Region 8
Healthy School Environments
National Information
Regional Information
On this page:
- Coordinated School Health (CSH) Approach
- Clean, Green and Healthy Tribal School Initiative
- Outreach Materials
- Training
More than 53 million children and almost 3 million adults spend a significant portion of their days in approximately 112,000 public and private school buildings, many of which are old and inadequately maintained, and which often contain environmental conditions that inhibit learning and pose increased risks to the health of children and staff. The Healthy School Environments web page is intended to serve as a portal to on-line resources to help facility managers, school administrators, architects, design engineers, school nurses, parents, teachers and staff, address environmental health issues in schools. While the information is primarily intended to help improve the environment of school facilities, educational resources for students and teachers can also be found through the Healthy School Environments portal. The resources identified have been developed by EPA, other Federal agencies, States, local governments and non-governmental organizations. Visitors can browse resources by topic or by geographic area, or search all resources by entering specific keywords into the search box at the top of each page.
Coordinated School Health (CSH) Approach
CSH is a systematic approach to improving the health and well-being of all students so they can fully participate and be successful in school. The process involves bringing together school administrators, teachers, other staff, students, families, and community members to assess health needs; set priorities; and plan, implement, and evaluate all health-related activities. CSH typically integrates health promotion efforts across eight interrelated components that already exist to some extent in most schools. These components include health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, counseling, psychological and social services, healthy and safe school environments, staff wellness, and family and community involvement. (CDC. School Health Programs: Improving the Health of Our Nation's Youth--At A Glance 2011, Atlanta: CDC; 2011.)
An important component of CSH is that it advocates the use of a team approach to guide programming and facilitate collaboration between the school and the community. At the district level, this group is typically called a school health council, and at the school level, it is typically called a school health team. Ideally, the district school health council includes at least one representative from each of the eight components, and school administrators, parents, students, and community representatives involved in the health and well-being of students, such as a representative from the local health department and the school district's medical consultant. School health teams generally include a site administrator, an identified school health leader, teachers and other staff representing the components, parents, students, and community representatives when appropriate.
In Region 8 the following States are participating in CDC's Coordinated School Health Program:
Clean, Green and Healthy Tribal School Initiative
Outreach Materials
- Voluntary Guidelines
- Sensible Steps to Healthier Schools: Cost-Effective, Affordable Measures to Protect the Health of Students and Staff (Coming soon!)
Training