Putting Collaboration into Coordinated School Health by Peter Cribb, MEd

You have all read and heard a lot about the problems we face relative to the health status of the nation, particularly our children. There are many good programs and services within schools that address health concepts, teach specific health facts, or reinforce health behaviors.

So why haven't we seen a positive effect of our efforts reflected in national statistics? For two basic reasons, I believe. First and foremost, health education programs in most schools are not coordinated. Basically, it's the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. School personnel responsible for teaching or modeling healthy behaviors rarely coordinate their efforts or may not realize that others within their schools are teaching health related information.

Secondly, often times children do not have the opportunity to apply what they have learned – they don't have a chance to practice healthy behaviors within the school or at home. For instance, children may be taught that they should limit the amount of sugar in their diet only to have the school cafeteria serve french toast, donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast. Or, they learn that being physically active builds strong hearts but they spend most of their time in physical education class sitting in lines waiting for their turn with the ball. Or, the majority of their meals at home consist of pre-processed foods or fast food restaurant fare.

Even acknowledging these problems, I am still convinced that school based health education programs that teach children to be responsible for the behaviors that hinder or enhance their health is the cornerstone of disease prevention in our society. However, achieving that goal is influenced not only by what concepts, facts, and behaviors we teach, but more importantly, by how we teach that information and the health of the teaching environment itself. If we want children to eat the right foods, we must provide healthy options in the cafeteria. If we want children to make the decision to be physically active, we must provide enjoyable physical activities that teach them how to be active for a lifetime. If we want children to understand how to create a life of health, we must construct an environment that positively reinforces healthy choices every day. As the old adage goes, children learn more from what we do than what we say.

So, what's the solution; how do you create teaching environments and instructional programs that really change behaviors? The solution has always been right under our noses – it's the principle of collaboration. It's people working together. When people share a common goal, coordination of materials, resources and planning leads to a synergistic effect, in which the success of the whole program is greater than the sum of its individual components.

CATCH is a coordinated school health program that has repeatedly demonstrated that it is possible to get kids to positively change their dietary and physical activity behaviors. It is truly a program that works because:

•  It coordinates the health related lessons and activities within the school and standardizes the messages children receive throughout the day. It establishes consistency within the school day. Children expect to see healthy foods in the cafeteria and expect to be active for a majority of time in physical education.

•  It allows children to practice healthy behaviors every day.

•  There is a CATCH committee at each school whose members represent the four components of the program as well as representatives of the community from various health agencies.

•  The focus on healthy behaviors is carried into the community through involvement of the local health agencies.

•  The CATCH Program is easy to use. It supplements rather than replaces existing health curriculums and it provides the foundation and the framework to develop all components of the coordinated school health model recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Indeed, based on our research and experiences, schools that adopt a coordinated approach to teaching children to be responsible for their health have been more successful than those who do not.

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