ASCD's Healthy School Communities Begins Program for Associated Sites

ASCD encourages schools and districts committed to creating healthy school communities to apply

Alexandria, VA (11/12/08)—The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) has created a program for Healthy School Communities Associated Sites. The program is an expansion of ASCD's Healthy School Communities (HSC) and will help interested K–12 public and private schools and districts worldwide develop healthy school communities that support learning and teaching.

HSC began in 2006 to provide opportunities for school communities to network and share best practices in support of the development of emotionally and physically healthy, knowledgeable, motivated, and engaged students. The effort includes a pilot study of 11 sites from the United States and Canada that have received grants and technical support over the past two years to create healthy school environments.

"ASCD is pleased with the progress made by the Healthy School Communities pilot sites and we're eager to help other schools and communities improve their students' health and learning," said Theresa Lewallen, ASCD Director of Healthy School Communities. "In establishing HSC Associated Sites, ASCD can expand its commitment to supporting the whole child."

The HSC Associated Sites will assess their existing school health efforts using ASCD's Healthy School Report Card and will be able to apply for mini-grants to improve the health of their schools and communities based on the report card results. The sites will receive resources and materials, have opportunities to participate in conferences and capacity-building activities, and may choose to invest in professional development and technical assistance to implement systemic school health improvements tied to their unique needs. The sites are also encouraged to share strategies, policies, best practices, and resources with other healthy school communities through the online Healthy School Communities Exchange.

In their work with ASCD, the HSC pilot sites have demonstrated the effect of schools and communities working in partnership to support the whole child. Students at Barclay Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore, Maryland, receive care from an on-site dental clinic, and a therapeutic truancy program addresses the underlying causes of attendance problems. Hills Elementary School in Hills, Iowa, established a community center for the school's low-income families that offers a monthly dinner program where parents, teachers, and students work together on developing study and life skills.

"ASCD's Healthy School Communities has been instrumental in helping Hills Elementary connect with all families," said Carmen Dixon, principal of Hills Elementary. "We've been able to provide more training for parents, more after school tutoring for kids, and we are seeing an increase in student achievement."

Schools and districts interested in applying to become HSC Associated Sites can visit www.healthyschoolcommunities.org to learn more and to watch a video about ASCD’s HSC program. The application and instructions are available online. For more information, send ASCD an e-mail.