For Additional Resources on These Topics and Others Related to School Health s2

Friday Beat November 30, 2012 Edition

For additional resources on these topics and others related to school health education and services, visit the School Health Program Web site at www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth

Positive Youth Development

Positive youth development is a comprehensive framework outlining the supports young people need in order to be successful and focuses on youths’ strengths instead of their risk factors to ensure that all youth grow up to become contributing adults. Reference: National Conference of State Legislatures, December 2010

The Developmental Assets framework – 40 common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make – has become one of the most widely used approaches to positive youth development in the United States. Reference: Search Institute

One developmental asset will be highlighted each week in the Friday Beat. Related articles will be indicated with the corresponding icon.

SOCIAL COMPETENCIES – Middle Childhood

Resistance Skills | Child can stay away from people who are likely to get her or him in trouble and is able to say no to doing wrong or dangerous things.

Interpersonal Competence | Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.

Peaceful Conflict Resolution | Child seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Postings, Notifications: CDC Health Advisory Alert: Health Concerns about Misuse of Pesticides for Bed Bug Control The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are alerting the public to an emerging national concern regarding misuse of pesticides to treat infestations of bed bugs and other insects indoors. Some pesticides are being applied indoors even though they are approved only for outdoor use. Even pesticides that are approved for indoor use can cause harm if over applied or not used as instructed on the product label. Read the Alert at http://emergency.cdc.gov/HAN/han00336.asp.

Conferences, Trainings and Professional Development: Upcoming Webinar: Whole Child Initiative – Opportunities for State Health and Education Agencies December 6, 2012, 1:00PM EST The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors' School Health Council is hosting a webinar highlighting opportunities for State Health and Education Agencies with ASCD's Whole Child Initiative. The webinar will provide an overview of ASCD's new School Improvement Tool, which incorporates student health. It will also highlight Rhode Island's experience with incorporating the Whole Child Initiative into their education reform efforts, increasing the focus on the link between health and education. To register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6141286259382964736.

Friday Beat – November 30, 2012 1 Webinar Series on Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention among Teens and Young Adults: December 17, 2012, 2:30-3:30PM EST "Preventing the Misuse and Abuse of Prescription Stimulants among Students" is presented by the Children’s Safety Network and will showcase two University-based efforts designed to prevent the misuse and abuse of prescription stimulants (e.g., Adderall and Ritalin) - The Ohio State social norms campaign and the University of Texas at Austin's evidence-based, health communications campaign. It will review available resources for prescription drug abuse prevention (with a focus on those relating to prescription stimulants), explore students' perspectives on this issue, describe a student government response, outline the development of a health communication campaign, and draw from the growing body of literature about the misuse of prescription stimulants. To register, go to http://edc.adobeconnect.com/e2fye17mbne/event/event_info.html.

Conducting Your Own YRBS Survey: Training – January 21-22, 2013 Conducting Your Own Youth Risk Behavior (YRBS) Survey will be held at the Commons Learning Center at the JJ Pickle Research Campus in Austin, Texas. This two-day training is free for local health departments, school districts, schools, and SHAC members. Attendees will learn YRBS administration such as questionnaire development, sampling methods, recruitment, parental consent and student assent as well as data collection, understanding the results, utilizing the data, and others. Please contact Jennifer Haussler Garing at [email protected] or 512-776-2564 for more information.

27th Annual Conference on Prevention of Child Abuse – March 4-5, 2013 Pinwheels for Prevention at the Omni hotel at the Colonnade in San Antonio, Texas is a statewide conference designed to offer quality training and information on topics and model programs of interest to leaders in child abuse prevention: social workers, counselors, educators, child care and youth workers, law enforcement personnel, medical and legal professionals, foster parents, child welfare board volunteers, elected officials, and other interested child advocates. Register at www.preventchildabusetexas.org/pdf/27th-registration-form.pdf. For more information, go to www.preventchildabusetexas.org/pdf/27th-program.pdf.

