Health Education

Health education is a planned, sequential, Pre-K-12 curriculum that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health. The curriculum is designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and reduce health-related risk behaviors. The comprehensive health education curriculum includes a variety of topics such as: personal health, family health, community health, consumer health, environmental health, sexuality education, mental and emotional health, injury prevention and safety, nutrition, prevention and control of disease, and substance use and abuse.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

• ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  
  
• Connecting Health and Academic Achievement, CDC
  
  
• Coordinated School Health Student Focus Group Toolkit
  

Resources

• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
  
  
• Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool or HECAT
  
  
• Kids Health
  
  
• Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Food Safety
  
  
• School Health Index
  
  
• Shaping New Jersey
  
  
• Shaping NJ School Toolkit:  Creating Healthy Active Schools June 2012

Data

• New Jersey Student Health Survey
  
  
• School Health Profiles Data
  
  
• School Health Profiles Facts

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Physical Education & Physical Activity

Physical education is a planned, sequential, Pre-K-12 curriculum that provides cognitive content and learning experiences in a variety of activity areas such as basic movement skills; physical fitness; rhythms and dance; games; team, dual, and individual sports; tumbling and gymnastics; and aquatics. Quality physical education should promote, through a variety of planned physical activities, each student’s optimum physical, mental, emotional, and social development, and should promote activities and sports that all students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

Statutes & Regulations

• Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

Resources

• American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
  
  
• FITNESSGRAM Fitness Assessment
  
  
• Get Moving-Get Healthy New Jersey
  
  
• Physical activity guidelines for adults and children
  
  
• Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool or PECAT
  
  
• President’s Challenge Fitness Assessment
  
  
• School Health Index

Athletics

• Coaching Education
  
  
• National Federation of State High School Association:  Interscholastic Sports and Activities
  
  
• New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
  

Walk to School Programs

• Safe Routes to School

Data

• NJ Student Health Survey
  
  
• School Health Profiles
  
  
• School Health Profiles Facts

Professional Associations

• New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

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HEALTH SERVICES

School Health Services are provided for students to appraise, protect, and promote health. These services are designed to ensure access or referral to primary health care services or both, foster appropriate use of primary health care services or both, and control communicable disease and other health problems, provide emergency care for illness or injury, promote and provide optimum sanitary conditions for a safe school facility and school environment, and provide educational and counseling opportunities for promoting and maintaining individual, family, and community health. Qualified professionals such as physicians, nurses, dentists, health educators, and other allied health personnel provide these services.

Government Agencies

• Department of Health

Resources

• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
  
  
• Kids Health
  
  
• Pediatric Adult Asthma Coalition of NJ
  
  
• School Health Index
  

School Nurses

• Certification Requirements
  
  
• Code of Ethics
  
  
• HANDS: (Helping Administer to the Needs of the Student with Diabetes in Schools Training Program
  
  
• National Association of School Nurses
  
  
• New Jersey State School Nurses Association
  
  
• Professional Licensure and Standards
  
  
• School Nurse Certification Requirements
  
  
• School Nurse Childhood Obesity Prevention Education
  
  
• Tools to Manage and Prevent Diabetes
  

School Physicians

• American Academy of Pediatrics, New Jersey Chapter
  
  
• Programs to Support Student Development regulations including job responsibilities for school physicians

Student Health Records

Data

• Kids Count
  

State Initiatives

• Pediatric Adult Asthma Coalition of NJ
  
  
• Shaping NJ

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Nutrition Environment & Services

School food and nutrition services:

• provide students with access to a variety of nutritious, culturally appropriate foods that promote growth and development, pleasure in healthy eating, and long-term health as well as prevent school day hunger
  
  
• encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables, low fat milk and whole grains
  
  
• support healthy eating through nutrition education

Government Agencies

• New Jersey Department of Agriculture
  

Statutes and Regulations

Per administrative code, all New Jersey schools, public or private, that participate in any of the federally funded Child Nutrition programs have to adopt, at a minimum, the New Jersey Nutrition/Wellness Policy: http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/news/. A state law requires all public schools (whether or not they participate in the federal programs) to follow all the nutrition standards as state in this policy. Each year prior to being approved to participate in the school nutrition program (through New Jersey Department of Agriculture) each district must certify that are implementing the policy, and they must provide certification to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDAg) that includes the person responsible, and also the person that coordinates the district’s wellness committee. Once every five years the NJDAg conducts required monitoring of the federal nutrition programs in the schools/districts and they also monitor for compliance with all the standards in the policy, and they check to see that school /districts are evaluating the policy standards. For public schools that do not participate in federal programs the NJDAg requires them to submit a signed written certification form indicating that they are following the required nutrition standards.

The school district’s curriculum shall incorporate nutrition education and physical activity as consistent with the NJDOE core curriculum content standards: http://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/chpe/.

Resources

• After School Snack Program
  
  
• Choose My Plate
  
  
• Fresh Foods Program
  
  
• Kids Health
  
  
• School Breakfast Programs
  
  
• School Health Index
  
  
• School Lunch Program

Data

• Kids Count
  
  
• New Jersey Student Health Survey

Professional Associations

• American Dietetic Association
  
  
• School Nutrition Association

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Counseling, Psychological & Social Services

These services are provided to improve students’ mental, emotional, and social health. These services include individual and group assessments, interventions, and referrals. Organizational assessment and consultation skills of counselors and psychologists contribute not only to the health of students but also to the health of the school environment. Professionals such as certified school counselors, psychologist, and social workers provide these services.

