The mission of schools and the mission of health promotion are interdependent. The promotion of positive health behaviors and the adoption of basic health knowledge and health skills are fundamental public-education outcomes. Healthy children are ready to learn, and being healthy requires education and practice. By embedding the eight components of Coordinated School Health (CSH) into the notion of a school, schools can provide the structure, systems and environment which support children’s health and learning. A broad-stroke assessment of a school’s current health programs and health services will demonstrate this connection between learning and health. Foregrounding the connection that exists between health and learning will reinforce the need for a school to coordinate a health-promoting framework to enhance student learning.
The purpose of this study was to conduct an asset and needs assessment of health programs and services; implement or improve programs, services or policies which would enhance CSH; and evaluate the process of the assessment and implementation, in one elementary school. This study was only the beginning of an ongoing, multi-year process of assessment, implementation and evaluation moving this school toward complete and comprehensive CSH. Using CSH as the “gold standard,” Participatory Action Research (PAR) provided a holistic approach for assessment and built both relationships and collaboration among the school’s stakeholders for sustainable change. The participants were students, teachers, staff, parents, volunteers and the school board. The determination of which assessment tools to use and how to interpret and utilize data were shared decisions among all participants.
Over the course of one school year, the study moved through three distinct, yet overlapping and cyclical phases—assessment, implementation, evaluation. The participants selected the School Health Index (SHI) as the tool with which to initiate the assessment. Conducting the SHI and understanding CSH “gave the structure” upon which to build services and to reinforce the school's existing policies. The school environment and the student needs are now grounded by CSH, and its Wellness Council is empowered and ready to implement changes for students’ health and achievement.
This study found that the holistic, comprehensive nature of CSH was reinforced through the process of assessment, implementation and evaluation with involvement from multiple stakeholders. The participants' experience replicated what others have previously found: Support from the principal and the school board must first be secured and then nurtured throughout the process; a “champion” for school health is essential to a successful CSH initiative; the champion may be a member of the outside community or may be a formal health coordinator. Additional lessons from this study which other schools may also apply include: Invite all stakeholders and work for full participation; conduct a whole-school assessment of health initiatives; connect the students’ health needs to the school’s mission; keep a record of meetings, programs and ideas; reflect on the process of each meeting or program; conduct formative and summative evaluation; take action based on these reflections and evaluations; and finally, publicize and celebrate accomplishments.