AUGUST 2019
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Alaska School Health & Wellness Institute Focuses on Healthy, Successful Students
Registration opens Aug. 15, 2019, for the 14th Annual School Health & Wellness Institute (SHWI).
The Institute will be held Oct. 28–30, 2019, at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage. Registration is free and is required for attendance. Institute topics this year focus on the 10 components of school health from the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ASCD, a 75-year-old international educational organization.
“We need to broaden our definition of health to include physical, emotional, mental and social health,” said Wendy Hamilton, the School Health Program Manager with Alaska’s Division of Public Health. “Study after study shows that healthier students miss fewer days of school, have fewer behavioral concerns, do better academically and have higher graduation rates.”
The Institute began in 2006 as a collaboration between the Departments of Education and Early Development and Health and Social Services to provide school staff with the skills and resources needed to develop local school district wellness policies. More than a decade later, the Institute is still a collaboration of the two departments and continues to offer sessions on wellness policies. Over the years, however, it has grown in attendance and what it offers. Conference attendees include teachers, school nurses, school administrators, community health and education professionals, school counselors and anyone working with school or student health.
This year’s plenary speaker is Sean Slade, the senior director of Global Outreach at ASCD who worked with the CDC to develop the WSCC model. Slade is promoting and expanding the Whole Child approach internationally.
“The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model refocuses all of our attention onto what each child truly needs to succeed in school by providing a healthy, safe and supportive learning environment,” Slade said. “The WSCC model encourages communities, families and schools to work together toward the common goal of supporting the health and educational achievement of all students.”
The Institute opens Monday, Oct. 28, with a preconference day that includes sessions called Motivational Interviewing for Adolescents, The 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Curriculum, Coaching Boys into Men, the 4th “R” Relationship Curriculum and more.
The Institute continues Oct. 29 with 15 breakout sessions and Oct. 30 with five plenary speakers. The presentations will cover a broad range of school and student health topics, including suicide prevention, comprehensive physical activity programs, marijuana use, resiliency among students, the new Trauma Informed School Framework, the role of communities in promoting school health and more. Check the website for preconference requirements and a full agenda.
School Health Success Stories is a yearly Institute favorite and includes a panel of school professionals sharing inspiring examples of how school health is succeeding around the state. Professionals can submit a success story nomination form for themselves or someone else. Individuals selected to present their story will receive a travel scholarship to attend the Institute. Visit the website to find Success Story application forms.
The Institute offers several types of travel scholarships to support attendance and promote participation from all over the state.
“Travel costs from rural areas often prohibit attendance at conferences,” Hamilton said. “The Institute provides scholarships to bring in people from outlying areas.”
Visit the website to find descriptions of the competitive scholarships and application forms. For more information about the Institute, contact Wendy Hamilton at wendy.hamilton@alaska.gov or (907) 465-2768. |
