BLOG Refining Our Aim in Miami

NPD Event One: Let's Go!

2010-02-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the National Professional Development event blog "Refining Our Aim in Miami." We will post announcements, additional speaker highlights and cover stories at this NPD event as they unfold. You may even be contributing! Keep in touch. We are looking forward to a successful event and will see you soon.

Alex Vila: It's All About the Kids

2010-01-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

“Most of you came to this job because you care about kids,” said Alex Vila, the morning’s keynote speaker. “When you refine your vision go back to that one kid and make it very visually centered, drive the planning for your vision around that one kid.” Alex gave an uplifting talk using real-life examples of both program success stories and also how she grew into her role as a youth mentor. She shared the story of Mario, a youth in the prison system. “I talked to him for 45 minutes about changing,” said the Colombian-born and raised Vila. At the end of the conversation he said to her, “Do not ask me to change, unless you can show me who to become.” The result of this epiphany led her to offer programs based around youth, their vision, and their goals. “It’s not about you but about the youth.”

Later, she used the exercise “How to fold a towel?” as a metaphor for program implementation. She brought up three people to demonstrate the right way to fold a towel. Of course, there is no right way. She then asked the volunteers to fold the towel into the bag, which fit just right. Later, she asked them to fold the same towel into a very small box. Of course only 15-20 percent of the towel fit. Her main point is to remain flexible with the program’s grant and implementation and to focus on the parts that impact youth. “Get out of your cubicle—check the temperature in your schools, walk your district,” said Alex, “get out and listen to young people.”

Orange County, FL: Community Classroom Presenters in Priority Schools

2010-01-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

By using HIV/AIDS rates, zip codes and school zone maps, priority middle and high schools were identified. Community presenters for the topics of HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention were trained to implement grade-level lessons and PowerPoint presentations to at-risk students. Teachers at the priority schools are given the first opportunity to schedule these approved presenters who assist with implementing the curriculum.

Educational Theatre: Generation X to the Third Power

2010-01-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

The “PAVAC Players” touring company of Northwestern Senior High School gave the NPD partners a powerful musical performance called “Generation X to the Third Power.” The educational theatre troupe from the Miami Dade Public Schools features 10 young women in white linen shirts and jumpers, and four young men in vests and ties singing and dancing to topics addressing incest, HIV/AIDS, prostitution and drugs.

The student’s journey to membership in the troupe is a personal one, as each member draws from personal, sensitive issues. One poignant, heart wrenching moment in the presentation showed a young girl telling the audience about her incestuous relationship with her father. “I used to be his princess, then one night he took away my virginity and then night after night made me his whore.”

The performance ended on an uplifting, high note as troupe members sang “We are the world,” raising the vibration in the room. The audience gave them a standing ovation.

LGBTQ Insight: Keeping Our Youth Safe

2010-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

“The good news is that youth are using more condoms,” said Kevin Gogin “and are going to the doctors at a higher rate,” said Ilsa Bertolini. The hard news for LGBTQ youth is the sobering statistics: higher incidence of alcohol and marijuana use; elevated mental health indicators for depression and suicide; and an increase of threats at school. Together these two San Francisco Unified School District educators presented: “That’s So Gay! Combating Homophobia to Reduce LGBTQ Health Disparities.” As the morning’s hot topic, they offered insight on knowledge and skills to increase safety in schools.

The presentation began with an interactive exercise: Know your gay celebrities! Luminaries include: Ellen de Generes, Lily Tomlin, Mary Cheney, Cheryl Swoops, Clay Aiken, Jody Foster, Maurice Sendak, and Barney Frank. Ilsa and Kevin showed the groundbreaking LGBTQ website dedicated to “creating a safe place for all students.” Kevin told the story of the public reaction to the site’s presence, some negative and positive—and ways they mitigated the issues. Later in the presentation, they asked diverse vignette style questions of the audience including, “How would you manage this situation: a female who considers herself a male wants to use the bathroom, which one would they use?” Answers from the audience showed levels of LGBTQ awareness throughout the country by our NPD partners.

Wyoming: Social Marketing Campaign

2010-01-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

Wyoming now has http://www.getthei.com/, a social marketing campaign designed to provide reliable information on STD, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and unintended pregnancies. The program is a collaboration of the Wyoming Department of Health, Wyoming Department of Education, and Wyoming Health Council.

