MAKING THE CASE
Role playing activity

MATERIALS: Pull these materials from the Trainer’s Resource Bank, the last section in the back of the SHI Training Manual.
* Why Use the School Health Index
* SHI Stories from the Field
* Letter of Support
* Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

SCRIPT:

SHI Champion: Hi, my name is ____________________ from _________________. I was wondering if I could take a few minutes of your time to tell you about an exciting opportunity for our school.

Principal: Sure, but I only have about 5 minutes before my next meeting.

SHI Champion: No problem, it will only take a few minutes. As you know, promoting healthy behaviors and creating a healthy environment is an important part of the fundamental mission of schools: to help young people acquire the knowledge and skills to become productive and healthy adults. (show Why Use the School Health Index) The School Health Index: A Self Assessment and Planning Guide is a tool that will help our school to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our health policies and programs, and develop an action plan to improve them.

Principal: Wait a second, what is this going to cost us?

SHI Champion: Actually, copies of the School Health Index, or SHI for short, are available completely free from the CDC! The outcome of the SHI will be a school improvement plan which will lay out the steps our school will need to take to improve our health and safety policies and programs. Most of these changes won’t require the school spending a dime. Others may require additional resources --

Principal: See, I knew it! Additional resources! I’m sorry, but our budget is already so tight and we do not have any room for taking on expensive projects.

SHI Champion: But many schools all over the country have used their results from the SHI to help provide rationale or justification for funding requests. Schools in Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, New York among many others, have all been able to go to health departments or other sources to get mini-grants to implement their changes.

Principal: You keep mentioning “changes.” What do you mean by that?

SHI Champion: (show SHI Stories From the Field handout) Let me give you a few examples. (read some changes from the handout)

Principal: Oh, wow, I guess it really has had a big impact in a lot of schools.

SHI Champion: Yes! And this is just a very small sample of what schools all over the country have experienced as a result of the SHI.

Principal: So, you said it wouldn’t cost us anything to implement the SHI, but what about time? We don’t have the time to go through a long, enduring process for months and months.

SHI Champion: Actually, if we want, we can complete the entire SHI in one long meeting. Or we can break up into smaller groups to complete parts of the assessment and come back together for a few hours to make our action plan. The entire process may take as little as 6 hours.

Principal: 6 hours – that’s not bad. (Look at watch.) Oh, actually, I’m running late for my meeting.

SHI Champion: Ok. Well, if this sounds good to you, could I ask for your signature on this official letter of support? (show Letter of Support)

Principal: Yeah, it sounds like it is well worth the small amount of time it will take. (sign letter)

SHI Champion: Wonderful! Well, let me leave a few materials with you about the SHI. I’ve already handed you an overview of the SHI and the SHI Success Stories handout which highlights some of the achievements others schools have made as a result of the SHI. Let me also give you this list of frequently asked questions.

Principal: Thank you.

SHI Champion: Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to working with you on the SHI in the near future.