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News from your Executive Director
Week ending May 7, 2010
- Welcome new Society member Sandy Tibke of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction!
- THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION CENTER ANNOUNCES UPCOMING WEBINAR SERIES ON PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Please join The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity and your colleagues in the field for our new webinar series "Making the Grade: Reversing Childhood Obesity in Schools."
Each webinar will be held bi-monthly on Thursdays at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central, 11 a.m. Pacific), and will discuss the important links between school environments, health, and academic achievement.
From preschool through 12th grade, schools can make a significant contribution to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by enacting policies that increase opportunities for quality physical education and physical activity throughout the school day, and by teaching healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
These webinars will feature researchers, advocates, and policymakers discussing solutions to problems that schools face in providing opportunities for children to be physically active. The last session in the series will also delve into the world of marketing – looking at current industry practices related to food and beverage marketing to children. All sessions will offer tools and resources to help make school and community environments healthier for everyone.
Register for any or all of the four webinars in this series:
May 13: Learning Curve: What You Need to Know about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) -- https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=3x4u44isvy73
May 27: Reading, Writing, Running: The Connection Between Physical Activity and Academic Achievement -- https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=ogk49rf4lk9v
June 10: Revisiting Recess: Strategies for Implementing Physical Activity Breaks During the School Day --https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=pd3ndk4735uj
June 24: Pass or Fail: Evaluating How Industry Markets Food to Children-- http://reversechildhoodobesity.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0dbac5f26ad18ac67959e871d&id=f904dbfd88&e=2dd6cb8b4b
For more information about this webinar series visit: www.reversechildhoodobesity.org.
- Future of Sex Ed Website Launches
Dear Colleagues,
Advocates for Youth, Answer and SIECUS are proud to announce the launch of the Future of Sex Ed (FoSE) website (www.FutureofSexEd.org). The website is the culmination of our efforts to create a national dialogue about the future of sex education and to promote the institutionalization of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools. Here you will find documentsproduced through FoSE that may assist you in your state and local sex education efforts and/or in the preparation of funding applications to the Office of Adolescent Health for its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives. Included on the website are:
Future of Sex Education Fact Sheet - This quick resource is a Q & A about the Future of Sex Education project. It describes the roles that various national, state and local entities can play to advance implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools.
The Future of Sex Education: A Strategic Framework (Executive Summary)- This resource provides a blueprint for advancing sex education policy and implementation at the national, state and local levels. For copies of the full Strategic Framework, please contact one of the FoSE Organizing Partners.
Envisioning the Future of Sex Education: A Tool Kit for States and Communities - The FoSE Tool Kit is a “how to” guide to conducting a FoSE-like meeting or summit in your state or community. It includes who to invite, sample agendas and much more.
Public Education Primer- A must read for any sexuality educator or advocate. This document provides basic information about the structure of the public education system in order to assist sexuality educators and advocates to effectively navigate the education environment.
Education Glossary - Quick definitions of education and education reform terms.
The website also includes information and resources about various aspects of sexuality education, including the history of sex education; tips for sex education advocacy; professional development opportunities for educators; and sexuality education classroom resources like downloadable lesson plans.
The FoSE organizing partners hope that you find these resources and the other materials on the website helpful in your work to advance comprehensive sexuality education. Please contact us for more information about FoSE or to request technical assistance or training on sexuality education advocacy or implementation.
James Wagoner, President, Advocates for Youth
Elizabeth Schroeder, Executive Director, Answer
Joe DiNorcia, Executive Director, SIECUS
- Urgent Health Education Advocacy Request - by May 7th
The U. S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is collecting comments regarding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. These comments will be shared with all members of the Committee.
In an effort to have School Heath Education addressed and included in the reauthorization, your participation is vital. Please take a few moments to send the following points to: eseacomments@help.senate.gov
For the subject of your email please identify it as “ESEA Health Education.” Additionally, you are encouraged to identify yourself as a supporter of school health education.