Additional resources have been allocated in 2010-2011 to expand efforts from beyond the website to calls to action using Facebook, a local billboard campaign, and television. The call to action is to “Get Tested – Know Your Status.”

Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth

2010-01-26T06:30:00.000-08:00

“I’m never going to be Hispanic. I can say Buenos Dias. We need to beef up the community that represents the Latino population,” said Dr. Carol Goodenow, Director of Coordinated School Health, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, opening up the second day as the morning’s keynote presenter: ”Identifying and Addressing Physical Activity and Nutrition Disparities—Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth.” Her goal: identify adolescent populations most at risk of poor nutrition and obesity; and use multiple strategies to help schools address those issues.

Dr. Goodenow said the achievement gap between Hispanic students and white/Anglo students is larger in Massachusetts than in the country as a whole. Massachusetts teachers took an online course called “Food, Culture and Community” where they learned about cultural differences in foods. “We asked the teachers to become ethnographers and ask students: ‘what food did your grandmother serve at Christmas? What are your celebration foods?’” She said one solution for nutritious and healthy items is to offer “homestyle” cultural foods like beans and rice. “They’re not expensive and without the lard, they’re good for you. Nutrition is so much more than the American diet. Don’t ask kids to check their culture at the door. The kids should say what they want. Ask them. Encourage students to get involved in the action.”

Mississippi: Healthy Student Act

2010-01-26T03:28:00.000-08:00

Striving to further the focus on school health, the Mississippi legislature passed the Mississippi Healthy Students Act in April, 2007 to address the overall health concerns within a local school. To support and enable successful implementation of school health programs and policies, the members of the Mississippi Dash-funded team have provided several training opportunities within the last two years for teachers and other school staff in Mississippi. In 2008 and 2009, Mississippi has provided:
● Three CDC School Health Index workshops training approximately 168 school staff
● Three PECAT Workshops training approximately 100 school staff
● Two HECAT workshops training approximately 60 staff
● Seven NASPE Pipeline Courses training approximately 75 people
● Two Nutrition Education workshops training approximately 80 people
● Eight Physical Education workshops training approximately 225 people.

Broward County: HIV Online Course

2010-01-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Broward County has made a major increase in providing all teachers throughout the District with the professional training to educate our students on HIV/AIDS curriculum. Last year less than 50 percent of our teachers received professional development. Fortunately, through the infusion of technology such as our online course, webinars and videoconferencing, we will see a great increase of leaders receiving professional development. The impact of teachers being professionally trained will ensure that the students will receive education in HIV/AIDS.

Kentucky: Providing PD to Classroom Teachers

2010-01-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

On February 23, 2010, the Coordinated School Health Team at the Kentucky Department of Education will provide professional development on nutrition education to 75 middle school teachers. This event will be a collaborative event amongst numerous partners: a state university, cooperative extension, the division of curriculum, and another federally funded program entitled PACS NOW.

The coordinated school health team will provide information on the coordinated school health model, while the consultant from the Division of Curriculum will educate the teachers on the national health education standards, as well as Kentucky standards. Two faculty members from the Department of Consumer and Family Sciences at Western Kentucky University will be teaching the nutrition content. Finally, the cooperative extension office will provide information to participants on resources available from their agency. PACS NOW is a federally funded program that provides nutrition education schools and has a wide variety of resources for schools and teachers. This agency will provide some follow-up to qualifying schools.

Follow-up and support will be provided by the KDE CSH team to the teachers. A follow-up protocol has been developed with assistance from the Rocky Mountain Center. Participants will complete an evaluation at the event and will also be asked to provide additional information throughout the next year regarding how the information is carried over to their classroom.

West Virginia Coordinated School-Public Health Partnership

2010-01-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

In the spring of 2009, leaders from the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ (WVDHHR) Bureau for Public Health formed the West Virginia Coordinated School-Public Health Partnership (CSPHP) with the goal of implementing the Coordinated School Health Program recommendations adopted by the West Virginia Board of Education in a January 2009 Position Statement. The Board states that it believes the schools can play an important role in shaping students’ health behaviors and that it is the Board’s desire to have wellness as a priority issue in all schools. The Board encourages all county boards of education to promote and advance the coordination of health programs and services by using a coordinated school health approach that brings together the resources of families, schools, and communities to help students stay healthy and make the most of their educational opportunities.

