Maine

Maine is seeking to increase the percentage of schools in which students’ family or community members have helped develop or implement HIV prevention, STD prevention, or teen pregnancy prevention policies and programs.

Activities

• Create and disseminate an information packet in coordination with the state parent-teacher association on HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy prevention.
• Present HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy-related data from the 2009 Maine Integrated Youth Survey to the state parent-teacher association, youth advisory groups, and the Maine State Board of Education.

Maine 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

• Deliver science-based trainings on Reducing the Risk, Real Talk, Be Proud Be Responsible, and Partners in Prevention to educators.
• Provide targeted and tailored trainings for educators in tribal schools to reach at-risk students.
• Collaborate with community-based organizations to effectively reach lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth with targeted HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention messages.
• Conduct follow-up and evaluation to monitor and support HIV educators that have completed science-based and tribal trainings.
• Produce quarterly HIV prevention newsletters and update HIV Web site monthly to keep constituents up to date on Maine’s prevention efforts.

Maine 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

• Deliver science-based trainings on Reducing the Risk, Real Talk, Be Proud Be Responsible, and Partners in Prevention to educators.
• Provide targeted and tailored trainings for educators in tribal schools to reach students at adverse health risk.
• Conduct follow-up and evaluation to monitor and support HIV educators that have completed science-based and tribal trainings.
• Produce quarterly HIV prevention newsletters and update HIV Web site monthly to keep constituents up to date on Maine’s prevention efforts.

Physical Activity

Maine is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that teach about all of the following in a required course:

• Physical, psychological, or social benefits of physical activity.
• Health-related fitness (i.e., cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition).
• Phases of a workout (i.e., warm-up, workout, cool down).
• How much physical activity is enough (i.e., determining frequency, intensity, time, and type of physical activity).
• Developing an individualized physical activity plan.
• Monitoring progress toward reaching goals in an individualized physical activity plan.
• Overcoming barriers to physical activity.
• Decreasing sedentary activities such as television viewing.
• Opportunities for physical activity in the community.
• Preventing injury during physical activity.
• Weather-related safety (e.g., avoiding heat stroke, hypothermia, and sunburn while physically active).
• Dangers of using performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids.

Activities

• Implement a professional development plan that includes 12 suggested topics from CDC’s Guidelines to improve the quality of physical education.
• Provide training and follow-up support to physical education teachers in using the Physical Education Curriculum Assessment Training.

Nutrition

Maine is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that use at least three of the following strategies anywhere in the school to promote healthy eating:

• Price nutritious food and beverage choices at a lower cost while increasing the price of less nutritious foods and beverages.
• Collect suggestions from students, families, and school staff on nutritious food preferences and strategies to promote healthy eating.
• Provide information on the nutrition and caloric content of foods available.
• Conduct taste tests to determine food preferences for nutritious items.
• Provide opportunities for students to visit the cafeteria to learn about food safety, food preparation, or other nutrition-related topics.

Activities

• Host a joint training for food service directors and school health coordinators to foster collaboration in employing strategies that promote healthy eating within the cafeteria.
• Support school participation in the Farm to School program by providing technical assistance on best practices for food service directors and school health coordinators.
• Collaborate with other state partners to update school nutrition guidelines that incorporate Institute of Medicine standards.

Tobacco

Maine 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

• Collaborate with Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine to develop a tobacco policy assessment and implementation tool.
• Partner with Maine Youth Advocacy Network and Maine Youth Legislative Council to share data regarding statewide tobacco policies.
• Create a communication plan to disseminate information to school health coordinators, school administrators, and other educators about tobacco policies and their enforcement at the district and school level.

Maine 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.
• Businesses.
• Local government.

Activities

• Support and expand Maine’s School Health Coordinator system through information sessions to governmental and nongovernmental agencies.
• Provide professional development and follow-up support to assist school health teams in obtaining community representation on local school health councils and school health teams.
• Develop a communication plan to inform key Maine partners about the roles and benefits of having a school health coordinator and a school health team.

Maine 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

• Provide regional School Health Index trainings annually that include follow-up support, evaluation, and technical assistance.
• Build a cadre of instructors to conduct and support School Health Index trainings statewide.

Maine is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that provide parents and families health information to increase parent and family knowledge of any of the following health issues:  

• Tobacco-use prevention.
• Physical activity.
• Nutrition and healthy eating.

Activities

• Develop and implement an information session for parent organizations to support coordinated school health in addressing physical activity, nutrition, healthy eating, and tobacco-use prevention.
• Provide professional development and follow-up support to assist school health teams in obtaining community representation on local school health councils and school health teams.
• Create a communication plan to disseminate information to school health teams and parents about physical activity, nutrition, healthy eating, and tobacco-use prevention policies and their enforcement at the district and school level.