British Columbia At approximately 950,000 square kilemetres, BC is Canada’s 3rd largest province. It is bordered by Alaska to the Northwest, the Yukon and Northwest Territories to the North, Alberta to the East, and the state of Washington to the South.

British Columbia: Profile Population 4.3 million (2006) 655,700 students (587,800 public school) 60 school districts (including 1 Francophone, 1 Aboriginal) 1655 public, 355 independent schools 5 regional and 1 provincial Health Authorities (HAs) Sources: BC Stats, Quarterly Population Estimates 1951 – 2006; Ministry of Education and Literacy, Student Statistics 2002/03-2006/07, Full-Year Summary Report; The population of BC numbers 4.3 million. The population is very diverse, especially in urban centres. English is the language most often spoken in the home of BC students (78%) but over 15% speak an Asian language in the home (e.g. Punjabi, Chinese, Cantonese, Korean). The provincial public school system is a non-sectarian system currently made up of 60 school districts, including 1 Francophone and 1 Aboriginal, governing over 2000 schools (1655 public). Each district has an elected board of trustees that governs under the School Act. Boards of Education are responsible for managing and delivering education programs to 587,800 students in K-12 programs in public schools. An additional 67,900 students attend independent schools, some of which are partially publicly funded. The Ministry of Health is the steward of BC’s 6 health authorities mandated to provide quality, appropriate and timely health services to British Columbians.  The ministry sets province-wide goals, standards and performance agreements for health service delivery by the health authorities. They provide a full range of health care services ranging from hospital treatment to community-based residential, home health, mental health and public health services, including prevention and health promotion programs.

BC’s Healthy Schools Unit 2003 – BC Provincial Health Officer – released An Ounce of Prevention November 2004 – BC Government announced a Plan of Action for School Health February 2005 – Director, Healthy Schools (Joint Position) An ounce of Prevention report: A Public Health Rationale for the School as a Setting for Health Promotion Joint position between Ministries of Health and Education – Director’s Mandate is to facilitate enhanced inter-ministry cooperation, collaboration and coordination in school health planning and policy development.

BC’s Healthy Schools Network Voluntary organization of public and independent schools Common goal is to address health promotion through a comprehensive approach Embedded in an existing Education Network: BC’s Network of Performance Based Schools http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/health/hsnetwork/ Members are actively working with BC’s reading, writing, numeracy and social responsibility performance standards This is the key to building comprehensive school health on the ground because it is centered in the school setting and is lead by educators. Participating schools commit to: Developing a Healthy Schools Team Doing a school health assessment Developing a healthy schools improvement plan Consulting with local health authority health promotion professionals in the assessment and planning stages Addressing improvement in at least one identified area of priority: healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco reduction and emotional wellness. Membership in the 2006/07 half year pilot – 34 schools (over 80 schools submitted applications to be in the program) 30 schools completed the pilot and entering the second year, 29 of the 30 schools will be returning (97% retention rate). Year two will see 35-45 new schools for a total of 65 – 75 (approximately, 150 schools submitted applications).

Benefits of JCSH membership Influential in the development of BC’s Healthy Schools Network - BC’s mechanism to create sustainable comprehensive school health Knowledge exchange and resource sharing Easy access to school health information in other jurisdictions Participation in the Consortium influenced the development of BC’s Healthy Schools Network. The Consortium helps facilitate sector integration at the provincial level by increasing the visibility of Comprehensive School Health across the country and providing a venue for ongoing knowledge sharing between and within member jurisdictions and easy access to school health information in other jurisdictions. The School Health Coordinator Committee has proven to be an excellent mechanism for jurisdictions to share information quickly, enhancing our ability to provide up to date and accurate information to provincial staff and political representatives. Examples include: Gaining access to provincial/territorial policy and program materials related to managing Anaphylaxis in the school setting Gaining access to provincial/territorial policy and program materials related to daily physical activity programs in the school setting.