While the Board’s Position Statement recommendations focus on local coordination of school health efforts, the CSPHP has based its work on a concept of using existing regional health promotion resources and staff as a springboard for providing support for local coordination of school health efforts. The CSPHP has taken on the challenge of building this capacity entirely on existing resources; no new funding or staff is being proposed for this initiative. Keeping that in mind, the state CSPHP is developing a framework that will tap into all applicable regional staff and resources that can contribute to the CSPHP goals. The plan is to bring regional staff and resources together to form regional CSPHP teams and provide them sustained support and professional development targeted at building their collective knowledge, skills and capacity to provide county wellness councils with facilitation and assistance to make their schools healthy.

Montana: Peer Educator Development Training

2010-01-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

Now in it's fifth year, the HIV Program hosts an annual two-day training for teams of high school students whose purpose is to become knowledgeable in HIV/AIDS "101" and prevention strategies for use with students in grades K-12. The peer educator teams are composed of an advisor and 4-5 students who take the information from the training back to their regions of Montana to share via peer ed trainings. Many of the teams receive coverage from the media (TV and newspaper) and usually try to do many of their educational trainings around December 1, World AIDS Day.

The training costs of mileage, lodging, and meals are provided for the peer ed teams. The advisor's substitute teacher fees for one day are paid. These costs limit the peer ed training to approxiamtely 35 students and an advisor.

Ohio: Two Stories, One State

2010-01-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

HIV Prevention Guidelines for Ohio Schools

The Ohio Department of Education is working with the University of Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center to create HIV Prevention Guidelines for Ohio Schools. The Guidelines will address HIV prevention through the coordinated school health lens and include an implementation toolkit to help school districts plan and implement evidence-based curricula, programs and services that are age appropriate, cultural relevant and sustainable.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education

In 2002, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) adopted a Comprehensive Health Plan based on two national models – the Surgeon General’s Healthy People 2010 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Comprehensive School Health Program. Developed with broad community support and involvement, the plan was intended to “improve the health and well-being of the District’s students, families, and staff” (CMSD, 2006). It includes four goals focused on responsible sexual behavior among students:

1. Prevention of school-age parenthood;

2. Support for pregnant and parenting school-age students;
3. Prevention of the transmission of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, to students; and

4. Support for students living with STDs, including HIV/AIDS.

The Responsible Sexual Behavior Initiative, which was implemented in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) beginning in the Fall of 2006, aims to provide comprehensive sexuality education to all students from kindergarten through twelfthgrade within the school district.

Involving Young People In Our Work

2010-01-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

“Understanding and engaging youth at all levels is a practical strategy to connect with them,” said Laurie Jo Wallace, presenter of “Youth Engagement: Involving Young People In Our Work.” She defined youth as ages 10-20. She offered some suggestions to learn more about youth culture, “Ask questions, understand social media like Facebook and texting and keep an open mind.”

The group exercise at the afternoon breakout session was asked to define music, food, fashion/clothes, activities and language on a wall chart. The ideas posted defined barriers to youth/adult collaboration. “How can kids ever learn about conflict resolution through email or texting, it’s all one-way?” asked a participant. The ideas also identified common ground for collaboration. “The variety in food has created openness in culture,” said a participant.

The strategies for youth empowerment include involving youth in planning, implementing and evaluating. The key to building relationships with youth are: provide structures for one-to-one interaction; offer food; allow time for team building; make time to get to know them and really listen; forgive mistakes; and have fun and laugh.

Radical Healing: The Four C's

2010-01-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

“Oprah? You’re taking on Oprah?” Friends and colleagues of Dr. Shawn Ginwright, Professor at San Francisco State University and the author of Black Youth Rising, asked him that question in response to her comment “In the U.S. kids care more about sneakers than they do about books.” (Oprah built an all-girls school in South Africa.) Dr. Ginwright wrote an editorial about the seductive and false explanation that inequality is a direct result of individual responsibility through ability, drive, choices, attitudes and behaviors. “Oprah is a great philanthropist, don’t get me wrong,” said Dr. Ginwright, “but the issue is way more complex than that.”

His morning keynote presentation, “Addressing root causes of health disparities: promoting positive health and academic achievement among youth” opened up the dialogue of inequality as being systemic and structural. He said the process of building the capacity of individuals, institutions and communities to promote and sustain environmental health could be addressed through the four C’s of radical healing: caring relationships, consciousness, community and culture. He cites a community project where youth helped to clean up a park, the result was a sense of hope that was off the charts, “through their contribution to the community now they have renewed optimism for the future.”

