CDC Healthy Schools Highlights

CDC Announcements

• CDC Healthy Schools will be presenting on the Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tooland other physical activity topics at the 2019 SHAPE America Convention, April 9–13, in Tampa, Florida. There will also be a presentation on “What’s New from CDC” during the Share and Tell session on April 11.

• Using data from the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), CDC Healthy Schools researchers found that many US schools have practices in place that support school health and align with the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community (WSCC)components. However, researchers say there is room for improvement such as practices to support and sustain health education and the need for more school health councils to lead and coordinate health activities in schools. Get more on this study in the March 4, 2019, issue of the Journal of School Health.

• In another study using 2014 SHPPS data, it was found that only less than half of schools flush drinking water outlets after periods of non-use, conduct periodic lead testing, and require staff training on drinking water quality. CDC Healthy Schools researchers co-authored the study in Preventive Medicine Reports that concludes SHPPS data suggest many schools would benefit from support to implement best practices related to school-drinking water. Read the full article here.

• CDC’s February Vital Signs reported on the rise in tobacco product use by middle and high school students from 3.6 million in 2017 to 4.9 million in 2018. This increase was driven by a surge in e-cigarette use and erased past progress in reducing youth tobacco product use. One thing parents and educators can do to prevent tobacco use among this age group is to set a positive example by not using tobacco products themselves. For more facts and preventive strategies, visit CDC Vital Signs.

State Highlights

Thank you for your participation in our “What does a healthy school look like to you?” social media hashtag campaign! We were excited to see all of the engagement and conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Be sure to check out our Healthy Schools Video Series that spotlights a few of the successes in school health programs and initiatives in the United States.

Professional Development 201: From Basic to Dynamic Professional Development 101 provides an overview of the professional development practices and how they can help increase the skill-building capacity of your staff. Professional Development 201 takes a closer look at two practices—Design and Deliver—to demonstrate how to: Incorporate adult learning principles into the design of a professional development event. Develop webinars from pre- to post-production. Facilitate dynamic and effective webinars.