The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) are working together to develop resources and professional development to support school districts and teachers as they implement the provisions of the Health Education Act, effective by the 2023-2024 school year. 

To support schools and teachers, OSDE and OSDH have developed a survey to better understand the needs that currently exist within districts. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete with all responses staying anonymous. 

Here is the survey link for staff members who might teach health education now or in the future. The survey will be open on Tuesday, February 1st. The deadline for completing the survey is Monday, February 28th. If you have any questions about the survey or its intended purpose, please contact Shana Classen at Shana.Classen@sde.ok.gov.

The It’s All About Kids (IAK) School Health program is a prevention program through the Tulsa-City County Health Department that partners with 55 elementary schools. The program's mission is to improve overall health and academic achievement of Tulsa County school-aged children through comprehensive nutrition and health education lessons. The IAK program aligns with the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, placing children in the center as the focus and providing programming and/or resources in all 10 WSCC component areas.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the IAK program has looked different. The IAK team ensured that health education did not disappear in schools or the community by creating and sharing virtual lessons. IAK also worked collaboratively with Stay Active OK, a community of educators dedicated to providing students and their families with physical activity, cooking tips, art projects, biking how-tos, social-emotional discussions and reading with friends. IAK filmed and edited physical activity and nutrition videos to share on the Stay Active OK website and social media.

IAK's in-person nutrition lessons are fun and exciting for students. For example, students ride bikes to power blenders to make smoothies and learn through hands-on experiences how to make recipes!

Thank you to all of the IAK staff members for encouraging kids to make healthy choices and improved habits for a brighter future. See IAK in action in this video. To learn more about the IAK program check out the Tulsaplay.org or follow them on social media: Facebook, Instagram & Twitter (@IAK Tulsa) or on YouTube.

February is a great time to teach students the value of using physical education to build healthy hearts. PE Central has aggregated resources that are perfect for promoting heart-healthy activities for students of all ages (k-12th grade) to participate in this month.

Grades K-2: Healthy Heart Scooters – This is a perfect activity to be used around Valentine’s Day! In this activity, students learn what will and what will not keep their hearts healthy while exercising. 

Grades 3-5: Heart Power – In this activity, students learn three ways to keep a healthy heart. The three ways focus on maintaining a healthy diet, moving around and living life tobacco-free. 

Grades 6-8: Heart Circulation Hot Potato – For older students, this activity goes in-depth on covering what happens inside the body during every heartbeat. Students will have fun role-playing as lungs, the heart’s right atrium or left atrium, the heart’s right or left ventricle or the overall body to understand the heart’s relationship to the entire body.

Grades 9-12: Wacky Walks Heart Rate Monitoring – This is a great activity for students who love to walk, to show them that moderations on just walking can contribute to healthy hearts. Walking variations include walking lunges, high kicks and more, and will demonstrate how the heart rate varies throughout.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is dedicating $6 million in federal relief funds to help teachers get resources for their students through the national nonprofit, DonorsChoose. The partnership between OSDE and DonorsChoose will provide up to $800 to an educator’s project. 

Starting on Feb. 4, interested teachers can sign up on the DonorsChoose website and submit their project requests. Projects cannot be submitted before Feb. 4. Submissions will include an essay with clear goals linking their requested resources to student learning in the wake of COVID-19. All Oklahoma pre-K through 12th-grade public school teachers are eligible. 

Once the project opens on Feb. 4, OSDE will begin funding eligible requests on a first-come, first-served basis. DonorsChoose will deliver resources to the teacher’s school address. Materials requested must be for student use; professional development materials will not qualify. Only one project may be funded per teacher. 

ASPIRE is a free online educational resource developed by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. ASPIRE delivers tobacco prevention education to teens and adolescents at a self-directed pace. The program is evidenced-based and tackles the full range of traditional and emerging products such as e-cigarettes, hookah, and JUUL. ASPIRE participants have shown a 53-60% decrease in likelihood to use cigarettes, vaping products and hookah. If your school or district is interested in adding ASPIRE as an alternative to suspension or including it into their comprehensive curriculum, complete the ASPIRE interest survey to get started.