Government Agencies

• School Based Youth Services

Resources

• AIDS Alliance
  
  
• CASA - The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
  
  
• Health, Mental Health, and Safety Guidelines for Schools
  
  
• Kids Health
  
  
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
  
  
• School Health Index
  

Data

• NJ Student Health Survey
  
  
• Risk and Protective Factor Surveys, Middle and High School
  

Professional Associations

• American Psychological Association
  
  
• Association of Student Assistance Professionals of New Jersey
  
  
• New Jersey Association of School Psychologists

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Physical Environment

The two components of a healthy school environment are the physical and aesthetic surroundings and the psychosocial climate and culture of the school.

• Factors that influence the physical environment include the school building and the area surrounding it, any biological or chemical agents that are detrimental to health, and physical conditions such as temperature, noise, and lighting.
  
  
• The psychological environment includes the physical, emotional, and social conditions that affect the well-being of students and staff.

Government Agencies - Psychological Environment

• New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division on Civil Rights
  
  
• New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Office of Bias Crimes and Community Relations
  
  
• New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate
  
  
• United States Department of Health and Human Services: Health Resources and Services Administration

Government Agencies - Physical Environment

• Healthy Schools Environment, NJDHSS
  
  
• Indoor Air Quality toolkit

Statutes and Regulations - Psychological Environment

• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-3. Comprehensive Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Abuse Programs
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-4, Procedures for Alcohol & Other Substance Abuse Intervention
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-4.4, Voluntary Policy for Random Testing of Student Alcohol or Other Drug Use
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.3, Incident Reporting of Violence, Vandalism & Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-6, Law Enforcement Operations for Alcohol, Other Drugs, Weapons & Safety
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7, Student Conduct
  
  
• N.J.A.C. 6A:16-8, Intervention & Referral Services
  
  
• N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1, Bias intimidation
  
  
• All References below can be found at the New Jersey Legislature's website:
  
  
  • N.J.S.A. 2C:35-1. Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987
  • N.J.S.A. 10:1, Civil Rights
  • N.J.S.A. 10:2, Antidiscrimination Provisions
  • N.J.S.A. 18A:11-8. Adoption of dress code policy for school permitted
  • N.J.S.A. 18A:11-9. Prohibition of gang-related apparel
  • N.J.S.A. 18A:38. Article 3. Compulsory Education
  • N.J.S.A. 18A:40A. Substance Abuse

Reports

• Indicators of School Crime and Safety

Resources – Physical Environment

• Healthy Schools Environment, NJDHSS
  
  
• Indoor Air Quality toolkit
  
  
• New Jersey Building and Grounds Association
  
  
• New Jersey Department of Education Office of School Facilities
  
  
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
  
  
• Pediatric Adult Asthma Coalition of NJ
  
  
• Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Environmental Health
  
  

Resources – Psychological Environment

• Adoption of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Policies
  
  
• CASA - The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
  
  
• Health, Mental Health, and Safety Guidelines for Schools
  
  
• Kids Health
  
  
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
  
  
• School Health Index
  

Data

• Injury and violence
  
  
• Kids Count
  
  
• New Jersey Student Health Survey
  
  
• Tobacco use
  
  
• Sexual risk behaviors
  

State Initiatives – Psychological Environment

• Commission on Bullying
  
  
• Developing Safe and Civil Schools: A Collaborative Approach to Social-Emotional and Character Development
  
  
• Intervention and Referral Services Technical Assistance Project
  
  
• Rutgers Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Project
  
  
• Social Norms Project
  
  

State Initiatives – Physical Environment

• Pediatric Adult Asthma Coalition of NJ

Professional Associations

• Association of Student Assistance Professionals of New Jersey
  
  
• International Bullying Prevention Association
  
  
• National Association of Special Education Teachers
  
  
• New Jersey Association of Pupil Services Administrators
  
  
• New Jersey Association of School Administrators
  
  
• New Jersey Association of School Psychologists
  
  
• New Jersey Association of School Social Workers
  
  
• New Jersey Building and Grounds Association
  
  
• New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention
  
  
• New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association

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Employee Wellness

School site health promotion for staff or staff wellness includes opportunities for staff to improve their health status through activities such as health assessments, stress management, smoking cessation, exercise and physical fitness, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, nutrition and weight control, injury prevention, medical self care, mental health services, and training in first aid and CPR. Such activities help faculty and staff develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to adopt healthy behaviors and become better health care consumers. This personal commitment often transfers in to greater commitment to the health of students and creates positive role modeling. Health promotion activities have improved productivity, decreased absenteeism, and reduced health insurance costs.

Resources

• Get Moving Get Healthy walking program
  
  
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation
  
  
• American Heart Association
  
  

• Directors of Health Promotion and Education
  
  
• School Health Index
  
  
• Shaping NJ

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Family Engagement

At the center of school, family, and community partnerships is the student. Functioning, supportive families and social support within communities contribute to students’ success. School health teams or wellness councils can build support for school health program efforts. Schools can actively solicit parent involvement and engage community resources and services to respond more effectively to the health-related needs of students.

Resources

• Advocates for Youth
  
  
• New Jersey 4-H
  

Professional Associations

• National Network of Partnership Schools
  
  
• National PTA
  
  
• New Jersey PTA

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