Definitions of the Eight Components of Coordinated School Health
By definition all Coordinated School Health Components work together to improve the lives of students and their families. Although these components are listed separately, it is their composite that allows CSH to have significant impact.
Comprehensive Health Education
Health education is a planned, sequential, pre K-12 curriculum and program
that addresses the physical, mental and emotional, and social dimensions
of health. The activities of the curriculum and program are integrated into
the daily life of the students and designed to motivate and assist students
to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease and reduce health-related
risk behaviors. It allows students to develop and demonstrate increasingly
sophisticated health-related knowledge, attitudes, skills, and practices.
The curriculum and program include a variety of topics such as personal health,
family health, community health, consumer health, environmental health, family
living, mental and emotional health, injury prevention and safety, CPR, nutrition,
prevention and control of disease and substance use and abuse. Qualified
professionals such as health educators, teachers, school counselors, school
health nurses, registered dietitians, and community health care professionals
provide health education.
Health Services
Health services are provided and/or supervised by school health nurses to appraise,
protect, and promote the health of students. These services include assessment,
planning, coordination of services and direct care for all children, including
those with special health care needs. Health services are designed and coordinated
with community health care professionals to ensure early intervention, access
and referral to primary health care services; foster appropriate use of primary
health care services; prevent and control communicable disease and other
health problems; provide emergency care for student and staff illness or
injury; provide daily and continuous services for children with special health
care needs; 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 school health nurses, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists,
dentists, health educators, registered dietitians, school counselors, and
allied health personnel including speech therapists and occupational or physical
therapists provide these services.
Nutrition Services
Nutrition services assure access to a variety of nutritious, affordable and
appealing meals in school that accommodate the health and nutrition needs
of all students. School nutrition programs reflect the U.S. Dietary Guidelines
for Americans and other criteria to meet the complete nutrition needs of
students.
Each school's nutrition program also offers a learning laboratory for classroom
nutrition and health education that helps students develop skills and habits
in selecting nutritionally appropriate foods, and serves as a resource and
link with nutrition-related community services and educational programs. Qualified
professionals such as experienced, knowledgeable school food supervisors and
registered dietitians provide these services.
Physical Education/Physical Activity
Physical education is a planned, sequential pre-k -12 curriculum program that
follows national standards in providing developmentally appropriate, cognitive
content and learning experiences in a variety of physical activity areas
such as basic movement skills; physical fitness; rhythm and dance; cooperative
games; team, dual, and individual sports; tumbling and gymnastics; and aquatics.
Quality physical education promotes, through a variety of planned individual
and cooperative physical activities and fitness assessments, each student's
optimum physical, mental, emotional and social development; and provides
fitness activities and sports that all students, including students with
special needs, can enjoy and pursue throughout their lives. Qualified professionals
such as physical education teachers and physical activity specialists provide
physical education and related fitness activities.
Healthy School Environment
Healthy school environment concerns the quality of the physical and aesthetic
surroundings; the psychosocial climate, safety, and culture of the school;
the school safety and emergency plans; and the periodic review and testing
of the factors and conditions that influence the environment. Factors and
conditions that influence the quality of the physical environment include
the school building and the area surrounding it; transportation services;
any biological or chemical agents inside and outside the school facilities
that are detrimental to health; and physical conditions such as temperature,
noise, lighting, air quality and potential health and safety hazards. The
quality of the psychological environment includes the physical, emotional
and social conditions that affect the safety and well being of students and
staff. Qualified staff such as facilities and transportation supervisors,
principals, school and community counselors, social workers, psychologists,
school health nurses, health educators, and school safety officers assess
and plan for these factors and conditions in the school environment.
School Counseling, Psychological and Social Services
Counseling, mental health, and social services are provided to assess and improve
the mental, emotional, and social health of every student. All students receive
these services, including developmental classroom guidance activities and
preventative educational programs, in an effort to enhance and promote academic,
personal, and social growth. Students who may have special needs are served
through the administration and interpretation of psychometric and psychoeducational
tests, observational assessments, individual and group counseling sessions,
crisis intervention for emergency mental health needs, family/home consultation,
and/or referrals to outside community-based agencies when appropriate. The
professional skills of counselors, psychologists, and social workers, along
with school health nurses, are utilized to provide coordinated "wrap
around" services that contribute to the mental, emotional, and social
health of students, their families and the school environment. Qualified
professionals such as school and community counselors, school and community
psychologists, school health nurses, social workers, and qualified staff
from community agencies provide these services.
Student, Family and Community Involvement
Involvement of students, parents, community representatives, health specialists,
and volunteers in schools provides an integrated approach for enhancing the
health and well being of students both at school and in the community. School
health advisory councils, coalitions, and broadly-based constituencies for
school health can build support for school health programs. School administrators,
teachers, and school health staff in all components actively solicit family
involvement and engage community resources, expertise, and services to respond
effectively to the health-related needs of students and families. Qualified
professionals such as principals, teachers, and school health staff, along
with students, parents and volunteers, provide leadership in this area.
School-Site Health Promotion for Staff
Wellness opportunities such as health assessments, health education and physical
fitness activities are provided to all school staff, including the administrators,
teachers and support personnel, to improve their health status. These opportunities
encourage staff to pursue a healthy lifestyle that contributes to their improved
health status, improved morale, and greater personal commitment to the overall
coordinated school health program. This personal commitment often transfers
into greater commitment to the health of students and serving as positive
role models. Health promotion activities conducted on-site improve productivity,
decrease absenteeism, and reduce health insurance costs. Qualified professionals
such as principals, supervisors, health educators, school health nurses and
school personnel/human resources directors provide leadership in this area.