The Office of Coordinated School
Health (OCSH) was established by the Tennessee Department of
Education in February, 2001. The primary mission of the
office is to improve student health outcomes as well as
support the connection between good health practices,
academic achievement, and lifetime wellness. OCSH partners
with the Tennessee Department of Health - Office of School
Health. With the passage of TCA 49-1-1002 in 2000,
authorization and funding for CSH was established. State
funding provided support for ten pilot sites. In 2006,
Public Chapter 1001 - the Coordinated School Health
Expansion and Physical Activity Law, established authority
and funding ($15 million) to expand CSH
statewide. Additional funding has been provided by a grant
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Coordinated
School Health Program for the Gibson County Special School
District (GCSSD) is in the seventh year of operation.
Currently, the Coordinated School Health Program (CSH) is
serving eight schools located throughout Gibson County. This
program is based upon the integrated, eight component model
for school health as recommended by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
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The
Mission of GCSSD Coordinated School Health is to
provide a coordinated approach to school health
initiatives that connect good health practices of staff,
students and families with academic achievement and
lifelong wellness.
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It is our
goal to institutionalize physical activity,
nutrition initiatives, and health opportunities that
focus on the eight-component model with teaching and
learning everyday to help staff and students live
healthier more productive lives.
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Our
vision is for this effort to be so seamless it
becomes the way we live every day. Our belief is
“healthy kids make better students”.
Education reforms have not
succeeded in improving the performance of all students,
particularly those who do not arrive at school ready to
learn. Coordinated School Health encourages healthy
lifestyles, provides needed supports to at-risk students,
and helps to reduce the prevalence of health problems that
impair academic success.
Kellie
N. Carroll