Say What! Texas Tobacco Free Summits – Various There are still slots open for the six Texas School Safety Center 2013 Say What! Texas Tobacco-Free Summits. At the Summits, student and adult school-based teams will be educated in tobacco prevention strategies that are based on CDC best practices and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration evidence-based prevention strategies. School teams will participate in team building and how to utilize what they learn to benefit their school community. They will also develop a campus improvement plan to implement when they return to their campus. Teams attending a summit that join the Say What! movement are eligible to receive a $500 mini-grant to help implement their campus improvement plan. For more information about the Say What! Summits, and to download registration forms, go to http://events.txsaywhat.com/summits.

Health Education:

CDC Releases Vital Signs on HIV Infection, Testing, and Risk Behaviors among U.S. Youth December 1st is World AIDS Day – a day that commemorates the impact of HIV in the United States and around the world. In honor of World AIDS Day, the CDC has released a new edition of Vital Signs to highlight the impact of HIV on youth in the United States and the importance of age-appropriate HIV education; HIV testing; and linkage to care, treatment and other youth prevention services. In the November 27th edition of Vital Signs, CDC calls for 1) age- appropriate HIV prevention education through parents, schools, community, and web-based programs and 2) implementation of effective interventions and testing for youth, particularly those at greatest risk. CDC also underscores the importance of treatment and care for youth who have HIV. More information about the Vital Signs release is available at www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns.

Nutrition Services and Education: Sodium Reduction in the School The Texas Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Partnership has published a document that addresses the reduction of sodium intake as outlined in the United States Department of Agriculture 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Goal II Workgroup of the Partnership, in collaboration with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas School Health Advisory Committee, created the “Recommendations for Reducing Sodium Intake in the School Setting

Friday Beat – November 30, 2012 2 (2012)” to provide recommended strategies for sodium reduction to school districts and school nutrition practitioners. You can access the Guidelines at www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth/shadviseresources.shtm.

A Revised Food Buying Guide Helps Schools Serve More Fruits and Vegetables The Food Buying Guide helps in calculating how many bunches of celery you should prepare for 100 servings or determining whether 35 pounds of frozen sweet potatoes is enough for 200 servings and much more. The revised fruit and vegetable section of the Guide separates fruits and vegetables and categorizes vegetables into the subgroups outlined in the new meal pattern requirements. To access the Guide, go to www.teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/fbg_schoolmeals.html.

Counseling and Mental Health Services:

Can Teen Brain Development Help Explain Juvenile Crime? The criminal justice system needs to rethink the way it manages teenagers who misbehave, according to Laurence Steinberg, an adolescent brain development expert at Temple University. Because the adolescent brain is still developing, the risks taken and mistakes made by young offenders may be more outside of their control than we think, said Steinberg. Read about it at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/15/daily-circuit-juvenile- offenders-brain-development.

Yes, We Can Reduce Incidence of Suicide Suicide is now the number one cause of injury-related deaths, overtaking motor vehicle crashes and accidental poisoning (drug overdose). At a time when motor vehicle deaths are declining thanks to laws mandating airbags and other safety features, along with public awareness campaigns to reduce drinking and driving and, more recently, texting while driving, the suicide mortality rate is rising -- increasing an astonishing 15 percent in the last decade. Studies report similar findings in Europe, Canada, and China. Read the article at www.huffingtonpost.com/david- sack-md/suicide-rates_b_2101338.html?utm_hp_ref=health-news&ir=Health%20News.

Look Out for Signs of Teen Depression Disappointment and minor depression occurs in every life. It’s how children handle his or her depression that makes the difference. Statistics from the CDC state that suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, and the fourth leading cause of death for those between 10 and 14. Read the article at www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/15922250-423/look-out-for-signs-of-teen-depression.html.

Early Exposure to Stress at Home Affects Girls' Brains, Study Says Girls who are born into families with high levels of stress are more likely as teenagers to suffer from anxiety and disruptions in brain function, new research suggests. In addition, the researchers found that female babies who lived with stressed mothers had higher levels of a stress hormone known as cortisol as preschoolers. And the girls with those higher cortisol levels were more likely to have less effective wiring in their brains between areas that regulate emotion. Males, however, didn't seem to be affected by these issues, the study authors noted in the report, Read the article at http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?Docid=670319.

