Colorado

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools in which the lead health education teacher received professional development during the past 2 years on all of the following:

• Describing how widespread HIV and other STD infections are and the consequences of these infections.
• Understanding the modes of transmission and effective prevention strategies for HIV and other STDs.
• Identifying populations of youth who are at high risk of being infected with HIV and other STDs.
• Implementing health education strategies using prevention messages that are likely to be effective in reaching youth.

Activities

• Develop partnerships and professional development plans with multiple partners whose missions are aligned with HIV prevention priorities.
• Analyze the 2009 HIV Prevention and Sexuality Assessment results to determine the status of health education and medically accurate, science-based sex education and use this analysis to develop a professional development plan for teachers.
• Train educators in coordinated school health, including medically accurate sex education.

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools in which the lead health education teacher received professional development on at least six of the following during the past 2 years:

• Teaching HIV prevention to students with physical, medical, or cognitive disabilities.
• Teaching HIV prevention to students of various cultural backgrounds.
• Using interactive teaching methods for HIV prevention education, such as role plays or cooperative group activities.
• Teaching essential skills for health behavior change related to HIV prevention and guiding student practice of these skills.
• Teaching about health-promoting social norms and beliefs related to HIV prevention.
• Strategies for involving parents, families, and others in student learning of HIV prevention education.
• Assessing students’ performance in HIV prevention education.
• Implementing standards-based HIV prevention education curricula and student assessment.
• Using technology to improve HIV prevention education instruction.
• Teaching HIV prevention to students with limited English proficiency.
• Addressing community concerns and challenges related to HIV prevention education.

Activities

• Develop and implement a plan to engage parents and youth in the HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy education and prevention program.
• Develop and implement a training plan with the state migrant education program to provide HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy prevention for migrant students.
• Work with the Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention to provide training to targeted educators in coordinated school health, including medically accurate sex education.
• Work with the Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention to provide trainings on science-based sex education programs proven to change sexual risk-taking behavior among Latino youth.
• Provide long-term, intensive technical assistance to 3–5 school districts on selecting, implementing, and evaluating science-based sexuality education programming.

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that have a policy or policies that address all of the following issues:

• Attendance of students with HIV infection.
• Procedures to protect HIV-infected students and staff from discrimination.
• Maintaining confidentiality of HIV-infected students and staff.

Activities

• Distribute model HIV policies in partnership with the Colorado School Health Program.
• Meet with the regional area AIDS projects, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) school nurse consultant, and CDE regional managers to develop a plan to promote updated policies to school districts.
• Provide a policy webinar for school districts and youth-serving agencies.
• Monitor and track sexuality education programs and policies in Colorado schools through the Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention’s HIV prevention and sexuality assessment efforts.

Physical Activity

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools in which at least one physical education teacher or specialist received professional development on physical education during the past 2 years.

Activities

• Design training on updated physical education standards and new health education standards.
• Create Web site with best practices to implement the updated physical education standards and new health education standards.
• Provide regional trainings to at least 300 physical education and health education teachers.
• Design and implement a grant program for Colorado schools to implement health education standards.

Nutrition

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that do not sell the following foods and beverages anywhere at school outside the school food service program:

• Baked goods that are not low in fat (e.g., cookies, crackers, cakes, pastries).
• Salty snacks that are not low in fat (e.g., regular potato chips).
• Candy (i.e., chocolate or non-chocolate candy).
• Soda pop or fruit drinks that are not 100% juice.

Activities

• Design a training on the Colorado beverage rules and best practices in selling food outside of the food service program.
• Train 100 health co-leaders and food service directors in the Colorado beverage rules and best practices in selling food outside of the food service program.
• Evaluate beverage rule training and provide follow-up support for participants attending trainings.

Tobacco

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that implement a tobacco-use prevention policy in all of the following ways:

• Provide visible signage.
• Communicate the policy to students, staff, and visitors.
• Designate an individual responsible for enforcement.
• Have a process in place for addressing violations.
• Use remedial rather than punitive sanctions for violators.
• Tailor consequences to the severity and frequency of the violation.
• Communicate student violations to their parents and families.

Activities

• Identify strategies to support tobacco policy community and enforcement strategies for schools.
• Institutionalize effective school wellness and tobacco-free schools policies.
• Develop and market tools to promote tobacco policy and enforcement strategies in schools.
• Provide Web-based Tobacco-Free Schools Policy Checklist trainings and technical assistance for school staff and local health agencies.
• Conduct Web-based and in-person Second Chance trainings.
• Provide an online orientation to the CDC Web-based Aligning Learning with Learners Guide.

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that have a group (e.g., school health team) that helps plan and implement school health programs, with representation from 10 or more of the following:

• School administrators.
• Health education teachers.
• Physical education teachers.
• Mental health or social services staff.
• Nutrition or food service staff.
• Health services staff (e.g., school nurse).
• Maintenance and transportation staff.
• Student body.
• Parents or families of students.
• Community.
• Local health departments, agencies, or organizations.
• Faith-based organizations.

Activities

• Expand strategic partnerships with cross-agency and community partners whose missions are aligned with the physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco priorities to support coordinated school health.
• Train 300 members of the state coalition Colorado Connections for Healthy Schools in coordinated school health.
• Survey parents through the Child Health Survey on their support for healthy schools.
• Work with local foundations to identify opportunities to increase funding for local school health teams.
• Deliver professional development and technical assistance on physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco policies and programs through a cadre of regional trainers.

Colorado is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that have ever assessed their policies, activities, and programs by using the School Health Index or a similar self-assessment tool in any of the following areas:  

• Physical activity.
• Nutrition.
• Tobacco-use prevention.

Activities

• Train 30 school health teams on the School Health Index.
• Develop strategic partnerships with other agencies and community groups to support school health assessment.