1. Shannon Michael, PhD, MPH
CDC’s Investment to Support the Connection Between Health and Academic Achievement
Shannon Michael, PhD, MPH

2. Overview
Explain the connection between health and academic achievement through the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model
Describe CDC’s school-based surveillance systems
Identify opportunities to examine the association between health and academic achievement using these systems
Share CDC’s resources on health and academic achievement

3. Whole School Whole Community Whole Child
ASCD and CDC developed this new model—in collaboration with key leaders from the fields of health, public health, education, and school health. This model is a way to frame and address the work schools are doing related to health, and it also provides a way to explain how addressing these different components of WSCC in schools can help students be better learners.

4. Special Issue: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model
November 2015 issue
Critical Connections: Health and Academics
In November 2015, we collaborated with the America School Health Association to develop a special issue on WSCC in the Journal of School Health. One if the articles was focused on the “critical connection between health and academics.” This article attempted to explain the connection between all ten components of the WSCC model and academic achievement.

5. Academic Achievement Students’ cognitive skills and attitudes
Concentration
Memory
Mood
Education behavior
Attendance
Drop out rates
Behavioral problems at school
Academic performance
Class grades
Standardized tests
Graduation rates
Before highlighting some of the results of this study, let me share with you how CDC has been defining academic achievement. Academic achievement consists of the following three aspects: students’ cognitive skills and attitudes includes concentration, memory, and mood
education behavior includes attendance, dropout rates, and behavioral problems at schools;
and finally, academic performance which includes class grades, standardized tests, and graduation rates.
Source: CDC. Health and Academic Achievement

6. Cognitive Skills and Attitude
Summary of Findings
WSCC Component
Academic Performance
Education Behavior
Cognitive Skills and Attitude
Physical education and physical activity X
Nutrition environment and services
Health education
Health services
Counseling, psychological, and social services
Employee wellness -
Social and emotional school climate
Physical environment
Family engagement
Community involvement
Summary of Findings
Here are some of the findings from the article. Across all ten components, there is some connection to academic achievement, except for employee wellness. As you can see for physical activity and nutrition, they impact all 3 aspects of academic achievement, with a lot of the research showing its impact on student’s cognitive ability. As expected, health services and counselling, psychological and social services, affected education behavior and with most of the research on school attendance. The bolded “Xs” are very subjective and represents where most of the research falls.
Michael SL, Merlo C, Basch C, Wentzel K, Wechsler H. Critical connections: health and academics. J School Health. 2015;85(11):

7. Healthier Students Are Better Learners

8. CDC School-based Surveillance Systems

9. Differences of CDC’s School-based Surveillance Systems
YRBS
School Health Profiles
SHPPS
Purpose
To determine the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among students, assess trends in these behaviors, and examine the co-occurrence of health-risk behaviors
To provide data on health policies and activities at schools for states, large urban school districts, and territories
To provide national data on components of school health at the state, school district, school, and classroom levels
Sample
Nationally representative sample of public and private high school students
Representative samples of mostly public high school students in each jurisdiction
Representative sample of public middle schools and high schools in each state, territory, or school district
All states
Nationally representative sample of school districts
Nationally representative sample of public and private elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools
Method
Self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires, conducted in classrooms
Self-administered, mailed, or Web-based questionnaires
Computer-assisted personal interviews, Web-based surveys, and self-administered, mailed questionnaires
Timing
Biennially, since 1991
Biennially, since 1994
Full: 1994, 2000, 2006
State & district: 2012
School & classroom: 2014
Differences of CDC’s School-based Surveillance Systems

10. CDC’s State Public Health Actions Program (1305)
Enhanced funded states were required to select targeted districts
Targeted districts have a representative sample of students for YRBS and of schools for School Health Profiles but data are not linked

11. YRBS: Health-Risk Behaviors and Academic Grades Fact Sheets

12. Possible Opportunities: YRBS (National and State)
Focus is on the association between
health behaviors/outcomes and academic achievement
Propose questions for the 2019 YRBS (national and state survey) on attendance, disciplinary actions (e.g., detention, expulsion, sent to office) and attitude toward school
Link school-level data from YRBS with other available education data such as Market Data Retrieval (MDR) and Common Core of Data (CCD).
This might include: test scores, attendance rates, dropout rates, graduation rates, and disciplinary action rates
Encourage states to link state YRBS data with available school- level academic achievement data
Note: One issue is that students are
not representative of the school

13. Possible Opportunities: School Health Profiles & SHPPS
Focus is on the association between
health policies/practices and academic achievement
Link school-level data from Profiles and SHPPS with other available education data such as MDR and CCD
Link SHPPS district-level data with YRBS district-level data (CDC-funded districts)

14. Other Data Systems Managed by CDC to Consider…
National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS)
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

15. Few Actions to Consider
Complete an environmental scan of all federal and state-level data collection systems that focus on health, education, or both
Work with NGOs that are collecting data on health and academic achievement
Take advantage of the data being collected for CDC’s State Pubic Health Actions Program (1305)
Increase support, training, and technical assistance to collect data on health and education

16. Resources For Health and Academic Achievement
Health and Academic Achievement overview document
Presentation slides with notes
Podcast on physical activity, nutrition, and academic achievement

17. Evidence-Message-Action
Know the
Core Messages
AND
The Audience-Specific
Messages
Be Ready to Share with Key Stakeholders How They Can Take Action
Healthy Eating
Academic Achievement
Physical Activity

18. Thank you slide
THANK YOU!