School Health Program News - Education Development Center

School Health Program NewsBeyond Pesticides has developed aWeb site with information aboutpesticide use in schools, state lawsabout school pesticide use, summariesand copies of local school districts’policies, and contact informationfor local organizations involvedin the school Integrated Pest Managementprogram. These resourcesare made available on-line atwww.beyondpesticides.org/schools/schoolpolicies.Global ProgramsPilots Tobacco ControlActionA new curriculum developed byHealth and Human Development’s(HHD) Global Programs at EducationDevelopment Center, Inc., appliesresearch-based lessons to preventone of the major causes ofdeath in the world. Working with theWorld Health Organization, a groupof HHD curriculum developers havecreated the Model School HealthTobacco Control Intervention,which can be used in classroomsworldwide.The cornerstone of the curriculumis involving young people—targetedby large-scale tobacco advertisingcampaigns—as advocates in theirown neighborhoods, villages, andcountries.The lessons of the curriculum aregrounded in years of research on theimportance of using an “environmentalapproach” to promotehealth—that is, focusing on the contextor environment where thehealth problems and behaviors occur.If people do not start smokingby the age of 20, they are much lesslikely to ever smoke. Also, engagingyoung people as anti-smoking advocatesis more likely to be successfulthan didactic programs focusing onthe long-term dangers of tobacco.26The curriculum is based on a methodologythat has been tested andused successfully by HHD’s TeenageHealth Teaching Modules and inother school health interventionsthat focus on building life skills. Lessonsinclude advocacy exercises focusedon critical thinking, persuasion,communication, action planning,leadership, media literacy, dataanalysis, and policy development.Next, Global Programs will workwith teachers to pilot-test the curriculumin classrooms. The ModelSchool Health Tobacco Interventionwill also be presented at severalinternational public health conferences.Global Programs welcomes feedbackfrom educators. An introductionand two lessons from the curriculumare included on the HHD Web siteat main.edc.org. A review form tosend back can be downloaded atwww.hhd.org/hhdnews/hhdstories/ar_2003.asp.For more information about theModel School Health Tobacco ControlIntervention, contact:Wendy SantisE-Mail: Wsantis@edc.orgNYAM Offers SkinTrainingThe New York Academy of Medicine(NYAM) is offering teacher trainingin its award-winning curriculum,The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good,Being Healthy, developed in partnershipwith the American Skin Association.The two organizations receivedthe Gold Triangle Award forHealth Community OrganizationAccomplishment in August 2002 forcollaborating to develop the curriculumand implementing the programfor students in New York CityPublic Schools, K–12.The Wonders of Skin includes lessonsgauged for students in kindergartenthrough twelfth grade. It covers thestructure and function of skin, sunsafety, acne, tattooing and bodypiercing, and skin disorders anddiseases. The curriculum is designedto be developmentally appropriate,skills-based, culturally sensitive,and aligned with nationalhealth education standards.The New York Academy of Medicineand the American Skin Associationhave recently partnered to disseminatethis curriculum on a nationwidebasis. They provided consultation,staff development, and technicalassistance to teachers in theMiami-Dade County Public Schools.Teacher training workshops are designedfor teaching the curriculumas part of comprehensive healtheducation.The Academy will provide The Wondersof Skin curriculum materials andtraining at school district locationsfree of charge on a first-come, firstservedbasis.To arrange for training or for moreinformation, contact:Leslie GoldmanDirector, Office of SchoolHealth ProgramsThe New York Academyof MedicinePhone: (212) 822-7265E-Mail: lgoldman@nyam.org