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Child
Health
As the number
of children in our public schools grows, so does the racial, ethnic,
social, and economic diversity of these students and their families.
Not the least of these changing demographics is the health status
of students. More and more, students are being affected by health
issues and conditions that affect their readiness to learn and ultimately
their academic achievement.
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During the 1998-1999
school year, nearly 47 million students under age 18 spent the majority
of their days in 87 thousand public schools across the country.
Teachers and other school employees are often the first to see the
how poor health and health behaviors affect a student’s learning
and achievement. Schools are in a unique position to identify health
issues that affect student learning and achievement before more
serious health and learning problems develop.
How Can Schools
Help?
- Adolescent
Risk Behaviors: Studies have shown that certain child and
adolescent risk behaviors can negatively affect educational outcomes
such as performance on standardized tests, class grades, and attendance
and graduation rates. In addition, risk behaviors can negatively
impact a child’s attitude towards school, their degree of involvement
in school activities, as well as their own self perception. The
behaviors students establish as children and adolescents will
not only affect how they feel and act today, but can contribute
to poor health as adults. Several leading causes of death and
disability for adults (including cancer and heart disease) are
linked to risk behaviors established in childhood such as diet,
physical activity, and smoking. Schools can effectively address
health issues for students, as well as staff, through Coordinated
School Health Programs, a framework that provides consistent health
information through eight components of the school environment.
Learn more
about addressing student risk behaviors through Coordinated School
Health Programs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Children
Without Health Insurance or Regular Health Care: While most
children in the United States are in excellent health and receive
good care, too many children neither see a physician at recommended
intervals nor receive treatment for episodic or chronic problems.
The difficulties confronting these mostly low-income children
are made worse by the higher rates of health problems associated
with poverty and the greater barriers poor children experience
in securing care. In 1998, 18.9% of all children in the United
States were living in poverty. And despite the increase in the
number of children living in families with at least one parent
employed full time, more than 11.5 million children in the U.S.
have no health insurance, mostly because their families can’t
afford it. Learn more about linking
students to FREE health insurance and establishing school-based
health centers to address students’ physical, mental, and social
health needs.
- Hungry
Children: Hunger in America disproportionately impacts children,
who were nearly twice as likely as adults to be living in hungry/food
insecure households. The number of children in hungry/food insecure
households in the U.S. increased from 10.36 million in 1997 to
12.37 million in 1998. Even kids who live in food-secure households
may come to school hungry – with more parents working and commuting
longer hours, more and more children are getting themselves ready
for school or going to school before classes begin, and are often
not eating a healthy breakfast. In some localities, students have
extremely long bus rides and are arriving at school hungry even
when they did eat breakfast before they left their houses. Hunger
is linked to lower test scores, behavioral problems, tardiness
and absenteeism. Many of the students who complain of stomach
aches and headaches are actually experiencing symptoms of hunger.
At a time when everyone is talking about improving student achievement,
research demonstrates that ensuring that the children in your
school are well fed is an important first step toward that goal.
Several federal child nutrition programs provide funds for breakfast,
lunch, snacks, and (sometimes) dinner so that children can be
fed while they are in school, after and before school, and during
the summer. Learn more about federal
nutrition programs available for your school.
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NEA Health Information Network