Context Statement

According to Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “The health of U.S. children is worse in virtually all categories when compared to children in other industrialized countries.”[1] The overall wellness of Americans is deteriorating and health problems are starting earlier due to lack of knowledge as well as economic reasons. In 2002, 9 million children 18 and younger had no life insurance.[2] According to the Surgeon General’s 2000 Conference on Children’s Mental Health, 1 child in 10 suffers from mental impairment, with suicide being the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24.[3] We believe that schools today do not address the issues of the whole child-in mind, body and spirit, and they are inadequately preparing children to make choices that reflect healthy lifestyles. We strongly believe that the above mentioned and following statistics are reason enough to find new and better ways of getting in-touch with young adolescents:

  • Diet and physical inactivity accounted for 400,000 deaths in 2000, or about 16.6% of total deaths. Tobacco, with 435,000 deaths, was 18.1% of the total, according to the research in the Journal of American Medical Association. (Hellmich, USA Today 3.9.04)
  • “Obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are now the most important public health and problems of this century,” says Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Hellmich, USA Today 3.9.04)
  • About 15.5% of adolescents (ages 12-19) and 15.3 percent of children (ages 6-11) are obese, according to the American Obesity Association.[4]

In response to these rising health concerns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School has developed “a systematic approach for schools to use to meet the needs of the whole child and maximize the positive effect on students, schools and communities.”[5] The Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) model consists of eight interactive components. “Schools themselves cannot, and should not be expected to, address the nation’s most serious health and social problems. Families, health care workers, the media, religious organizations, community organizations that serve the youth and young people themselves must be systematically involved.”( The CSHP promotes a comprehensive health education curriculum that includes a variety of topics such as:

Personal HealthMental and Emotional Health

Family HealthInjury Prevention and Safety

Community HealthNutrition

Consumer HealthPrevention and Control of Disease

Environmental HealthSubstance Use and Abuse

Sexuality Education

Marx (2003) wrote, “Schools in which the mental, social, and physical health of students is protected have been able to significantly increase achievement.” We believe that by integrating a Coordinated School Health Program into a curriculum that addresses both the scholastic needs and interests of the young adolescent learner, our school will be a healthy learning environment were students of this age will be able to develop the habits of mind, body, and spirit necessary for becoming healthy, knowledgeable, and self-respecting young adults.

School Rationale:

At a time when young people face so many conditions that can damage their social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and cognitive well being, it is imperative for schools to do all they can to educate the whole child on subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. In the Council of Chief State Officer’s 2004 “Policy Statement on School Health,” they state that, “Policies and Practices that address the health and development needs of young people must be included in any comprehensive strategy for improving academic performance.”[6] We believe that starting with young and even pre-adolescents (4th graders) is necessary because as Winifred Green, organizer of the Southern Coalition for Educational Equity, Inc., points out in a report regarding middle school improvement, “Middle school is the last, best chance to grab kids before other forces take hold.”[7]

School Purpose and Philosophy:

The purpose of the Parkbrook Middle School of Health is to foster a middle school experience that meets the needs of adolescent and pre-adolescent learners in the twenty-first century. We are a school that is aware of the rising occurrence of childhood and adolescent health problems due to physical inactivity, poor nutrition, lack of insurance and primary health care, and an overall deficiency of understanding and knowledge as to how one develops and leads a healthy life. We are also aware that adolescence is a critical stage of development, and is often a confusing and stressful time in which these students are considering everything from what type of music or clothing style they identify with, to the meaning of the world and their place in it. It is our philosophy that in order to create a successful educational experience for these learners, we must develop a school curriculum and culture that does not simply fulfill their academic needs, but also recognizes the issues of adolescence and the importance of developing a physically and mentally healthy self. We believe that by addressing issues of health and respecting our students’ ideas and concerns, we will be alleviating part of the strain of adolescence, and in turn will be increasing our students’ likelihood for success in school and in life.

School Mission:

The mission of the Parkbrook Middle School of Health is to provide adolescent learners with an educational experience that not only allows for healthy cognitive development, but also healthy physical, social, emotional, and spiritual development. Our school is grounded in the principal the best way to ensure student success in the classroom and in life is by helping students find a sense balance within them, and by promoting the development of a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. Parkbrook students will be equipped with the information and resources they will need to formulate their own ideas and opinions, and in turn, make good life choices. We envision that equally important to our dedication to addressing the unique needs of adolescents and issues of health will be our constant attention to developing and maintaining mutual trust and respect between Parkbrook students, faculty and staff, families, and community members. We have identified three main goals that are central to the fulfillment of our mission:

  1. To provide students with a safe learning environment that accounts for their needs as individuals and adolescent learners.
  2. To provide students with an educational experience that is academically challenging yet interesting and relevant to adolescent learners.
  3. To foster an understanding of the critical role that health and healthy decision making plays in one’s success in school and life as a whole.