It's A New Day

2010-01-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

Melissa Fahrenbruch, Professional Development Team Lead, said the most important thing Event One attendees can take with them is to “learn something new: a concept, tools or resources. Also, try and meet someone new and continue networking.” Her presentation, “It’s a New Day,” offered attendees an overview of the CDC’s emphases: high accountability for improvements in health outcomes; strategic focusing; data-driven decision making; and stronger support to state and local agencies.

Melissa asked the group “How does our investment (DASH funds) in your professional development activities affect outcomes/impact at the state/local levels?” She said sometimes it’s a challenge to know unless partners document results by writing success stories. “It’s hard for us to brag if we don’t hear from you.” She offered tips to enhance professional development activities: work with your project officer—look at possible outcomes; attend events that relate to your work plan activities and narrow your focus. “There are ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ there’s a big difference between the two. Remember, we’re in this with you all.”

Shawn Ginwright, Ph.D.: Day One ~ Opening Keynote

2010-01-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

Shawn Ginwright shares his insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” is read, reflect, and spend time with young people.
· A person that has inspired me is Nelson Mandela
· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is “A Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin; the movie: “Shawshank Redemption”; and experience: sailing.

Dr. Shawn Ginwright, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, Cesar Chavez Institute for Public Policy, will be delivering the keynote address on Day One: "Addressing Root Causes of Health Disparities: Promoting Positive Health & Academic Achievement among Youth", as well as presenting the Day One Breakout Session: "Cultural Competency Related to Urban Youth"

Ira Sachnoff: Day One ~ Afternoon Breakout #1

2010-01-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

Ira Sachnoff shares his insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” …read two-to-eight prevention articles every week.

· A person that has inspired me is Ken Winters.

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is seeing live music or comedy as often a possible.

Ira Sachnoff, MA, Consultant, San Francisco Unified School District and Peer Resource Training and Consulting, will be a co-presenter in the Day One Skill Building Breakout - "Turning Success into Stories: If a program falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really fall? Did it ever happen?"

Bill Baynes: Day One ~ Afternoon Breakout #1

2010-01-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

Bill Baynes shares his insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice”…is to wonder. Why?

· A person that has inspired me is my high school English teacher.

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is Uncle Scrooge. It helps to understand modern American culture.

Bill Baynes, BA, ProSocial Communication, will be a co-presenter in the Day One Skill Building Breakout: "Turning Success into Stories: If a program falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really fall? Did it ever happen?"

Laurie Jo Wallace: Day One ~ Afternoon Breakout #2

2010-01-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

Laurie Jo Wallace shares her insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice”…I listen to young people and build relationships with them. I also try to involve youth in planning and brainstorming projects from the very beginning.
· A person that has inspired me is my 18-year-old daughter who everyday takes chances and risks and remains enthusiastic and curious about the world. She also has a clear sense of what is just and unjust.
· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is “About a Boy” which is a charming, funny and loving story about creating friends and family in our lives.

Laurie Jo Wallace MA, Director, Training and Capacity Building, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA, is the presenter of the Day One Skill Building Breakout - "Youth Involvement and Engagement"

Carol Goodenow, Ph.D.: Day Two ~ SEA Perspective

2010-01-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

Carol Goodenow shares her insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” … try to figure out what our data suggest about what we should do next.

· A person who has inspired me...Two people who have inspired me because they DID pay attention to their data are Katherine Flegal (CDC) and Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins).

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend A movie I would recommend, just because I like it, is “Chariots of Fire.” Another is “Flight of the Phoenix”, the original one with Jimmy Stewart not the silly recent one.

Dr. Carol Goodenow, PhD, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, will be delivering the PART 1 – SEA Perspective of In Action - Addressing Health Disparities: Using data to drive decisions and guide program improvement, "Identifying and Addressing Physical Activity and Nutrition Disparities: Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth"

Kevin Gogin: Day Two ~ LEA Perspective

2010-01-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

Kevin Gogin shares his insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” … I have learned the importance of consultation, and reflecting on things after they occur to assist me in learning how to respond next time around.

· A person who has inspired me....is a mentor I had when I was in college, a priest/psychologist friend.

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is travel to Italy. It should never be missed.

