Healthful Living Update
NC Mental Health First Aid
In partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services free public trainings will be available for educators, staff, leadership, and family support staff providing services to North Carolinas adolescents 12 to 17 years. Please check the link below for public training opportunities starting in September 2025. Staff can be directed to this calendar to register for a training that works with their schedule.
Target Audience
These free public offerings are meant to provide professional development for educators, staff, leadership, and family support staff providing services to North Carolinas adolescents 12 to 17 years, that supports ongoing learning in social-emotional development, and mental health.
This course provides approved contact hours for many professional licensing boards. Please confirm with your licensing board if this course is eligible.
Information and Registration links
Free Training Series: Behavioral Health Skills for Everyday Helpers
Are you a Peer Support Specialist, Community Health Worker, educator, school support staff, human service provider, or faith leader? You’re often the first to support individuals facing mental health or substance use challenges — even without formal clinical training. This free training series from Eastern and Wake AHEC equips non-clinicians with practical, evidence-based counseling tools that can be applied directly in your work. Through live webinars, self-paced online courses, and six months of follow-up consultation, you’ll learn how to:
• Identify signs and symptoms of common mental health and substance use disorders
• Apply basic counseling and case management skills in non-clinical settings
• Use selected strategies from CBT, DBT, and solution-focused therapy to support clients
• Integrate mindfulness and stress management techniques into daily practice
• Participate in ongoing consultation to reinforce learning and address real-world challenges
• Communicate more effectively and compassionately with those you serve
• Reduce stress and burnout to maintain your well-being while helping others
Whether you’re supporting clients, students, or community members, these skills will help you make a greater impact. Courses begin Fall 2025 — join Eastern and Wake AHEC and strengthen your ability to help others thrive, and you’ll gain the skills and confidence to make a meaningful impact in your community. If you can’t attend the live webinars, the recorded version will be made available! Contact hour certificates will be made available. Check the flyer below for session descriptions, dates and registration links.
Behavioral Health Skills for Everyday Helpers: Free Training Series
Healthful Living 25-26 Virtual Webinars
New Standards
Implementation Office Hours
The 2025-2026 academic year will witness the implementation of the new Healthful Living Standards. As districts engage in the transition, office hours will be available throughout the year to support this process. During these sessions, participants will be given the opportunity to pose questions, explore resources, and learn how other districts are implementing the new Healthful Living Standards.
Session #1
September 23
Registration
Session #2
October 21
Registration
Session #3
November 18
Registration
Session #4
January 20
Registration
Session #5
February 17
Registration
Session #6
April 21
Registration
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NCDPI Healthful Living
Webinar Series
Healthful Living Instructional Practices Daily Steps to Success
September 30, 2025
This session will outline six crucial components that can be utilized in daily teaching practices to improve the success of both the instructor and the instruction.
Registration
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Healthful Living Classroom Management
November 12, 2025
This session addresses the distinct challenges of classroom management that arise in healthful living classes. Various techniques will be discussed, along with potential reasons for students' behavior.
Registration
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Health Education Policy and Legislative Update
January 28, 2026
This session discusses the current NC Statutes and State Board Policies associated with Health Education while providing updates on the requirements for Health Education.
Registration
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Healthful Living Cross Curricular Instruction
April 7, 2026
In this session, we will investigate the ways in which Healthful Living instruction addresses multiple curriculum areas. These areas may consist of, but are not restricted to, Health, Physical Education, Student Success Standards, Math, and Science.
Registration
North Carolina School Health Training Center
Health Education Regional Training
Trainings are open to current teachers and school staff. Stipends will be provided to cover time away from the classroom. Reimbursement for substitute pay is available. Lunch will be provided.
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
9:00am - 4:00pm
Crowne Plaza Hickory
1385 Lenoir Rhyne Blvd. SE,
Hickory, NC 28602
safeTALK
Suicide Alertness For Everyone, is designed to equip individuals with the skills to recognize when someone
might be having thoughts of suicide and connect them with appropriate resources.
HOPE
Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences focuses on shifting the conversation from the negative impacts of ACEs to the power of PCEs in building resilience and well-being. This training will provide activities to support participants to recognize and build existing positive practices in their schools.
Registration
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Monday, November 17, 2025
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hampton Inn and Suites
200 Columbus Dr,
Aberdeen, NC 28315
Substance Use Prevention
This session will provide an interactive approach to addressing substance use prevention in your school community. Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to implement in their district/school to effectively curtail substance use.
Social & Emotional Learning
Interactive session designed to explore high-quality SEL practices, connect to local priorities, and leave with actionable tools to align SEL with existing systems and support sustainable student wellbeing
Registration
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Tuesday, December 9, 2025
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Eastern AHEC
2600 W Arlington Blvd
Greenville, NC 27834
Mental Health for Students & Staff
Take a deep dive into practical strategies that go beyond trauma-informed care toward healing-centered engagement. Interactive activities will help participants foster connection, belonging, and resilience, not just in classrooms, but across schools and districts.
Registration
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Promotional Flyer
NC Project Aware and Character Strong
NC Project AWARE and Character Strong are sponsoring Carolina Compass:
Moving the Student Success Needle Through Adult Behaviors.
This is a 1-day training on Character Strong's research-backed instructional framework to equip educators with easy-to-use tools that impact student behavior and school culture.
• Date & Time: October 14, 2025, 8:00am - 3:00pm / Sampson Community College
• Breakfast and Lunch provided/No Charge to attend
To learn more visit the Training and Registration link.
2025 NC SHAPE Convention
December 4 - 5, 2025
Winston Salem, NC
The 2025 NC SHAPE convention is coming in December.
Early Bird rates are available until September 15!!
Thursday, December 4th:
Registration Desk will be open from 7:45 AM - 8:30 AM.
First sessions start at 8:30 AM.
Last Session ends at 4:15 PM
Friday, December 5th:
Registration Desk will be open from 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM.
First breakout sessions start at 9:00 AM.
Last Session ends at 4:00 PM
Contact hours are available for both in-person/on site and virtually. For a look at the featured presenters and other information check the NC SHAPE webpage and the Convention Flyer.
 Announcing Dove Day 2025!
On Friday October 10th, 2025, Dove will bring together classrooms across the country for a transformative 45-min virtual class designed to help students aged 8-14 build the body confidence they need to reach their full potential.
Dove is inviting educators like yourself to have your classrooms participate in the nation’s largest free body confidence and self-esteem building virtual class to date.
To sign up for the Dove Day Virtual Self-Esteem Class, and help your students build body confidence and self-esteem, please visit:
Dove Day virtual self-esteem class
The class will focus on critical topics such as body confidence, appearance pressures, image manipulation and how to become a body confident champion – all based on Dove Self-Esteem academically accredited tools to help ensure every young person can thrive in and out of the classroom.
Can’t join on October 10th?
You’ll be able to access the virtual class anytime after the session!
The Healthful Living Consultant at the NC Department of Public Instruction makes every effort to provide relevant, timely information to stakeholders collected from numerous state and national sources. The inclusion of items in this update does not imply the endorsement of this agency.
To contact Burt Jenkins NCDPI Healthful Living Consultant
burt.jenkins@dpi.nc.gov
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