The components necessary for creating a school culture that will make our goals a success will include:

  • Building a sense of trust between the families and the community, and the staff members.
  • Cultivating a sense of safety and respect amongst Parkbrook students, their peers, and the staff.
  • Integrating the components of a Coordinated School Health Program with rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum that is truly aligned with adolescent learners’ needs and interests.
  • Creating the understanding that the development and maintenance of a healthy and active lifestyle will serve students well in their scholastic endeavors, and in all areas of their lives.

Theory of Action:

The Parkbrook Middle School of Health is designed to empower adolescent students to excel in all areas of their lives by giving them the tools to make healthy decisions and lead healthy, active lives. It is designed to integrate the components of comprehensive health education with a rigorous academic curriculum that provides interdisciplinary instruction, exploration of specialty subjects through a variety of elective courses, service learning opportunities, and year-round health and physical education. Parkbrook students will understand the critical role that health plays in their lives, the lives of their families, and the lives of their community members. Students will be expected to share their knowledge of the importance of good health practices by participating in health-related service learning projects, and by making community presentations/working with our partnering health and wellness center on programs geared towards improving community health and awareness.

The Parkbrook Middle School of Health will enable adolescent learners to develop healthy, fulfilling lifestyles by creating a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable questioning and discussing issues that they are facing in their lives. Our school will be using a grade level team model that features a five-person at each grade level that is collectively responsible for the education of approximately 70 students. While each teacher will be highly qualified in the subject area have been designated to teach, the teachers should work together to create interdisciplinary lessons that encourage students to work together, and develop a sense of team work and respect amongst each other. There is specific time in the schedule that will be dedicated to doing “team” activities. It is the hope that this time will be used in particular to have small and large group discussions and information sessions that address relevant adolescent and health issues.

What makes Parkbrook Middle School of Health unique is its dedication to creating a meaningful, content rich curriculum around the needs of each group of students. We follow the differentatiated model of instruction by Carol Ann Tomlison. This creative approach to teaching requires a team of dedicated and passionate individuals who are willing to look at, explore and ask questions about the ever changing needs of their students and their delivery of instruction. Teachers and staff work collaboratively across disciplines incorporating the components of comprehensive health education with the state standards, which allow and provide opportunities for the students to see connections to their own lives and to the wider world around them. This curriculum seeks to empower the students to see a purpose and power from the knowledge they are constructing and in turn gaining.

We believe that assessmentas an integral part of our schools: it informs us how to tailor our instruction, identify student strengths and weaknesses, modify the curriculum and outline teacher involvement. It must address several different levels, from micro-focusing on the students and teacher, to the macro- the whole school and community, in several forms, both formal and informal. At Parkbrook Middle School of Health, we all believe that students should be actively involved in documenting their growth as well as understanding and noticing themselves as learners. As a result, the students are involved in a variety of means throughout the year, such as discussions, checklists, presentations, portfolios, as well as state assessments. The students along with their teachers and the Director of Recording will meet to share samples of their own work, and to engage in conversations focusing on reflection and growth.

On the school level, accountability is essential to explain the past, clarify the present and vision the future. Parkbrook Middle School of Health is built on the belief that if we address and meet the needs of the whole child, physically, mentally, and socially, then we have provided them with an opportinuty to be equipped to meet the academic challenges that they greet in the school environment. In addition, Parkbrook is dedicated to meeting the ever changing needs of our community that we serve. Because we have dedicated ourselves to providing health services to the members of our community, it is essential to conduct both formal and informal assessments to gain information about the relevance and participation of our services.

At the Parkbook Middle School of Health, we believe that professional development must be comprehensive and continuous throughout the year. We understand that the only way to help ensure successful integration of a coordinated school health program, teachers will need scheduled assistance from experience health teachers and other professionals. There will be scheduled professional development during the school day dedicated to developing projects, units, and assessments that include elements of health in the “regular” curriculum. Teams will also have Common Planning Time, where professional development activities will schedules, as well as subject team meetings and whole faculty meetings after school.