- News from ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative
Dear Whole Child Partners:
We are excited to alert you to several new resources available this month that relate to health and learning. Please forward widely to your members and anyone of interest.
Healthy School Communities, an ASCD Whole Child initiative, is a worldwide effort to promote the integration of health and learning and the benefits of school-community collaboration. It is part of a large, multiyear plan to shift public dialogue about education from narrow focus centered on curriculum and accountability systems to a whole child approach that encompasses all factors required for successful student outcomes.
In the month of May, take advantage of several opportunities to explore how healthy learning environments create results for students. When we ensure that children are healthy they are less likely to drop out of school and, as a result, they will live healthier, longer, and more successful lives. Achieving this goal requires collaboration between schools and communities, effective leadership, and tools and benchmarks. Utilize these resources to develop your understanding of and capacity to create healthy learning environments that keep kids healthy and able to learn.
New Report - Learning, Teaching, and Leading in Healthy School Communities
Our report, Learning, Teaching, and Leading in Healthy School Communities summarizes key findings from the Healthy School Communities pilot study that was conducted from 2006 to 2008. Significant highlight is given to the Nine Levers of School Change that were demonstrated by the most effective sites. The report can be found in this month’s Educational Leadership, as an insert, but is also available for download.
New Video Series - Supporting the Whole Child through Partnerships for Healthier Schools
“Supporting the Whole Child through Partnerships for Healthier Schools” video series shows best practices and examples of how to implement Creating a Healthy School Using the Healthy School Report Card: An ASCD Action Tool. The series features five videos of several sites from the U.S. and Canada, in urban, suburban, and rural schools, that are making an impact on the health and well-being of their students, staff, and communities. It is available online for viewing and sharing at www.healthyschoolcommunities.org.
New E-Book - Free download of ASCD’s e-book Keeping the Whole Child Healthy and Safe, from May 4-17
Explore what it means to foster health and safety for students in ASCD’s e-book Keeping the Whole Child Healthy and Safe: Reflections on Best Practices in Learning, Teaching, and Leadership. This fourth in a four-book series of e-books on educating the whole child is free to download from May 4 through May 17 and features articles from Educational Leadership and other ASCD publications that focus on safe and healthy schools, promoting a healthy life, protecting students, addressing school bullying, teaching good values, and helping students cope with life changes. After May 17, the e-book will be available to download for purchase.
New Podcast - Download May’s Whole Child Podcast on Developing Principals to Lead a Whole Child School
We know from the recent evaluation of the Healthy School Communities pilot project that the role of the principal was the most critical piece of the puzzle in implementing meaningful school change and school improvement. Download the Whole Child Podcast on or after Thursday, May 6 to hear an engaging conversation with three experts about building the capacity of principals to lead effective and systemic school reform using a whole child approach to education.
Sincerely,
Alseta Gholston
Project Coordinator, Constituent Services
- Prevention Programs Support
Tanglewood Research has an opportunity for schools and agencies implementing prevention programs to receive free online support designed to improve the effectiveness of the program they're teaching. We are looking to include teachers or prevention specialists who are implementing prevention programs to participate in our project. You can access the following website for project details: http://www.preventionabcs.com/Genie
Specialists who participate in the project will receive $200 in a gift certificate to Amazon, Walmart or Target. Additionally, the school district or agency will receive $100 for each teacher who completes his/her participation in the project.
Teachers or prevention specialists interested in participating in the project can call me at 1-800-826-4539 ext. 113. The project will begin as early as August of 2010. If you have additional questions, you may also contact the principal investigator of the study, Dr. Linda Dusenbury at (888)-692-8412 (toll free).
Thanks so much,
Dana
Dana C. Bishop, M.Ed.
Project Manager
Tanglewood Research, Inc.
420-A Gallimore Dairy Road
Greensboro, NC 27409-9544
(336) 662-0090 ext.113
dana@tanglewoodresearch.com
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