Kevin Gogin, MFT, San Francisco Unified School District, will be co-delivering the PART 2 – LEA Perspective of In Action - Addressing Health Disparities: Using data to drive decisions and guide program improvement, "That’s So Gay!: Combating Homophobia to Reduce LGBTQ Health Disparities"

Ilsa Bertolini: Day Two ~ LEA Perspective

2010-01-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

Ilsa Bertolini shares her insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” … read current research, attend professional development, present to new and potentially “challenging” groups of people to stay on my game. And lastly, stay up on my queer pop culture.

· A person who has inspired me ... is Ira Glass, a fantastic story teller from “This American Life.”

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is taking a speed boat down the Mekong River…you’ll never forget it!

Ilsa Bertolini, MA, San Francisco Unified School District, will be co-delivering the PART 2 – LEA Perspective of In Action - Addressing Health Disparities: Using data to drive decisions and guide program improvement, "That’s So Gay!: Combating Homophobia to Reduce LGBTQ Health Disparities"

Alex Vila: Day Three ~ Closing Keynote

2010-01-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

Alex Vila shares her insights in response to our questions.

· Something I do to “strengthen my practice” … I keep myself involved in direct services with youth and I participate in different groups of practitioners as an observant to learn more on group dynamics with youth and adults.

· A person who has inspired me ... is Archbishop Oscar Romero, from El Salvador.

· A book, movie or experience I would recommend is “The four Agreements” a book of ancient Toltec wisdom.

Alejandra (Alex) Vila, MA, Development Associates Vila Daraio, will be delivering the Closing Keynote: "Refining Our Aim" on Day Three.

Connecticut: Position Statement on a Coordinated Approach to School Health

2010-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Reducing disparities in educational and health outcomes remains one of the major challenges facing the education and public health communities in Connecticut. In December 2008, a presentation was delivered to the Connecticut State Board of Education (SBE) on health and educational disparities, including data from the 2007 Connecticut School Health Survey (CSHS). This data highlighted a clear link between risky behaviors and grades received in school. Students who reported receiving mostly C’s, D’s, or F’s were more likely to participate in higher risk behaviors, including alcohol use, tobacco use and sexual intercourse. As a result of this presentation, the SBE committed to the development of a position statement that supports the implementation of a coordinated approach to school health and comprehensive health education in local school districts.

The SBE Position Statement on a Coordinated Approach to School Health, calls for a systematic and comprehensive delivery of services, programs and practices to meet the physical and mental health needs of students to help reduce the health and educational disparities facing students and ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve academically and become healthy productive citizens. The document contains guidelines directed to specific stakeholders that support the implementation of a coordinated approach to school health. These stakeholders include the Connecticut State Department of Education, school districts, schools, teachers and staff, families and students. Since its adoption in September 2009, the position statement has been promoted and distributed to school superintendents, principals, health education supervisors, chairpersons of local boards of education, Connecticut parent organizations and other state and local level school health partners. It serves as a valuable tool for promoting the implementation of a coordinated school health model to local school districts. The position statement is available at http://www.sde.ct.gov/ sde/LIB/ sde/PDF/deps/student/ CSH/CSH_Position_Statement.pdf.

Illinois: Adolescent HIV Tool Kit

2010-01-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

Issue: In an effort to strengthen state agency partnerships to improve HIV, STD and unintended teen pregnancy prevention, staff from Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have met regularly for the past one year. A major outcome of these meetings has been the development of a plan to integrate sexual health issues across a variety of programs and provider’s who work with adolescents.

Setting: A series of one-day regional training workshops across the state of Illinois that targets community-Based organization service providers, school personnel, local health department staff, administrators and others serving adolescents in school and community-based settings.

Project: Through our contractor Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, an adolescent sexual health tool kit (in the form of a flash drive) has been developed to assist public health departments, community-based organizations, and schools to effectively respond to the sexual health needs of their adolescent clients and students. The outline and structure for the toolkit was developed with input from state agencies; as well as participants of the two pilot trainings. Participants at future regional trainings will learn the elements and examples of science-based sexual health programs and gain tools necessary to identify the needs and resources most relevant for the youth they serve. The workshops will lead participants through a process to assess the risk and protective factors that influence adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior in the communities they serve. In addition, the workshop will provide participants with innovative strategies and new technologies for being a resource for youth in regards to their sexual health. Workshop participants will receive a toolkit and flash drive for updating resources as they become available. Resources available in the toolkit include: elements of effective sex education, Illinois state laws related to sex education, risk and protective factors for adolescents and web-links for resources and information.

