CALIFORNIA COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH FACT SHEET

 

For the past seven years, California has received a small grant ($450,000/year) from the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionÕs (CDC) Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH) to promote coordinated school health. [1] With these limited funds, CaliforniaÕs school health program has made a tremendous difference for children and youth. An additional $10 million for CDC-DASH is needed in 2004 for this work to continue in California and other states. [2]   Its termination will clearly have a detrimental impact, ultimately manifesting itself in declines in academic achievement and increased costs for health care and social services.

 

CDC-DASH funding has resulted in significant accomplishments in California. During the last seven years, the coordinated school health program has:

á       Demonstrated a strong relationship between studentsÕ test scores in physical fitness and reading/math, with a study of approximately 1 million California students, generating national interest.

á       Developed a model physical activity program for after school programs to increase the quality and quantity of childrenÕs physical activity (http://www.afterschoolpa.com); this new Web site has been highly utilized.

á       Convened and trained staff from 58 county offices of education and their partners from local health and community agencies on assessment of and policy development for school-site nutrition and physical activity.

á       Developed the State Board of EducationÕs Health Framework that provides guidance to all schools.

á       Developed CaliforniaÕs School Health Coordinator Leadership Institute, training 17 school district/community teams to strengthen school health programs and services for children and youth.

á       Strengthened teacher preparation standards in health.

á       Published CaliforniaÕs first Blueprint for coordinated school healthÑwidely used as an effective planning tool at the state and local levels.

 

Termination of the CDC-DASH Grant in California will have serious negative consequences for school health.  California will lose:

á       Local training and support to education and health agencies for their implementation of CaliforniaÕs Health Framework, Physical Education Framework, and Blueprint for coordinated school health.

á       The prestigious School Health Leadership Institute. This loss will end implementation of coordinated school health in many of the 17 participating school districts/communities.

á       Support and training to local educators, public health officials, and community-based organizations in the areas of health education, health assessment, nutrition, physical education, coordinated school health, and the development of school health councils.

á       The Coordinated School Health Work Group, which developed and implemented the Blueprint for coordinated school health. The work group is comprised of more than 100 influential leaders in state and local health and education programs, focused on improving health and academic success.

 

These losses are particularly significant in a state as large and diverse as California

á       CaliforniaÕs school infrastructure is enormousÑwith more than 6 million public school students; 1000 school districts; 8700 school sites; and more than 300,000 teachers.

á       California is the most populous state in the nation (approximately 35 million people).

á       California is the most ethnically diverse state in the nation, with no single ethnic group composing a majority.

á      Under this CDC-DASH grant, the California Departments of Education and Health shared approximately $450,000 per yearÐthe same amount received by other CDC-funded states. Many of the 19 states are significantly smaller in size in terms of population and geography.

 


[1] CDCÕs model of coordinated school health promotes collaboration and leveraging among individuals working in eight areas of school health: health education, physical education, nutrition services, health services, psychological and counseling services, healthy school environment, parent/community involvement, and health promotion for staff.

[2] Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Functional Table, School Health line item. National advocacy organizations are requesting that $30 million be added to this line item, enabling even more states to be funded.