Free Apps Give Teachers Tools to Record Student Behavior There are three free software applications that teachers can use to track positive and negative student behaviors. Two of the programs are in beta, but the third, ClassDojo, is a free app being used by teachers across all grade levels to track attendance and behaviors. Teachers using the app can assign access codes to parents so they can look in on their child's progress. Access the information at www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/11/ebooks/classroom-management- made-fun.

Teen Moms, Young Moms Endure Alarmingly-High Levels of Childhood Trauma, Study Finds Some alarming data from a recent pilot study of Crittenton clients show that, compared with a general population, teen and young mothers suffer up to seven times the levels of child abuse and other maltreatment. This explains why they become addicted, pregnant or drop out of school. The good news is that, with a little bit of help and a lot of understanding, they and their kids can live healthier, happier lives. Read the article at www.huffingtonpost.com/jane- ellen-stevens/teen-moms_b_2134121.html?utm_hp_ref=health-news&ir=Health%20News. Read the study at www.nationalcrittenton.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ACEresults.pdf.

Friday Beat – November 30, 2012 3 Parent and Community Involvement: High School Dropouts Worsened By Lack of Support, Becoming a Parent: Survey Absence of parental or educational support and becoming a parent are the two top reasons cited by respondents for dropping out of high school, according to the 2012 High School Dropouts in America survey of 513 adults aged 19 to 35. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of Americans attribute their failure to complete high school to a lack of parental support or encouragement, followed by entering parenthood at 21 percent. Read about it at www.lack-of-support- parenthood-top-reasons-american-high-school-students-drop-out-20121114-00977.

Resources for Parent Engagement in School Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC announces new resources on parent engagement in school health based on the Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health document released earlier this year. These resources, which include a facilitator’s guide for school staff development, PowerPoint® slides, and fact sheets for school administrators, school staff, and parents, define and describe parent engagement in schools and identify specific strategies and actions that schools can take to increase parent engagement. Access the resource at www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/AdolescentHealth/pdf/parent_engagement_strategies.pdf.

Study: Most Parents Worry About Kids’ Online Privacy — but Aren’t Doing Anything about It A majority of parents are concerned about their teenagers’ online behavior, but relatively few have worked with them to set up privacy settings on their social media accounts, according to a new survey. A report released this week by the Pew Research Center found that 72 percent of the 802 surveyed parents of American teenagers were concerned about their children interacting with strangers online, while 70 percent worried their children’s web habits could harm future academic or employment opportunities. Read more at http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/20/study-most- parents-worry-about-kids-online-privacy-but-arent-doing-anything-about-it.

Physical Education and Activity:

Muscle Madness: More Teens Are Bulking Up When it comes to body image, more is better, at least when it comes to muscle, according to a recent study of teens and body image. Published in the journal Pediatrics, the analysis involved 2,793 middle- and high school students living in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area who reported bulking up by using products like steroids and protein powders. The scientists found that the adolescents see toned and muscular bodies as the ideal, and are willing to use supplements and steroids that have been linked to adverse health effects, to enhance muscle development. Read the article at http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/20/muscle-madness-more-teens-are-bulking-up/#ixzz2CllNp6vO. Read the study at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/11/14/peds.2012-0095.full.pdf+html.

Healthy and Safe School Environment:

Drowsy Driving Serious Problem for Young People Drowsy driving is a serious problem, but many people underestimate how drowsy they are before they get behind the wheel and overestimate how well they will be able to navigate a vehicle while sleepy. This is especially true for younger drivers, says new research, with one in seven in this age group admitting to nodding off behind the wheel in the past year. For the news article, go to http://lansing.legalexaminer.com/automobile-accidents/drowsy-driving- serious-problem-for-young-people.aspx?googleid=305482.