The Parkbrook Middle School of Health will utilize an alternate A/B block schedule to maximize instruction and planning time. Key features of the schedule include Team Time, Coordinated School Health Professional Development, Common Planning Time, Choice Time, and year-long physical and health education. We believe that the block schedule will best serve our purpose to provide students with an interdisciplinary learning experience

Community involvement:

The Parkbrook Middle School of Heath Board of Trustees will consist of representatives of the major stakeholders associated with our school. The purpose of this board will be to uphold the philosophy and mission of Parkbrook.

An Overview of the Coordinated School Health Program and Comprehensive Health Education

At the Parkbrook Middle School of Health, we define “comprehensive health education” as a planned sequence of health education topics that includes the exploration of all areas of health as it pertains to our students. The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) provides a description of the eight-component Coordinated School Health Program model that will be utilized at the Parkbrook Middle School of Health. By utilizing this model, we at Parkbrook believe that we will achieve our goal of integrating all the elements of health education and healthy living in our students’ educational experience. This model embraces the eight key elements of comprehensive health education, with the exception of the first component which states that our health education program be established for grades K-12. Below is a graphic representation of the eight components of the coordinated school health program created by the CDC, as well as the eight key elements of comprehensive health education. For a descriptive list of the eight components of the coordinated school health care program, see Appendix I.

The eight key elements of comprehensive health education are:

  1. A documented, planned, and sequential program of health instruction for students in grades kindergarten through twelve.
  2. A curriculum that address and integrates education about a range of categorical health problems and issues at developmentally appropriate ages.
  3. Activities that help young people develop the skills they need to avoid: tobacco use; dietary patterns that contribute to disease; sedentary lifestyle; sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other STDs and unintended pregnancy; alcohol and other drug use; and behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries.
  4. Instruction provided for a prescribed amount of time at each grade level.
  5. Management and coordination by an education professional trained to implement the program.
  6. Instruction from teachers who are trained to teach the subject.
  7. Involvement of parents, health professionals, and other concerned community members.
  8. Periodic evaluation, updating, and improvement.

Admissions and Enrollment

The Parkbrook Middle School of Health will be a charter school whose student body will consist of those students that have applied to the school and been chosen through a lottery system. All applicants will have an equal-opportunity to attend Parkbrook; priority will be given to students that reside in the school district that the school will be located in; however students from surrounding districts will be permitted to enter the lottery with that understanding. For the two years of operation, we will be accepting applications from current third and fifth grade students. By our third year (and all years to follow), we will accept applications from current third grade students.

The application itself will include the standard biographical information about the student, including address, parental information, current school, etc. There will be an open-ended section asking why the family is seeking admission to Parkbrook, and what they hope to have their child come away from the Parkbrook experience with. There will also be an optional questionnaire asking for parental feedback on their comfort and interest levels in some of the health topics we anticipate exploring in school. While the answers on this questionnaire will influence a child’s place in the lottery, we believe that it will give parents an indication of the role that health will play in their child’s educational experience at Parkbrook, and may serve as a deterrent for parents who are not “on the same page” with incorporating these issues into the regular curriculum.

We will offer admission to approximately 70 students in each grade level. Students that were not in the first 70 chosen have the option to be put on a wait list according to their lottery number, and would be granted admission if initial families declined their invitation. As mentioned above, following the first two years of operation, we will only incoming class will be in fourth grade. However, if we find that there students choose leave Parkbrook before graduating in eighth grade, we may accept applications for admission to fill the spots in the upper grades. This will be determined on a year-to-year basis.

Professional Staff Qualities, Traits, and Expectations

The Parkbrook Middle School of Health believes that every student should be educated by knowledgeable and qualified professionals that are dedicated to educating children. Because it does “take a whole village to raise a child,” we are dedicated to hiring educators that take their role in a child’s development seriously. As a result, we will be seeking candidates that possess the capability and desire to fulfill and exceed the expectations documented below:

Education:

All Parkbrook educators must hold at least a bachelors degree from an accredited school of higher education. Though we will be implementing an interdisciplinary curriculum, teachers must show extensive study/major in one subject area (e.g. a degree in math education). Successful completion of an accredited Teacher Preparation Program (TPP), as well as a major/minor in education as an undergraduate and/or master’s degree in education is a requirement. We see teacher training at the higher education level as one of the most important aspects of forming a strong foundation in the field of teaching and education.