Undergraduates’ Application of Coordinated School Health for Needs Assessment Purposes Dr. Amy Sidwell, MCHES Fairmont State University AAHPERD National Convention St. Louis, Missouri April 4, 2014

By the end of this session, you will be able to… 1. recognize the stakeholders in Coordinated School Health 2. identify methods for discovering health/safety needs within schools

What is Coordinated School Health? “CSH is a systematic approach to improving the health and well-being of all students so they can fully participate and be successful in school. The process involves bringing together school administrators, teachers, other staff, students, families, and community members to assess health needs; set priorities; and plan, implement, and evaluate all health-related activities.” (CDC. School Health Programs: Improving the Health of Our Nation's Youth—At A Glance 2011, Atlanta: CDC; 2011.)

What is Coordinated School Health? “CSH typically integrates health promotion efforts across eight interrelated components that already exist to some extent in most schools” (CDC. School Health Programs: Improving the Health of Our Nation's Youth—At A Glance 2011, Atlanta: CDC; 2011).

Components of Coordinated School Health include… o Health Education o Physical Education o Health Services o Nutrition Services o Counseling, Psychological & Social services o Healthy & Safe School Environments o Staff Wellness o Family & Community Involvement

Stakeholders in CSH include… Administrators Teachers Staff Parents Students Community members

What is a Needs Assessment? It is the centerpiece of a planning process Guides the development of plans and how those plans will be evaluated Provides schools with strengths, weaknesses, areas for improvement, successes, & challenges

AAHE Standard II: Needs Assessment Candidates assess needs to determine priorities for school health education. Key Element A: Candidates access a variety of reliable data sources related to health. Key Element B: Candidates collect health-related data. Key Element C: Candidates infer needs for health education from data obtained.

Methods for conducting a Needs Assessment FIRST… Clarify the purpose of the needs assessment Identify the population Determine how you will conduct the needs assessment NEXT… Design/adopt a survey instrument Collect Data Analyze Data Use the results for planning

NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. Pre-service teachers in School Health & Safety (HLTA 3310) complete a needs assessment portfolio. This portfolio is a comprehensive project in the course that demonstrates their abilities to conduct needs assessments within school settings, describe how health and safety programs are administered and coordinated, communicate the findings of their needs assessments, and advocate for school health education. 41 schools in 7 West Virginia counties 43 School Health & Safety Needs Assessments completed Fall Spring 2014 PURPOSE: To identify the # 1 health/safety need in the school

Data Collection Primary Data New, original data. May be difficult to collect. Time consuming & potentially costly. Possible problems with validity & reliability. Interviews Surveys Secondary Data Already exists & was collected by someone else. May include government sources. Your state’s Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics US Census Bureau Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Citydata.com

Pre-service teachers’ interviews… Identify key stakeholders for an interview Administrator/Principal Professional Development Schools Coordinator PTO President Call, Check, Care Call to set-up an interview Check or confirm interview time Show caring by acknowledging time constraints

Interview Techniques Think of the CSH approach to frame your questions. How is the school doing with regard to… Health education Physical education Health services Nutrition services Counseling, psychological and social services Healthy and safe school environment Health promotion for staff Family and community involvement? Start with relatively easy questions to get the interviewees talking. How many students are enrolled in your school? Tell me about those students. Do you have students with special needs (disabilities, free/reduced lunch)?

Interview Techniques, cont. Ask to record the conversation Consider using digital voice recorders & note-taking Transcribe the interview right away Share transcription or summary with the interviewee

Pen & paper questionnaire Benefits: Works well with teachers & students while in classrooms. Draw-backs: May be costly to print & mail. Students may not get the surveys home to their parents. Data entry is time consuming.

Online surveys Survey Monkey: Develop a survey with 10 or fewer questions for 100 or fewer respondents for free. Send the URL via , Facebook, or embed into a website. Data analysis is included. KwikSurveys: Free, online survey builder. Unlimited questions & responses. Can export results & receive a report. Google Docs/Google Drive: Create, store, and send a document. Allows others to enter their responses and send back to the data collector. Insert images, links, and other digital content. REDCap: Research Education Data Capture. Through West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute. Online surveys can be built & managed securely.

Selected Findings NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. Mental Health School Safety

Benefits of Needs Assessments for Pre-Service Teachers Learn how school health programs are coordinated Apply course material to real school settings Understand the importance of using data to inform recommendations & planning Gain experience in interview situations

Benefits of Needs Assessments for Schools Provides a snapshot of current and future needs of the school, students, parents, teachers, and the community Reveals how well the current processes meet the school- community’s needs Identifies ways in which the school & community are changing Uncovers root causes of problems Forecasts the types of education programs and expertise that will be needed in the future

Benefits of Needs Assessments for Schools Gets STAKEHOLDERS (administrators, staff, students, parents, & the community) to identify… THE #1 HEALTH OR SAFETY NEED IN THE SCHOOL

Dr. Amy Sidwell, MCHES