parents – particularly women – in a way that is culturally acceptable. Several Champions talked about the success of their school/community garden projects in terms of building partnerships. The garden is seen as a place where people get acquainted, help each other, and build long-lasting relationships. In schools where a large percentage of families live in apartments or other housing units, there is often not an opportunity to ix | Healthy Schools Champions 2012
Section 5:
Ten Darn Good Ideas!
garden and grow their own food. The community garden is awesome. Every spring a sign goes up and people show up and take a plot. For many of our families, it’s not just about food, it’s about community, being together and doing what they’ve always done. One high school purchased a curriculum called “Class Action,” an evidence-based program for the high school. Through this curriculum, students learn about drug and alcohol consequences, and take on the role of lawyers to research civil cases related to fetal alcohol syndrome and other issues. The curriculum meets standards of persuasive writing and speech, also those for Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD). Community members are an integral part of the curriculum: Law enforcement participates in interviews, as well as domestic violence staff, newspaper reporters, and public health personnel. At the end, kids have to present their case and we’ve had local lawyers act as the judge. Everyone gets to see the students in a more positive light. It’s been a great curriculum. We’ve also used it to meet requirements in Government class. We’ve done this for 4-5 years. An elementary school described their multiple partnerships this way: What’s next for us? Healthy day with specialists coming in; a blood drive; weekend family Health Expo with local business; expansion of the health and wellness website to make it more user friendly; a recipe book created by staff, students and families with revenue coming back to sponsor more health programs. The 2012 Healthy School Champions provided many examples of how they had forged partnerships with organizations unique to their communities: • Air Force Cadets worked with afterschool and sports programs and stressed the integration of education and athletics; • Student athletes from Western State College read to students and talked with them about being physically active; • Through a partnership with Denver Health, a full-size clinic will be built within the school. • Emergency Preparedness Agency provided water bottles for the school; • High school peer teachers became part of Americorps; the school partnered with the college, and students got a scholarship if they worked enough hours; • Red Cross helped a school reach lower income families to provide basic services.
We had a biggest loser contest for the staff, but we can’t do it anymore because so many people have met their goal weight! The Healthy School Champions were chosen for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, these schools exhibit many of the best practices outlined on the Colorado Legacy Foundation website: http://colegacy.org/resource/five-best-practices/ • Policies. School board members adopt policies that foster healthy schools and that are consistent with best practices identified by state and federal agencies as well as professional education and health organizations. View all policies referenced in this guide. • Staff qualifications. District leaders ensure that all staff who are focused on nutrition, school health services, health education and physical education are properly credentialed and well-qualified. • Assessment. The district provides tools for schools to inventory their policies, activities and programs such as the Healthy School Champions Score Card, School Health Index, Wellness School Assessment Tool, Barometers of School Safety climate survey or a similar self-assessment tool. • District leadership. District leaders provide strategic direction and opportunities for enhanced nutrition, physical activity, health education, school health services, workplace wellness and bullying prevention. • Getting it done. The district promotes parent, community and student engagement, advocacy and partnerships in its schools (including through district wellness committees) to achieve high-quality nutrition, physical activity, health education, school health services, safe school climates and workplace wellness. In addition to these “best practices” many of the award winners have adopted promising practicing and activities that have helped move the needle a bit further. We think they are just darn good ideas worth mentioning. We have a program called “Busted” – you get busted for exhibiting a core value, helping other kids, and you get recognition. We developed our core values about five years ago with a new administrator who involved parents and students in the process. When students are sent to the office, they have to go through the core values and talk about how/why they haven’t met the core values. One student commented: you will never do what you did again! Lots of grants ask for very similar information. We’ve created a library archive of our grant questions and answers and can easily tap into information we’ve already written for other grants. We conduct regular “Hot Topics” presentations for parents. These evening meetings, hosted by school counselors and administration, are useful to provide information and support to parents as they work with their student(s) around the varying issues related to navigating the middle school years. A Dental Initiative was formed because we did not have a Medicaid dental provider in our community. We encouraged one of our dental offices to become a Medicaid provider. Other dental offices in town donated a day of free dental care. A local hygienist received a grant from the Western Colorado Area Health Education Center to apply sealants,
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which enabled 213 students to have sealant applied to their teeth. We also received funding from a local rancher to provide dental services to those students who are not Medicaid eligible. Construction of an “Earthroom” – an outdoor learning classroom, based on research indicating that boys need to be outside more often to maximize learning. It will also have an orchard, vermicomposting, etc. Our fundraising has been strong in this area. A unique aspect of being a K-8 school is that older kids are good health role models for younger students. Older kids tend to help younger kids. We don’t tend to see our MS students sitting around with their phones, iPods – they get involved and are setting an example for others. They are learning that this is a lifelong behavior, not just something you do at recess. The playful environment contributes to their learning. In the Mileage Club, the older kids are taking kindergartners around the course and it makes everyone feel good. The older kids ran an interactive booth and the younger ones really loved it. MS students are writing columns for the newsletter; they aren’t just participating in H&W, they are leading it. This can be a difficult age to get kids involved, but they are very interested in our activities like the garden. We have been approved for “Girls on the Run”, a full curriculum with counseling around body image, self esteem, eating behaviors, safety – all tied in with running. If a high school student is gone for any reason during the day, we require that they come after school to complete their PE minutes and demonstrate how they met the daily PE objective. We reinstated recess instead of having the morning assembly. Parents report that the morning recess is one of the most important times in their child’s day. We surveyed staff to assess interest in a staff wellness program. This year we wanted to do more and increase our staff wellness visibility for students. Every staff member has a pedometer and we are doing the Flat 14ers. We have a cutout of each staff member with a photo and taped them to their construction paper bodies; the bodies are on the wall. Twenty-nine peaks are also on the walls in the school and we move the staff bodies to different peaks as they progress. Kids are paying attention to the teacher’s progress and to the fact that they are exercising and trying to stay healthy. We are trying to get 10,000 steps/day. Staff are taking it seriously and carrying physical activity from the school to their home.
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Be a Champion! Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools is looking forward to more stories, and to recognizing and rewarding more Champions each year. Whether your school is just getting started, or is further down the road in implementing the Coordinated School Health model, you have the potential to be recognized as a Healthy School Champion. When we coordinate efforts and share common practices, both statewide and at a school level, we are able to realize a vision of the healthiest Colorado schools and students. Learn more about opportunities to address school health by checking out our resources and completing the Healthy School Champions Score Card any time of year at healthyschoolchampions.com.
Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools Colorado has a long history of supporting school health programs. State and local partners have collaborated on numerous initiatives, projects and coalitions. Today, as Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools, we are stronger than ever through interagency coordination and a statewide coalition that supports systems to promote school health. From the beginning, a core belief among our partners has been that “healthy students are better learners.” The positive links between health and education are clear in research and experience, and Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools is committed to translating the research into reality. The Healthy School Champions Scorecard is funded by The Colorado Health Foundation, and supported by the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Colorado Legacy Foundation.
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healthyschoolchampions.com
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