School Health Index
A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide

Jefferson Middle School is in the process of identifying strengths and weaknesses in its health and safety policies and programs to plan for improvement. The School Health Team plans to use CDC's School Health Index to conduct an assessment and develop actions for next year. Subcommittees have been established to focus on each individual module.

You are a physical education teacher at the middle school and have been assigned to lead the group that is completing Module 7: Health Promotion for Staff. As the Module Coordinator, you will lead your group in arriving at a consensus to complete the Module 7 Score Card to identify actions that your group will recommend for implementation.

In assessing the school's health promotion program for staff, you note:

• Jefferson Middle School provides information about health promotion programs at new staff orientation and makes announcements of community health programs during staff meetings each week.
• During new staff orientation, staff members who smoke are offered self-help educational brochures and a physician referral list for help with tobacco-use cessation.
• You have heard feedback that many staff members who smoke do not go to physicians on the referral list because many find access to the physicians to be difficult. Most of the physicians on the list either do not take new patients or are located in counties beyond a 50-mile radius of the school.
• The middle school does not offer any type of physical activity programs for staff.

Now that you have become familiar with your school's health promotion program, your team can assess its current state by answering discussion questions and completing the Module 7 Score Card. For simplicity, you will only address three of the thirteen items from this module:

• CC.3—Promote staff member participation
• PA.1—Promote programs for staff members on physical activity/fitness
• T.1—Promote programs for staff members on tobacco-use cessation

You may review this scenario, as needed, to complete this activity to address discussion questions, calculate the module score, determine strengths and weaknesses, recommend actions for weaknesses, and establish priorities.