Coordinated School Health Program: A Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) is an effective system designed to connect health with education. This coordinated approach to school health improves students’ health and their capacity to learn through the support of families, communities, and schools working together.

Health Education: Comprehensive School Health Education (CSHE) includes curriculum, instruction and assessment that is sequential K through high school and meets the Maine Health Education Standards outlined in the Maine Learning Results. CSHE includes physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of health, and provides knowledge and skills that enhance and promote lifelong healthy behaviors. CSHE includes 10 mandated content areas: community health, consumer health, environmental health, family life education, growth and development, personal health including mental and emotional health, nutritional health, prevention and control of disease and disorders, safety and accident prevention, and substance uses and abuse prevention. CSHE motivates and enables students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and reduce health-related risk behaviors. Health education is a core academic subject requiring appropriate resources and support.

Physical Education/Physical Activity: Physical education provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities, maintain physical fitness, and to value as well as enjoy physical activity as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle. A comprehensive physical education program includes moderate to vigorous physical activity on a daily basis. In addition to a comprehensive physical education program, opportunities for students to be physically active are available for voluntary participation during the school day, as well as before and after school. A supportive environment contributing to a healthy, physically active lifestyle involves collaboration between school and community organizations, successful partnerships with families, and school staff modeling a healthy, physically active lifestyle.

School Counseling, Physical Health, and Behavior Health Services: This component combines school counseling and guidance services, physical health services and behavioral health services. Services can be provided on a school site by either school staff or community providers or can be provided by linking with community health organizations.

• School counseling services assist students with their academic, career, and personal/social development so that they can achieve school success. Grade K-12 school counseling services help students meet these needs by providing a preventive, developmental guidance curriculum for all students; short-term individual and small group counseling in response to students’ difficulties with typical developmental issues; consultation with teachers, immediate family members and other caregivers, and other helping professionals regarding appropriate and consistent interventions for students; and by assessing school climate and school-based issues that require systemic responses.

• Behavioral health services encompass prevention, treatment and crisis intervention. Services include intensive support groups and individual counseling, family counseling and referrals. These services are offered in response to a broad range of needs including, but not limited to, mental health, mental disorders and their implications, mental retardation, developmental disabilities and substance abuse and dependence.

• Physical health services in schools include school nursing and school physician services and school-based health centers. School nurses provide direct nursing care and supervise and/or coordinate health services and health-related activities within a school district. School physicians advise the school administrative unit on school health issues, policies and practices. School-based health centers provide on-site preventive care, management of chronic illness in collaboration with the student’s primary care provider, diagnosis and treatment of simple acute injuries and illnesses, and initial emergency treatment of injuries and illnesses with appropriate subsequent referral. School-based health centers may also be the site of behavioral health service provision. Other health specialists such as athletic trainers and occupational, physical and recreational therapists and speech language pathologists may provide services to students at the school in coordination with other school health staff.

Nutrition Services: Nutrition and Food Services include school food services and other available foods and snacks offered at school. Nutritionally balanced meals and snacks based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans should be provided at school. All students should have affordable access to varied and nutritious foods. Adequate time to eat should be a priority, because it promotes the establishment of healthy food practices. Students who are hungry or who do not get a balanced diet will be less attentive in the classroom. A healthy diet for students and staff can help reduce the occurrence of chronic diseases and promote good health and well-being.

School Climate: School climate is the synthesis of policies, procedures, activities, programs, and facilities, both formal and informal, within a school infrastructure, resulting in overall attitudes and behaviors noticeable by all people in the school – staff, students, parents, and visitors. The creation of a school climate that is warm, welcoming, encouraging, and supportive of students, parents, and staff alike trying their best requires constant attention. Those in positions to affect policy and procedure and leadership will support behavior and activities of staff to best meet the needs of the students and the community.

Physical Environment: A physically healthy school environment addresses the physical and aesthetic surroundings of the school including the building, outdoor areas and transportation. Air and water quality, building structure, physical design, temperature, noise, maintenance, sanitation and lighting are included.

Health Promotion/Wellness: School-site health promotion/wellness programs encourage and support staff in pursuing healthful behaviors and lifestyles. This component may include planned activities for staff that promote wellness, health assessments, health education, health-related fitness activities, and employee assistance programs. It is expected that a staff person’s personal commitment to a healthy lifestyle will be transferred to interest in their students’ health and to becoming a positive role model. A strong health promotion/wellness program will lead to a healthy school environment that overlaps all components of a CSHP and is inclusive of the community.

Youth, Parent, Family &Community Involvement: By the term involvement, we mean a partnership between school personnel and:

• the youth who attend our schools,
• the parents who are their primary educators and advocates,
• the broader families who nurture them, and
• the leaders of the communities in which they grow up

in designing, developing and monitoring coordinated school health programs.