Why should I care about Health Education?
Health education teaches about physical, mental, emotional and social health. It builds students’
knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about health. Health
education motivates students to improve and maintain their health, prevent disease, and reduce risky behaviors.
Research has shown that good health education curricula and instruction helps students improve their health. Effective curricula result in positive changes in behavior that lower students’ risks around:
- nutrition,
- physical activity,
- mental and emotional health,
- sexuality and family life,
- injury prevention,
- alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and
- prevention of diseases.
In addition, health education promotes learning in other subjects. One study showed that reading and math scores of third and fourthgrade students who received comprehensive health education were significantly higher than those who did not. And, in general, healthy students learn better. Numerous studies have shown that healthier students tend to do better in school; they have higher attendance, have better grades, and perform better on tests.
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What are Rhode Island's state requirements for Health Education?
Health Education Required
Health Education is required for all students in grades 1-12 according to RI General Laws §16-22-4. Students should receive an average of 100 minutes per week of health and physical education. This does not include recess, free play, or after-school activities, as stated in the Basic Education Program (p. 149) (the
Regulations Governing the Length of the School Day also note that recess is not counted as instructional time).
Specific requirements for health education are outlined in Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Rules and Regulations for School Health Programs. Briefly, the curriculum must:
In addition, certain content areas are required by state statute, including physiology and hygiene (RIGL §16-22-3), alcohol and substance abuse prevention (§16-22-12) (See also §16-1-5 (14)), suicide prevention (§16-22-14), CPR training (§16-22-15), blocked air passage training (§16-22-16), AIDS Education (§16-22-17), family life/sexuality education (§16-22-18), and teen dating violence education (§16-22-24).
Exemptions by Parents
According to RIGL §16-22-17 and §16-22-18, a parent may exempt his/her child from the disease prevention and control, HIV/AIDS and/or family life and sexuality portions of health education classes, and the child will not be penalized academically.
Certified Health Educators
According to Section 3.3 of the Rules and Regulations for School Health Programs, health education must be taught by appropriately certified teachers. At the elementary level, that includes school nurse teachers, certified health educators, certified health and physical education teachers, or any certified elementary teacher. At the secondary level, that includes school nurse teachers, certified health educators, or certified health and physical education teachers. Certification is governed by
Surveys & Privacy
According to RIGL §16-38-5, it is unlawful to distribute questionnaires or surveys that ask students intimate questions about themselves and/or their families, without the approval of the RI Department of Education.
District Health & Wellness Subcommittee
Also, because of a Rhode Island law passed in 2005 (See RIGL §16-21-28, §16-2-9(a)(24) and (a)(25), and §16-7.1-2(h)), every school district is required to have a District Health & Wellness Subcommittee. That Subcommittee is charged with making recommendations to the full school committee on health education curriculum and instruction, as well as on physical education, nutrition, and physical activity. Strategies involving these four issues to improve the health and wellbeing of students and staff should also be incorporated into the district’s strategic plan.
(See also Sec. 2.10-2.14 of Rules and Regulations for School Health Programs).
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What are some of the best practices for schools around Health Education?
- Provide skills-focused instruction that follows a comprehensive, sequential, culturally appropriate K-12 health education curriculum that addresses all of the Rhode Island Health Education Standards:
- Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention as a foundation for a healthy life;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks;
- Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology and other factors on health;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting and decision-making to enhance health;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, community, and environmental health.
- Address the following in health education instruction:
- Assessing personal vulnerability to health risk-taking;
- Accurately assessing health risk-taking of peers;
- Analyzing the influence of family and peers on health behaviors; and
- Connecting with others who affirm and reinforce health-promoting norms, beliefs, and behaviors.
- Ensure that health education instruction focus not only on teaching content knowledge but on teaching skills, including:
- Decision-making,
- Problem-solving,
- Goal-setting,
- Communication,
- Negotiation and refusal,
- Assertiveness, and
- Advocacy skills.
- Make sure that the health education curriculum is planned, sequential, and scaffolded, to better address all of the mandated health instruction outcomes (required content areas).
- Review and update the curriculum on a regular basis – at most every five years.
- Provide opportunities for health educators to coordinate instruction with teachers of other subjects and integrate health into other content areas, particularly science, physical education, and family & consumer sciences.
- Require that the lead health education teacher in each school have Rhode Island certification in health education.
- Allocate funds and release time to support annual professional development for teachers of health on the following:
- Teaching students with physical, medical, or cognitive disabilities;
- Teaching students of various cultural backgrounds;
- Teaching students with limited English proficiency;
- Using interactive teaching methods, such as role-plays or cooperative group activities;
- Teaching essential skills for behavior change and guiding student practice of these skills;
- Teaching health-promoting social norms and beliefs;
- Classroom management techniques, such as social skills training, environmental modification, conflict resolution and mediation, and behavior management.
- Strategies for involving parents, families and others in student learning
- Assessing students’ performance in health education:
- Involve parents and families in health education.
- Provide health information to parents and families through educational materials sent home and involvement in school-sponsored activities.
- Have one or more than one person who oversees or coordinates health education.
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What data are available about Health Education in Rhode Island?
Quick Facts
- 32% of middle and high schools in Rhode Island have a health education coordinator (2006 School Health Profiles principals survey)
- Among lead health educators in Rhode Island middle and high schools, 85% received their pre-service professional training in health and physical education combined; 11% received in nursing; 8% in health education; 5% in physical education; and 1% in public health (2006 Profiles teacher survey).
- Between 93% and 100% of Rhode Island middle or high school health education classes taught the following critical health skills:
- Accessing valid health information & services,
- Assessing the influence of the media on personal health,
- Communication skills,
- Decision-making skills,
- Goal-setting skills,
- Conflict resolution skills, and
- Resisiting peer pressure (2006 Profiles teacher survey).