Research on Drowsy Driving from NHTSA It is widely recognized that drowsy driving is underreported as a cause of crashes. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s programs to combat drowsy driving employs both educational and technological solutions. Education programs are directed toward specific subpopulations as well as the general driving public. Several articles address this issue. To read them, go to www.Research+on+Drowsy+Driving.

'Pre-Drinking' or 'Pre-Funking' Common among Young Alcohol Users They call it "pre-drinking," "pre-partying" or "pre-funking," and it usually involves chugging cheap alcoholic drinks before heading out to a bar, club or sporting event. This increased drinking was associated with a greater likelihood of blackouts, hangovers, absences from work or school or alcohol poisoning. Pre-drinkers were also found to engage more often in unintended drug use, unsafe sex, drunken driving or violent behavior. Read the article at www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-la-heb-pre-drinking-20121108,0,2957175.story.

Friday Beat – November 30, 2012 4 Responsive Classroom Method Fosters Caring Environment Two elementary schools in Minnesota are working to create a culture of caring through the Responsive Classroom method, which focuses on interactions among teachers and students, and students and their peers. Students begin the day by greeting each other and their teachers, before starting the "morning meeting," which includes activities designed to build community. Read more at www.piercecountyherald.com/event/article/id/49532.

Why Teachers Should Not Ignore Students' Phobias Rather than ignoring students' fears -- such as phobias regarding math or public speaking -- teachers should help students overcome them, writes instructional coach David Ginsburg. In this blog post, he suggests teachers give students the support they need to address their fears. "Let's not just meet kids where they are academically," he writes. "Let's also meet them where they are emotionally." Read about it at http://meeting_students_where_they_are--emotionally.html.

School's Environment Is a Key Factor in Achievement Successful turnarounds of struggling high schools hinge on fostering environments where teachers and students are supported, and parents and community members are engaged, suggests Charles Payne, a University of Chicago professor and affiliate of the university's Urban Education Institute. "You can create all the pockets of good instruction you want, [but] if the organizational environment doesn't support [the change], it is likely to destroy it," he said. Culture change requires a combination of teacher collaboration, community connections, rigorous instruction, supportive leadership and safe environment, he said. Read the article at www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school- notes/2012/11/12/culture-not-curriculum-may-be-key-to-high-school-reform.

Comprehensive Policies, Reports and Research and Resources:

Study Indicates 60 Percent of High School Students Report Drugs Are Used, Kept, or Sold in Their Schools For the sixth year in a row, 60 percent or more of high school students report that drugs are used, kept, or sold on their school grounds, according to a telephone survey of U.S. youth ages 12 to 17, reports the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland. While the percentage of students reporting that there are drugs in their school has decreased from the high of 66 percent in 2010 to 60 percent in 2012, the current percentage remains higher than a decade ago (44 percent). The complete study can be found online at www.casacolumbia.org/upload/2012/20120822teensurvey.pdf.

CDC Releases Updated School Health Index 2012 The CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health announces the release of the updated School Health Index (SHI). First released in 2000, the SHI is a self-assessment and planning tool that schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs. Either the interactive, customizable online tool or the downloadable, printable version is available free of charge. Training manuals and other complementary materials also are accessible online. Access the SHI at www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/SHI.

Quote to Note: “One thing I am convinced more and more is true and that is this: the only way to be truly happy is to make others happy. When you realize that and take advantage of the fact, everything is made perfect." William Carlos Williams, American poet and physician

Become a Friday Beat subscriber. Go to www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth/fridaybeat.shtm. Click on “sign up for e-mail updates” and follow the prompts. ------The articles and external links to other sites appearing in the Friday Beat are intended to be informational and do not represent an endorsement by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The sites also may not be accessible to people with disabilities. External email links are provided to you as a courtesy. Please be advised that you are not emailing the DSHS and DSHS policies do not apply should you choose to correspond. For information about any of the programs listed, contact the sponsoring organization directly. For comments or questions about the Friday Beat, contact Ellen Smith at (512) 776- 2140 or by email at [email protected]. Copyright free. Permission granted to forward or make copies as needed.

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