Education Law

Celebrate May events to help keep kids healthy (and happy)

BoardBuzz wonders, if you knew that:

• In 2006, 5.6 million youth were reported to have asthma;
• The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years;
• Approximately 72% of all deaths among adolescents aged 10-24 are attributed to injuries form only four causes: motor vehicle crashes (30%); homicide (15%); suicide (12%); and all other unintentional injuries (15%);
• In 2007, 20% of high school students reported current cigarette use;
• The number of young people diagnosed with food allergy increased by 18% during the past decade;
• One-third of girls in the U.S. get pregnant at least once before the age of 20; and
• One in five children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 years experience symptoms of mental health problems that cause some level of impairment.

Phew!  That’s an awful lot of gloom for a Friday.  Don’t get BoardBuzz wrong, in sharing these statistics, we’re emphasizing an unfortunate reality that affects our youth and society as a whole.  More importantly, BoardBuzz knows that it’s  necessary for society, including schools, to address these youth-related health issues in order to increase student achievement and improve our nation’s health and socioeconomic outcomes. 

 The good news is that May presents a great opportunity to increase awareness of all of these health issues surrounding youth.  The following events take place during May:

• Asthma Awareness Month
• National Youth Traffic Safety Month
• National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
• Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 10-16)
• World No Tobacco Day (May 31)
• National Children’s Mental Health Day (May 7)
• National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (May 6)

NSBA has been at the forefront of helping school leaders address such health issues, with a  website that includes invaluable information on health issues affecting children and youth and several resources to help schools develop and implement effective school health policies and programs.  NSBA is also working on many initiatives along with school leaders, states and other organizations.  For instance, NSBA has partnered with the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) on a project aiming to increase the capacity of school leaders to address childhood asthma and is leading a National Consortium on Tobacco Use Prevention through Schools.”  The consortium works to develop strategies to strengthen state-level partnerships that involve state school boards associations and other key stakeholders to support tobacco prevention among youth through comprehensive tobacco-free school policies.  Furthermore, NSBA is working with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) on their “Leadership for Healthy Communities Project” to increase the leadership skills and actions of school policymakers to develop, adopt, and implement effective policies and practices that promote healthy eating, physical activity, and healthy social environments for youth.  In addition, in collaboration with the CDC and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), NSBA is currently developing guidelines for addressing food allergies in the school setting.

What is your school district doing tocombat health issues that impair young people’s ability to do well?  Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on May 15, 2009 (boomark / email).