News
Building Healthy School Communities: Is your school a healthy
school community?
In May 2006, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD) launched its Healthy School Communities. This program is part
of a large, multiyear plan to shift public dialogue about education
from an academic focus to a whole child approach that encompasses all
factors required for successful learning. ASCD hopes to recast the definition
of a successful learner from one whose achievement is measured solely
by academic tests, to one who is knowledgeable, emotionally and physically
healthy, civically engaged, prepared for economic self-sufficiency and
ready for the world beyond formal schooling. See Healthy
School Communities
The program is designed to promote the strong links among the emotional
and physical health of learners, best practices in leadership and instruction,
and policies that support healthy schools and partnerships with communities.
The goals of the program are as follows:
- Promote the integration of health and learning indicators as education
best practice through the development of healthy school communities.
- Influence national, state, provincial, and local education policy
and funding to reflect the evidence and research that supports health
and learning.
- Use data to measure impact, identify resource needs, and influence
policy and practice.
