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Illustration of the eight components of the Coordinated School Health Model, 
  including comprehensive school health education, physical education, school health services, nutritional services, counseling-psychological and social,
   healthy school environment, school-site health promotion for staff, family and community involvement.

Coordinated School Health

The Florida Department of Health, and the Department of Education, partner to promote a Coordinated School Health approach to assist in the development and enhancement of state, district and school-based infrastructures that protect and maintain student health and support academic achievement. The Coordinated School Health approach provides a strategy for improving the health and learning of Florida's school age children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website has more information about the Coordinated School Health model.

Experts in the eight components of the Coordinated School Health model focus primarily on six risk behaviors that have been identified to be most detrimental to youth:

  • inadequate physical activity
  • poor nutrition
  • tobacco use
  • alcohol and other drugs
  • intentional and unintentional injury
  • risky sexual behavior

Florida Healthy Schools Newsletter: Published quarterly to share information about programs and services in the State of Florida that support healthy schools. Effective school and community programs are highlighted, as well as state level policy changes.

Building a Healthy School District

Florida Healthy District Training Website

The interactive training on this site will help you renew, refresh and reinvigorate your team's efforts to improve the health and wellness of students and staff in your district. The material is based on lessons learned and strategies developed as part of the 2011 Healthy School District Training - Using the Coordinated School Health (CSH) Approach. It provides an opportunity for district wellness policy committees and School Health Advisory Committees (SHACs) to create a solid foundation to implement CSH and enhance their wellness efforts.

This online training course offers quizzes and printable certificates for each training topic that is successfully completed. Each section is self-contained so that you may complete the training topics independent of each other. To complete all 4 sections will take approximately 1.5 - 3 hours depending on the user's level of understanding.

Florida Healthy District Self-Assessment Tool: This self-assessment is based on district infrastructure, policy, programs, and practices identified from national and state guidelines, best practices, and Florida statutes. The tool will help school districts assess existing policies and practices and guide them toward achieving the highest standards. Districts are encouraged to include school superintendents, school boards, school administrators, component area experts, parents, and the School Health Advisory Committee in the assessment process.

District School Health Advisory Committees (SHAC), which are required by Florida statute to contain membership from the eight component areas of Coordinated School Health, provide advocacy for school health and identify needs and opportunities to maximize community resources.

Florida School Health Advisory Committee Manual: This document is the Florida Department of Health approved guide to developing and conducting school health advisory committees.

Florida Healthy School Program: CSHP provides resources and technical support to schools to assist in the establishment of Healthy School Teams. Information and resources on how to start a Healthy School Team are available at: http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct/health/h-pilot.asp.

Florida's CSHP assists schools wishing to promote and support use of the eight component model of Coordinated School Health. The model is designed to address issues of student health and academic success. Teams formed at schools to promote the CSH approach are often called Healthy School Teams or Wellness Teams.

"Charting Your School's Course to Wellness" is a step by step technical assistance guide to developing and conducting a Healthy School Team.

School Staff Wellness Programs - "School employee wellness programs promote the well-being of all school employees who serve as role models for students. Schools with staff health promotion programs find that teachers are more energetic and optimistic, can better handle job stress, and are absent less often. When teachers are enthusiastic and healthy, they are role models of healthy living for students and the community. A healthy school staff also decreases school costs due to fewer substitute teachers, lower insurance costs, and a decrease in turnover expenses." - Council of Chief State School Officers

Florida school districts are making tremendous strides toward creating healthy faculty and staff that are better able to educate our children, and reducing the burden of employee healthcare costs. Read about the exciting progress Florida school districts are making in these success stories.



Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public record. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send an e-mail to this office. Instead, call, write, or fax your questions, comments, or concerns to this office.

School districts across the state of Florida participate in a bi-monthly call to share best practices, learn about resources and discuss challenges. If you are a wellness coordinator for a Florida school district, and would like to participate, please send an email with your contact information to heart@doh.state.fl.us.



Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): The Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Education provide organizational structure and processes for the survey and collection of information from the YRBS. The information obtained from this survey supports schools and other local community agencies and organizations serving Florida's youth. The data is then utilized to appropriately design and implement programs that prevent drug use, provide healthy environments and support a delivery of educational services to youth. Florida now has four years of weighted data from 2001, 2003,2005, 2007, and 2011. More Information about the Florida YRBS Reports.

School Health Profiles: The School Health Profiles Survey (Profiles) is a system of surveys assessing school health policies and programs in states and large urban school districts. Profiles surveys of middle and high school principals and lead health education teachers are conducted every two years by state and local education and health agencies.

HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Project: The goal of this project is to strengthen the provision of effective HIV/AIDS prevention education and school health education in Florida. This goal will be accomplished through:

  • Technical assistance to districts regarding updating and creating HIV/STD and pregnancy prevention policy and curriculum
  • Training and professional development opportunities for parents, students, educators, school nurses, psychologists, social workers, and Department of Juvenile Justice staff offered through training tracks at various statewide conferences
  • Development and promotion of partnerships between state and local departments of health, school districts, and community-based organizations

More information can be found at: http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct/health/hiv_std_prevention.asp

"Healthy Bodies for Healthy Brains; a Resource for Florida's Schools": Provides an overview of a Coordinated School Health approach to child health and academic success.

Contacts: The following may be contacted for additional program information.
Florida Department of Education
Office of Healthy Schools
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 444
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
Phone: 850 245-0480
Fax: 850 245-5116
Florida Department of Health
Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A13
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1723
Phone: 850 245-4330
Fax: 850 414-6625

Coordinated School Health Partnership (CSHP) Information:

The Florida School Health and Education Consortium, Florida Action for Healthy Kids Partnership, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation formed Florida's Coordinated School Health Partnership (CSHP). Members represent professional associations, foundations, not-for-profit organizations, businesses, insurers, health and education. The partnership is committed to working together to improve the health of children, adolescents, and staff in Florida schools. Goals for 2013 focus on advocacy, policy, partnership, access to health care for all children and educating stakeholders about school health and wellness issues. Visit our website at www.healthydistrict.com

The mission of the Coordinated School Health Partnership is: Health literate and health practicing students and staff in all Florida schools

Preventing Sexual Violence: The Florida Department of Health Sexual Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) works in partnership with rape crisis centers, mental health and public health agencies, universities, faith based initiatives, and other organizations throughout the state to provide cultural and age specific education for the primary prevention of sexual violence. Presentations include 50 minute minimum public and professional trainings for parents, teachers, law enforcement, and advocates; or education for fourth and fifth grade, middle, high school, and college students and other at-risk populations. Education curricula includes (but is not limited to): identifying and avoiding dating violence and un/healthy relationships, drug/alcohol facilitated rape, sexual harrassment, bystander behavior, predator internet dangers, and cyber bullying.

Please note: Some documents are in "pdf" format which requires Adobe Reader to be viewed.

This page was last modified on: 09/19/2012 01:16:54