More Data
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I'm a parent... Where do I go for parent information or resources about Health Education?
The National Center for Health Education (NCHE) Youth, Parents and Communities project
This project is aimed at building partnerships between schools, families, and communities in order to promote the physical and emotional health and educational development of children.
Center for Health and Health Care in Schools' Parent Resource Center
The Parents' Resource Center provides two types of information: Learn Now – a web portal that provides valuable links to parent-friendly resources on child and adolescent health issues, and Act Now – a guide written by CHHCS to help parents assess health-related services and programs at their child's schools.
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I'm a teacher... What resources are available on Health Education?
Health Education Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
Health Literacy for All Students: The Rhode Island Health Education Framework
The RI Health Education Framework outlines the 7 RI Health Education Standards. It provides historical and background information, outlines relationships between the standards, explains how the standards relate to required health content areas, and provides brief descriptions of student performance that demonstrate the standards.
In addition, the companion document, Comprehensive Health Instructional Outcomes, provides performance descriptions for each of the 7 RI Health Education Standards, broken out by 7 Health Content Areas:
- Personal Health (including Physical Activity and Wellness)
- Mental and Emotional Health
- Injury Prevention
- Nutrition
- Sexuality and Family Life
- Disease Prevention and Control
- Substance Use and Abuse Prevention (including alcohol, tobacco and other drugs)
and grouped by four grade spans:
- Kindergarten through Grade 4,
- Grades 5 through 8,
- Grades 9 and 10, and
- Grades 11 and 12.
InRhodes Library
The InRhodes Library is a resource and research center for professionals and students working in the RI education, health, behavioral health, and the recovery community. The library is designed to facilitate the sharing of resources and information using published materials in the format of books, workbooks, videos, curriculum guides, presentation boards and other educational equipment. Scholarly & research information, current news & issues, subscription database and published health reports are available and accessible within the library.
National Health Education Standards
National Health Education Standards provide a guide for enhancing preparation and continuing education of teachers. The full National Standards document can be purchased. An abbreviated version of the standards is also available.
Michigan Model for Health
This curriculum facilitates interdisciplinary learning through lessons that integrate health education into other curricula.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
The US Department of Education offers easy to find teaching resources on federal government web sites.
The Community Guide (Guide to Community Preventive Services)
This CDC site provides an overview of evidence-based curricula, programs, and policies for a number of health topics (e.g. nutrition, tobacco, teen pregnancy, etc.)
Discovery Education’s Health Lesson Plans Library
This popular site - formerly Kathy Schrok’s Health Education website - offers a variety of lesson plans and other teaching resources for health educators.
KidsHealth in the Classroom (Nemours Foundation)
This siteioffers free health curriculum materials for teachers of all grades and subject areas. Each teacher's guide includes discussion questions, activities, and reproducible handouts and quizzes - all aligned to national health education standards.
RubiStar
RubiStar is a free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics.
teAchnology’s Rubrics page
This is another online tool for creating rubrics.
Authentic Assessment Toolbox
This toolbox is a how-to website on creating authentic tasks, rubrics and standards for measuring and improving student learning.
Professional Development
thrive e-Academy
thrive offers a number of free, on-line professional development programs related to health education. Currently, the e-Academy offers 5-week, 30-contact hour courses for teachers of health on HIV/AIDS and abstinence. A number of shorter, self-paced tutorials are also under development.
RITOH - Rhode Island Teachers of Health “Yahoo Group” (listserv)
This listserv is an open forum for RI K-12 teachers who teach health (HE, HE/PE, School Nurse Teachers, elementary classroom teachers, etc.) to:
- Share information, news, trainings, legislative updates, and other resources;
- Ask and respond to each other’s questions;
- Confer about curricula, lessons, and teaching strategies;
- Discuss issues and challenges in schools, and more.
To subscribe, email RITOH-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Rhode Island Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (RIAHPERD) is the Rhode Island affiliate of the AAHPERD professional association for health educators, physical educators, and those involved in leisure, fitness, dance, and other specialties related to achieving a healthy lifestyle.
Rhode Island Certified School Nurse Teachers
The web site of the professional association for School Nurse Teachers in Rhode Island provides current information about school nursing and school health to school nurses and the general public, including information about upcoming professional development opportunities and events.
American Association for Health Education
The American Association for Health Education serves health educators and other professionals who promote the health of all people. AAHE encourages, supports, and assists health professionals concerned with health promotion through education and other systematic strategies. AAHE provides information on:
- Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification
- National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) health education certification
Health Education and Promotion Network (HEP Network)
HEP Network offers web-based instructional courses in health education and promotion.
The courses are currently offered as graduate credit offered through various colleges and universities. At a future date, these courses will also be offered for professional development (CEU) credits leading in two formats:
- Qualified professional development for teacher certification
- Category I credit for CHES
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I'm an administrator... What tools for schools are available on Health Education?
School Health Education Resources (SHER)
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's SHER provides user-friendly access to the myriad school health education offerings available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Included with the SHER materials are the related National Health Education Standards and CDC's Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula.
Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT)
The HECAT can help school districts, schools, and others conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of health education curricula based on the National Health Education Standards and CDC’s Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula. The HECAT results can help schools select or develop appropriate and effective health education curricula and improve the delivery of health education. The HECAT can be customized to meet local community needs and conform to the curriculum requirements of the state or school district.
Health, Mental Health and Safety Guidelines for Schools – Health and Safety Education Chapter
This is a guide for administrators and policymakers from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and other public health organizations. This chapter provides recommendations and guidelines for maintaining a high quality health education program.
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Whom do I contact for more information?
Jan Mermin
Health Education Specialist
Rhode Island Department of Education
401-222-8954
Jan.Mermin@ride.ri.gov
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