PED 316:

COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM

C
MODULE 2
 SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Introduction

A healthy, physically active child is more likely to be academically motivated, alert, and
successful in school, and is more likely to establish habits that will foster good health
throughout life. A School Health Advisory Council can assist a school district in the
promotion and protection of student and employee health. Involving parents and other
community members on a School Health Advisory Council enables the school to use
valuable community resources.
The health of our children does not depend on major medical breakthroughs, but rather
on the everyday practice of good health habits. SHACs provide an efficient, effective
structure for creating and implementing an age-appropriate, sequential health education
program, and early intervention and prevention strategies that can easily be supported
by local families and community stakeholders.
This module focuses on the school health advisory committee wherein concerned
parents, community, health, and school representatives are all involved. It focuses also
on the function, aspects, guide and role of school health advisory committee.

Learning Outcome

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

● Analyze the school health advisory committee
● Appreciate the importance of school health advisory committee
● Engage the students into a collaborative discussion
Learning Content

School health advisory committee

❖ WHY DO WE NEED SHACs?

Now more than ever, students face new

challenges and risks that affect their
health and the quality of their future. They
need concerned parents, community,
health, and school representatives to
become involved.
Educators realize that a child’s physical,
emotional, social, and mental health
directly affects his or her capacity to learn.
The health of children is linked to the
behaviours they adopt. Experience has
shown that when schools involve parents
and other community partners, these risk
behaviours can be more successfully
addressed.
❖ Research shows that:
• Youth who feel connected to their families and schools are healthier and less likely to
get in trouble.
• Learning, behavior, and attitudes of students improve when parents are involved in
schools.
• Health literacy has been identified as a key skill for employees.
• Families, schools, and government agencies are limited in what they can do to
address the health issues of youth.
• When expertise and resources of a community are combined, the challenge of
reducing student risk behaviour and improving health can be achieved.
One proven way to promote this partnership is through a School Health Advisory
Committee. A SHAC is made up of a broad cross-section of parents, school, health,
business, and community leaders, who serve as problem-solvers and advisors to school
districts on health related issues.

Functions of shac

• Annually review and approve the School Health Plan

• Advise the school district of current initiatives and resources
• Program planning
• Parent and community involvement
• Advocacy
• Recruitment of community health resources
• Fiscal planning
• Evaluation, accountability, and quality control

Aspects of a successful shac include:

• Building trust between representatives from the community, health, and education.
• Use of committee member knowledge, passion, and leadership to have a positive
impact on the health and academic successes of children and youth.

A guide for school health advisory committees

This guide is developed to assist the district and county staff charged with creating a
SHAC. It will also be useful to SHACs that are already functioning by providing tools
designed to enhance the existing partnership and collaboration.
There is no right or wrong way to develop or conduct a SHAC or to promote health in
schools. Each SHAC develops its own plan and creates an infrastructure that reflects
the culture of the community it serves. Schools and communities must work together to
match resources with needs, and to develop and carry out a plan of action.
Demographics and community culture will determine the dynamics of the SHAC. Every
school district/county is unique. Therefore, local needs and capacities will determine
priorities.
“A School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) is an advisory group composed of
school, health, and community representatives who act collectively to advise the school
district on aspects of a Coordinated School Health approach.”
SHAC has the potential to be an active voice for improving the health of school children
and staff by being an advocate for and supporting quality coordinated health services.

The role of school health advisory council

The School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) serves exclusively in an advisory role,
assisting the district in ensuring that local community values and health issues are
reflected in the district’s health education instruction. The committee is appointed by the
Board of Trustees and is comprised primarily of parents (who are not employees of the
district) of students enrolled in the district.

The Board may also appoint one or more teachers, administrators, students, health-
care professionals, business representatives, law enforcement representatives, senior
citizens, clergy, representatives of non-profit health organizations, or representatives of
another group.  A majority of the representatives must be parents. 

The committee meets throughout the school year as determined by the Superintendent
or designee. 

Responsibilities include:

● Recommend the number of hours of instruction to be provided in health

education*
● Recommend curriculum appropriate for specific grade levels designed to prevent
obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 Diabetes through coordination of
health education, physical education and physical activity, nutrition services,
parental involvement, and instruction to prevent use of tobacco*
● Recommend strategies for integrating the curriculum components specified in
this item with the following elements in a coordinated school health program:*
school health services, counselling and guidance services, safe and healthy
school environment, and school employee wellness
● Recommend appropriate grade levels and methods of instruction for human
sexuality instruction.
 Why is school health important?

Research shows that when school districts and schools have effective policies and
practices that support the health of their students and staff:
● Student and staff absenteeism decreases.
● Student concentration improves.
● Student behavior problems are reduced.
● Children and adolescents establish life-long health-promoting behaviors.
"Schools by themselves cannot and should not be expected to solve the nation’s most
serious health and social problems. Families, health care workers, the media, religious
organizations, community organizations that serve youth, and young people themselves
also must be systematically involved.
However, schools could provide a critical facility in which many agencies might work
together to maintain the well-being of young people." (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health).
"No matter how well teachers are prepared to teach, no matter what accountability
measures are put in place, no matter what governing structures are established for
schools, educational progress will be profoundly limited if students are not motivated
and able to learn.
Schools cannot address all of the conditions that cause educational or health
disparities, but proven and promising approaches exist and must be applied to help
close the achievement gap.
High quality, strategically planned, and effectively coordinated school health programs
would be expected to comprise health education curricula, physical education and
physical activity programs, nutrition services, physical and mental health services,
family and community involvement, and attention to maintain a safe and supportive
environment.
In effectively coordinated school health efforts, different groups of people playing
different roles are working toward the same goals. While programs and policies may be
funded from different sources (e.g., agriculture, education, justice), and planned and
implemented in ways that address the individual health priorities, these individual efforts
should be conceptualized within the context of a larger school health mission
established by schools or districts.
Effective coordination is intended to ensure that all of the different school health
policies, programs, and services are collectively aimed at achieving a particular set of
priorities."

Teaching and Learning Activities

ACTIVITY 1

Instruction: Answer the following questions below.

1. In your own words and understanding, what is school health advisory committee?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think are the impact if we don’t have school health advisory
committee?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3. In our school, do we have school health advisory committee? What do you think
are their roles?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Assessment Task
By means of a graphic organizer, show the functions, aspect, guide and role of school
health advisory committee. Below of the graphic organizer, give a brief summary on it.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________