Updates and Announcements

Additional Resources

Recognition Opportunities for School Districts
March 22, 2013- Nominations are now being accepted for two American School Health Association awards

Underage Drinking Prevention Webinar Registration
March 22, 2013- Register for the next webinar in the Preventing Underage Drinking series sponsored by the federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD)

Newly Released School Nutrition and Meal Fact Sheets
Feb. 13, 2013- The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) released several fact sheets to support schools in implementing the new school meal standards.

Analysis of State Competitive Food Policies in Schools Released
Feb. 1, 2013- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new policy analysis, which provides a snapshot of policies for competitive foods in schools in 39 states as of October 2010.

StopBullying.gov Launches Spanish Website
Feb. 1, 2013- StopBullying.gov has launched a new Spanish website to provide teachers, parents and community leaders with resources to prevent bullying.

Safer Roads Near Schools Make a Difference
Jan. 25, 2013- When New York City made the streets near some of its schools safer, the number of children struck by cars each year dropped substantially, a new study shows.

Study Reveals Immediate Health Consequences for Obese Kids
Jan. 25, 2013- According to a new study, obese children may experience more immediate health problems, including learning disabilities.

Binge Drinking Among Girls Is High
Jan. 8, 2013- New data released in this week’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), reveals that binge drinking is reported by one in five (19.8%) high school girls.

Federal Funding for School-Based Health Centers
Jan. 7, 2013- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $80 million to 197 school-based health center programs across the country.

New Policy Statements Released
Jan. 3, 2013- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released several new policy statements emphasizing the importance of school health.

School Mental Health Center in Memphis Decreases Expulsions, Suspensions for Students with Disabilities
Jan. 3, 2013- Officials of the Memphis City Schools Mental Health Center hope to continue a federally funded program next year that has helped the district address the high rate of expulsions and suspensions among students with disabilities.

Philadelphia to Install Free Condom Dispensers in High Schools
Jan. 3, 2013- Philadelphia will be installing condom dispensers in 22 high schools whose students have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

Marijuana Use is More Harmful Than People Realize
Jan. 3, 2013- The 2012 Monitoring the Future Survey, conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), reveals more high school seniors are smoking marijuana daily and that teens' perception of marijuana’s harmfulness is down.

Schools Important in Curbing Teen Smoking
Dec. 21, 2012- Strong school smoking-prevention programs and high cigarette prices can reduce smoking among high school students.

Teen Dating Violence Can Have Long-term Consequences
Dec. 21, 2012- Teenagers who experience dating violence may be more likely to get involved in violent relationships and have health problems as young adults.

New Parent Engagement Resource
Nov. 28, 2012- Research shows a strong relationship between parent engagement, health, and educational outcomes, including school attendance and higher grades and classroom test scores.

New School Health Policy Guides Released
Nov. 16, 2012- The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has released several school health policy guides as part of the Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn series.

National Report Reveals Slow Progress for Physical Education Programs
Nov. 14, 2012- There are major loopholes in state physical education programs according to the findings of the 2012 Shape of the Nation Report: Status of Physical Education in the USA, released by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Heart Association.

Diabetes Negatively Affects School Dropout Rates and Wages
Nov. 13, 2012- Recent study finds increased dropout rates and lower lifetime earnings for youth with diabetes.

Disaster Recovery Resources
Nov.1, 2012- As communities recover from Hurricane Sandy this week, there are many excellent resources to help schools with disaster recovery.

New Resources: Building & Sustaining School Health Programs With Innovative Funding Schemes
Oct. 31, 2012- Two recently released publications highlight the innovate funding schemes various school health programs are utilizing around the country to sustain projects, particularly in the absence of dedicated funding from federal or state agencies.

Exercise Boosts School Performance for Kids With ADHD
Oct. 26, 2012- The findings of a recent Journal of Pediatrics study show that a single session of exercise can improve school performance for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

HPV Vaccination is Not Associated with More Casual Sex
A rigorous study of 1,400 young women ages 11-12, published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found no association between vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and casual sexual activity in the following three years.

