Healthy CPS WSCC Network Initiative: Developing a Network Specialist Position and Toolkit Mary Cleary, Elizabeth Jarpe-Ratner PhD, MPH, MST, Jamie F. Chriqui, PhD, MHS Division of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago Summary of Themes and Toolkit Development
What is WSCC? The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework was created by ACSD (formerly known as the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide an integrated and collaborative approach to improving student health and educational outcomes by engaging the whole child (CDC, n.d.). The 10-component framework links (Fig. 1) to gain a holistic perspective of student health and academic outcome. WSCC elements are being implemented by some states and school districts but, there is evidence or formal evaluation of a WSCC-specific approach.
What is Healthy CPS? Chicago Public School District is the 3rd largest public-school district in the Nation with nearly 400,000 students enrolled in over 600 schools. The Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW) developed the Healthy CPS program to guide schools through technical assistance and resources to improve compliance with existing health and wellness related policies, while improving the overall culture of health in CPS. To be certified as a Healthy CPS school, schools must achieve 4 badges (Fig. 2) which, collectively, assess school-level compliance with more than 50 federal, state, and local health and wellness policies (Chicago Public Schools, 2018). The program is highly aligned with the WSCC principles, and the Healthy CPS specialist will serve to help schools achieve the Healthy CPS distinction.
What is the Initiative? In collaboration with CPS, the UIC Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center (P3RC) is evaluating the effectiveness of a Healthy CPS WSCC Initiative in improving health and academic outcomes for schools and students. The study will involve a quasi-experimental design with one CPS westside Network (Network 5) serving as the Healthy CPS WSCC Initiative Network and another sociodemographically-matched westside Network (Network 3) serving as the Standard Practice Comparison Network. Standard Practice will include standard technical assistance and support from CPS’ OSHW. A core component of the Initiative will be the introduction of a Healthy CPS WSCC Specialist who will serve Network 5 schools in implementing health education, health services, nutrition, and activity-related elements. The initiative will use a multi-tiered system of support method to deliver high-quality instruction and targeted support for all students. The district’s standard practice for the WSCC Initiative is a Tier 1 support, while the WSCC Initiative will include Tier 1-3 supports. Healthy CPS WSCC Specialist will serve Network 5 as “navigator” providing more hands-on Tier 2 and 3 resources at the school- level rather just district-wide information sharing and trainings (Network 3). Ultimately, the Initiative seeks to test and evaluate the effectiveness of a health-related WSCC Initiative in improving whole child outcomes. This presentation focuses on preliminary work being conducted as part of the formative evaluation to guide the development of the Initiative/Specialist position.
Qualitative Data Sources used in Formative Evaluation Process
Figure 1. WSCC Framework
• Successful implementation is dependent on several variables (principal buy-in, distributive leadership, data integration, stakeholder engagement, etc.)
Current Healthy CPS Team (Healthy CPS leadership interviews, Technical Assistance (TA) Team Discussion Group)
• Healthy CPS is informed by the WSCC • TA team is limited by capacity and need specific resources to engage administration • Goals for the Specialist to improve Healthy CPS by identifying unknown barriers and communicating effectively across the schools, Network, and district offices
Key Stakeholders (STRC, Wellness Team Discussion Groups)
• Schools face significant equity and capacity • Strategies for effectively scaling and communicating with challenges, so the Specialist should not burden them schools at various levels of Healthy CPS Achievement further • Provide examples of anecdotal success stories in CPS from • Healthy CPS and WSCC methods have been Wellness teams and TA experiences effectively implemented in many CPS schools with the help of TA and other OSHW approaches
Formative Process Approach
Next Steps
All discussion group and interviews were digitally recorded and professionally transcribed. As this work is still ongoing, we used free-form Excel coding to conduct preliminary analyses and to identify preliminary themes to inform the development of a Toolkit for use by the Specialist.
• 9 factors of successful implementation (Principal Leadership, Vision and Plan, Wellness Team, Integration, Data, Professional Development/Technical Assistance/Skills, Community Collaboration, Family and Student Engagement, and Sustainability) • Introduce the WSCC Framework and how it informs the 4 Healthy CPS badges • Healthy CPS one-pagers for distribution to principals on wellness & academic outcomes • Description of Specialist’s Role and Expectations
References
The formative evaluation is being used to develop the Toolkit for use by the Specialist. The remaining discussion groups with school wellness teams and with parents and students in the Intervention and comparison networks will be used to inform the Toolkit and the Specialist role.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSSC). https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/wscc/index.htm.
Specific next steps include:
McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K. An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Educ Q. 1988;15(4):351-377.50..
• Continuing the formative discussion groups The formative evaluation includes qualitative research (key informant interviews, discussion groups, and documentary research and analysis) to inform the development of the Specialist position and the Toolkit. To date, we have: (1) held the inaugural SRTC meeting, (2) conducted discussion groups and interviews with OSHW Leadership, (3) held a discussion group with Healthy CPS technical assistance team to understand their experience guiding schools to Healthy CPS achievement, and (4) held three discussion groups with Network 3 and 5 school Wellness Teams. The remaining data collection is ongoing.
Related Toolkit Outline and Components
Existing Literature on School Health and Wellness Policy Implementation
Figure 2. Healthy CPS Badges
The Initiative is grounded in the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) and Knowledge to Action (K2A) frameworks, which entails incorporating stakeholder input via formative and summative discussion groups.(McLeroy et al, 1988 & Wilson et al 2011). These groups are being/will be held with CPS leadership, school building administrators and teachers, students, families and community members. In addition, a School Research and Translation Committee (SRTC) comprised of stakeholders representing all levels of the SEM (policy, community, institution, home/family, and individual) will serve as a steering committee for the Initiative.
Themes
• Conducting formal content analysis using MaxQDA of discussion groups for key themes
Chicago Public Schools. Healthy CPS. 2018; http://cps.edu/Programs/HealthyCPS/Pages/HealthyCPS.aspx
Wilson KM, Brady TJ, Lesesne C, Translation NWGo. An organizing framework for translation in public health: the Knowledge to Action Framework. Prev Chronic Dis. 2011;8(2):A46
• Finalizing the Toolkit and Specialist role development • Translation to CPS and Urban School Wellness Coalition • Process and Outcome Evaluations
Acknowledgements This study is being conducted under the UIC Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center Core Research Project (P3RC PI: Lisa Powell, CRP PI: Jamie Chriqui). Funding for this study is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Prevention Research Centers Program under cooperative agreement #6U48DP006392.