j----_. - New York Civil Liberties Union

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the most recent information about AIDS prevention
from health organizations
• all existing health education curricula used by the
district for any grade level (including statements
of philosophy)
• any special AIDS-related projects carried out in
the district (health fairs, prevention projects, etc.)
• the AIDS Instructional Guide: Grades K-12
• books and periodical literature pertaining to
health, substance abuse, family life education,
etc., contained in teacher and/or student libraries.
A review of existing health education materials and
activities in the school district provides information
about the health education program into which AIDS
instruction will be integrated, as well as information
about activities specifically related to AIDS. '
3. Conduct a Needs Assessment and Establish
Priorities
A needs assessment is a vital part of educational
planning and evaluation anda necessary prelude to instruction.
Simply stated, it is the determination of what
is presently in place and, what must be done to reach
the end desired - in this case, AIDS instruction. For
AIDS instruction, there is a concern about specific
problems, such as: preventing the further, spread of
HIV infection, dealing with unwarranted fear about
AlpS and its transmission, and promoting positive
health behaviors for students. '
,The assessment of needs and resources is a crucial
task. There are a number of ways to conduct this assessment;
and acombination of procedures will most likely
yield the mostcomprehensive results. For example:
a. Surveys
Surveys can reveal valuable information about how
AIDS is perceived by élcommunity, and they can help
identify school staff and members of. the community
who could be called upon to' assist in further planning
efforts.
Surveys can be conducted of:
• students
• faculty
• other school staff
• parents/guardians
• the community at large.
Surveys may be used to gather information
on:
• staff knowledge, needs, and interests related to
AIDS education, substance abuse education, and
family life education
'
• parent/guardian and community knciwledge,
attitudes and values regarding AIDS education,
substance abuse education,
education
• student knowledge
about AIDS.
and family life
Surveys should be accompanied by a cover letter that
explains the planning effort of the school district and
how the information will be used. For those with limited
English proficiency, such a cover letter may need to
be translated into their native language.
b. Statistical Data
Statistical data that should be collectedinclude:
• data on the magnitude
HIV infection
of the AIDS problem and
• data on the impact of this disease on social,
medical, and financial institutions
• school and community data regarding child
sexual abuse, substance abuse, adolescent
pregnancy, etc.
• data on school problems such as absenteeism,
suspensions, dropouts.
c. Community Awareness
Meetings should be held to inform the community
that a concerted effort is being made to address the
AIDS epidemic and to provide the community with a
forum for discussing its concerns with respect to AIDS
instruction. These concerns need to be incorporated
within the data-gathering responsibility.
The district's needs assessment, once completed
with items ranked according to priorities,provides the
basis for instructional planning. The needs-assessment
process is also an excellent method of creating awareness
of the complementary roles of school; community,
and parents/guardians in addressing thísheàlth crisis.
Local data has far greater impact than national or state
statistics.
4. Identify Resources (school and community)
Concurrent with conducting a needs assessment, resources
within the school and community should be
identified for AIDS instruction. It would be helpful to
identify the:
• school personnel prepared to teach AIDS (health
educators, school nurse-teachers, special education
teachers, pupil personnel staff)
• communityresources available to assist existing
instructional personnel with AIDS instruction
(community AIDS organizations/specialists,
religious organizations, public health agencies,
health care organizations, family planning
agencies; local chapters of American Red Cross, '
substance abuse agencies, physicians)
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