Results: 152 participants have received the toolkit since the project started in 2008. Evaluation from pilot trainings revealed that participants demonstrated an 80% increase in knowledge in science-based adolescent sexual health program approaches. Feedback from pilot trainings participants has identified a number of priority areas for inclusion for future trainings events. These include: parent communication, LGBTQ issues, sexual health messages using technology, school board policy change and working with faith-based communities.

Kansas: Coordinated School Health Spring Institutes

2010-01-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

We would like to share information about the five regional Kansas Coordinated School Health Spring Institutes we conducted in early 2009. These regional institutes were developed to allow representatives from school districts to actively problem-solve and dialogue on strategies to improve school health. Participants included representatives from districts that were recipients of KCSH grants as well as non-recipients. The roles represented at the institutes included: school administrators, school nurses, food service personnel, PE, Health Education, and other teachers, school board members, parents, community members, counselors, and school health coordinators.

A primary focus of the KCSH Spring Institutes was the essential relationship between schools and community partners in advancing school health efforts. Institute participants worked across and within districts to identify available community resources, assess current and potential utilization of these resources, and develop strategies for securing buy-in of community partners. A secondary focus was to showcase the use of technology in school health efforts (i.e geocaching and active video-games). Participants were actively engaged in the use of technology and in brainstorming ideas for applications.

Miami Dade: Test Miami

2010-01-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

In June 2009, Test Miami was launched to promote routine HIV testing by physicians, improve Miami-Dade residents' understanding of HIV, and reduce the transmission of HIV. This initiative is implemented through a collaborative effort between the Miami-Dade County Health Department, Florida Department of Health, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida International University School of Public Health and School of Journalism, the University of Miami Developmental Center for AIDS Research, HIV counselors, community-based organizations, city, county, state, and national officials, as well as concerned citizens.

With components of Test Miami seeking the reduction of the transmission of HIV and improving Miami-Dade residents' understanding of HIV, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the Miami-Dade County Health Department, the University of Miami's Connect to Protect Project, and community-based organizations collaborated to provide HIV education and testing to high school students in targeted areas. Over the course of several days students were presented with the basics of HIV and attended school site presentations by speakers living with HIV/AIDS. The students attending these educational activities were provided an opportunity to receive free HIV and STD testing at the school site. Additionally, palm cards were distributed to students about accessing community based HIV testing and information through http://www.wemakethechange.com/, 1-800-FLA-AIDS, or by texting their zip code to 477493 for the nearest HIV testing site. Besides FREE HIV testing, other health services were available and if students participated in the HIV testing events, they received credit for community service.

Michigan: Leveraging Partners & Resources

2010-01-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

Given Michigan’s ongoing financial crisis and the constant pressure put on schools to meet student and family needs without appropriate funding levels it has become vital for us to leverage resources beyond our CDC grant monies. We are fortunate to have a program that is broad in scope because we have successfully leveraged additional resources to support our coordinated school health model. For example, two model curricula developed in Michigan (Michigan Model for Health® and Exemplary Physical Education Curriculum) were underutilized due to budgetary constraints in schools and at the state level. USDA nutrition education dollars and a partnership between the Michigan Departments of Education and Health and Michigan State University Extension leveraged approximately 6 million dollars for low-income schools. Three thousand teachers and nearly 100,000 students benefit from this partnership to bring quality physical and health education into Michigan neediest schools. When budgetary constraints cut funds at the American Cancer Society (ACS)-Great Lakes Region, a primary partner in our coordinated school health efforts, ACS applied for and received ACS National funds to continue the Michiana Leadership Institute, a partnership between the states of Michigan and Indiana and ACS to bring intensive training and support to districts in both states working to implement Coordinated School Health Programs.

Collaborative partnerships and leveraged funds allow us to develop resources that meet the needs of Michigan schools, such as the Michigan Model for Health® curriculum. Maintaining and revising quality curriculum requires significant resources. A number of partners across Michigan have supported this k-12 curriculum. By leveraging funds from organizations working within content specific areas found in the curriculum, such as tobacco prevention, obesity prevention, HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy prevention, emergency preparedness, violence prevention, mental health, among others, we have maintained a quality comprehensive school health education curriculum. When we recently revised and added content to the HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention module, funding from partners within state government and between the CSHP and HIV programs allowed Michigan to develop lessons that specifically address the curricular content required by Michigan law. Funding was also leveraged from Safe and Drug Free Schools and Detroit Public Schools to develop and maintain the resource guide to help schools ensure safe schools for sexual minority youth. In this era of limited resources, leveraging funds has become critical. Michigan’s success with leveraging resources among partners with common goals has led to broader program impact and a significant reduction in duplication of resources and programs. Our partnerships continue to evolve and grow, which leads to ongoing optimism for school health programming in Michigan. We believe the involvement of many stakeholders with shared goals enables Michigan’s coordinated school health model to positively impact the health of more Michigan students, families, and communities than if we tried to go it alone.