Recent studies confirm link between soda intake and obesity
Sept. 28, 2012- The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published several new studies that confirm a link between the intake of soda and obesity among children and adolescents.

'Sexting' Associated with Unprotected Sex
Sept. 21, 2012- A recent study found that sexting students were more likely to be sexually active and engaging in unprotected sex. NSBA has weighed in on this topic with recommendations for addressing legal issues and implementing related policies.

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Sept. 21, 2012- The 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, released by the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, is a call to action that is intended to guide suicide prevention actions in the U.S. over the next decade. It outlines four strategic directions with 13 goals and 60 objectives that are meant to work together in a synergistic way to prevent suicide.

Recent Study Finds Increased Sodium Intake and Risk for High Blood Pressure Among U.S. Children and Adolescents
Sept. 18, 2012- A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study finds that U.S. children and adolescents consume salt in quantities greater than recommend and this is tied to an added risk for higher blood pressure, especially among those who are overweight and obese.

Presidential Youth Fitness Program Resources
Sept. 14, 2012- The Presidential Youth Fitness Program is a new health and wellness program by the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition as apart of an effort to revise the older fitness tests that emphasized athleticism and performance. The new program promotes healthy exercise behaviors and lifelong fitness habits among youth. Web-based resources include Physical Educator and Parent Guides.

Effects and Consequences of Underage Drinking
Sept.11, 2012- This Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) bulletin, part of a recent series on underage drinking, emphasizes that underage drinking can affect a youth’s physical, emotional, and neurological health. The personal, legal, and economic consequences of underage drinking are also discussed.

Healthy School Makeover Contest
Sept. 5, 2012- Leading health and physical education organizations team-up to provide a healthy school makeover worth $45,000 in support of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

How Stress Impairs Learning in Young Children
August 29, 2012- Studies matching stress hormone levels to behavioral and school readiness test results in young children from impoverished background are summarized in a news release from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers have determined that high levels of stress hormones influence the developing circuitry of children's brains, inhibiting such higher cognitive functions that are important for academic success, such as planning, impulse and emotional control, and attention. Finding ways to reduce stress in the home and school environment may improve children's well being and allow them to be more successful academically.

Students in States with Strict Nutrition Policies Gain Less Weight
August 13, 2012 - Adolescents in states with strict laws regulating the sale of "competitive foods" (foods in vending machines, snack bars, and other venues not part of the regular school lunch program) gained less weight over a 3-year period than those living in states with no such laws, according to a new study.

New resource on reducing rates of suspension and expulsion
(July 17, 2012) Recent studies have found evidence of racial/ethnic disparities in students being suspended and expelled as well as disparities for those with mental health or behavioral health issues. The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention has published "Supportive School Discipline: A Snapshot from Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiatives", which provides examples of strategies schools have used to effectively implement evidence-based positive discipline programs. These grantees' efforts have reduced suspension and expulsion rates and resulted in measurably better student outcomes than punitive practices that can result in negative long-term consequences.

New Toolkit for Suicide Prevention in High Schools
"Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools” is a free resource that provides strategies to help high schools design and implement strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health among their students.

New CDC Publication Helps Schools Involve Parents in School Health
February 10, 2012 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released “Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health.” This new publication describes parent engagement and identifies specific strategies for connecting with, engaging, and sustaining parent engagement in schools, more specifically related to health activities.

NSBA Mourns the Loss of School Health Leader and Advocate Brenda Z. Greene
February 7, 2012 - It’s with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of NSBA’s former Director of School Health Programs Brenda Z. Greene on February 3, 2012.

NSBA Launches New Food Allergy Policy Guide for Schools
January 9, 2012 – The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has published a policy guide to help school leaders establish policies and practices that support the safety, well-being, and academic success of students with life-threatening food allergies.

New NSBA Publication Helps School Leaders Foster Family Engagement
September 28, 2011 – The National School Boards Association (NSBA) today unveiled Family as Partners: Fostering Family Engagement for Healthy and Successful Students – a publication designed to help school leaders effectively engage families in schools, particularly around school health issues.