New Jersey: HIV Prevention Team

2010-01-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

How forming a state inter-departmental collaborative work group on student sexual health has helped NJDOE and other participants to better integrate HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention projects, share resources and get things done.

North Carolina: Prevention Action Plan

2010-01-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

The North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) is a nonpolitical source of analysis and advice on important health issues facing the state. The NCIOM convenes stakeholders and other interested people from across the state to study these complex issues and develop workable solutions to improve health, health care access and quality of life care in North Carolina. The NCIOM Task Force on Prevention met between April 2008 and August 2009 and its recommendations, “Prevention for the Health of North Carolina: Prevention Action Plan” were presented in October 2009 at a Prevention Summit that included keynotes by Governor Beverly Perdue and CDC Director Friedan. The NCIOM Task Force on Adolescent Health met from May 2008 to September 2009 and presented its recommendations, “Healthy Foundations for Healthy Youth: A Report of the NCIOM Task Force on Adolescent Health,” in December 2009 at the NCIOM Adolescent Health Summit.

NC Healthy Schools staff participated in the work of both NCIOM task forces. Healthy Schools staff attended task force meetings and were frequently called upon to provide responses, reactions and recommendations related to presentations and information provided to the task forces. The NCIOM also engaged staff of NC Healthy Schools in the review and editing of the recommendations provided in the final task force reports. Healthy Schools staff also provided presentations at the “NCIOM Prevention Summit.” Both of the “Prevention for the Health of North Carolina” and the “Healthy Foundations for Healthy Youth” reports cite the role and importance of a Coordinated School Health approach in impacting the health and academic success of youth. Healthy Schools and the Coordinated School Health are cited in Chapter 12 – “Cross-Cutting Strategies in Schools, Worksites and Clinical Settings” of the “Prevention for the Health of North Carolina” report. The “Healthy Foundations for Healthy Youth” report cites “Improve North Carolina Healthy Schools” as one of the “Ten Priority Recommendations” of the final report. The recommendations from these NCIOM task force documents have been presented to the North Carolina General Assembly, Office of the Governor, NC Medical Society, State Board of Education, NC Division of Public Health and other key policy making bodies for consideration and action.

San Francisco: Website and Posters

2010-01-22T15:30:00.000-08:00

There are two main projects that San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and Student Support Services Department (SSSD) would like to highlight:

1) The continuing support given to SFUSD/SSSD teachers, staff, students and families through the maintenance of the LGBTQ website. In April, SSSD opened the first and only school-based website that addresses topics related to LGBTQ youth that includes curriculum, classroom resources, and strategies to help create a safer school environment. See healtheirsf.org/LGBTQ for curriculum, education codes, intervention guidelines, and local community based resources.

2) SFUSD/SSSD’s creation and distribution of an HIV education poster that promotes abstinence, becoming informed, using available resources, and making safe choices. SFUSD YRBS date is used to highlight the number of youth in the district that are choosing not to have sex and make safe choices. Posters were translated into Spanish and passed out to all middle and high schools as part of our December HIV Health Awareness resource. SFUSD/SSSD is currently working on translating the poster into Chinese as well. Poster samples will be brought to the Miami NPD conference.

Vermont: Getting to Y: a youth YRBS Analysis Project

2010-01-22T15:22:00.001-08:00

Student and adult teams at four-to-six Vermont high schools per year analyze their local Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, develop an action plan, host a community dialogue night, and implement this plan with community involvement. The teams’ work and learning are presented at a state-wide spring conference.

As a result of participation in this project, communication between parents and schools has improved, school-community partnerships have strengthened, youth have a stronger voice for change and real changes are happening. For example, in one Vermont high school, students are now directly involved in the revision and expansion of their district’s middle school sexuality curriculum.

Team NPD

2010-01-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

Team NPD: (l-r) Kim Coates, Holly Alperin, Kim Levine