By bringing the social, educational, psychological and health experts to the same table, the Fairfax County Public Schools can better address a student's overall needs and eliminate the duplication of services, so recommends the Student Health Advisory Committee.
The committee members are seeking the School Board's permission to pilot a coordinated school health program at Island Creek Elementary in the Kingstowne area and Pimmit Hills Alternative High in the Pimmit Hills area that would create a framework of services covering eight areas consisting of heath instruction; health services; healthy school environment; counseling; psychology and social services; school nutrition services; staff wellness promotion; physical education; family, parent and community involvement.
"Studies show a student's health and wellness is linked to their academic performance. One of the elements we continued to see [during our study] was that not everyone knew the presence of the programs and how to access them," said Betty Petersilia, chair of the health advisory committee. "I don't believe it is the committee's intention to have all of the services under one roof, but instead to build a network of people to bring to the table who can help."
THE PROGRAM, said Dede Bailer, coordinator of psychological services for the school system, would help create an awareness of what services already exist through the county and makes sure everyone connected to a student is aware of what to do if specific medical, social, or psychological issues arise.
"Say for example, a student is a diabetic. The cafeteria staff may have a list but the p.e. teacher doesn't. The cafeteria people know the children can't have certain foods, but the p.e. teacher doesn't know to look out for if the child is lethargic or for other signs of a problem," Bailer said. "A teacher accepts responsibility for his or her students. If an issue outside of the classroom is hindering the student's academic abilities, the program could link the teacher with the expert in that field, whether it's not getting a nutritious breakfast or depression."
BEVERLY WILSON, the principal of Pimmit Hills, and Susan Owner, the principal of Island Creek, have already embraced the idea of piloting the program.
"We have been looking at two aspects, teaching students about nutrition and exercise as well as the staff," Wilson said. "And looking at basic health resources and putting into place resources for students who don't have access to basic care."
Wilson said, for example, the school has already brought in a local dentist willing to examine students who didn't have medical coverage. She said the students were having trouble concentrating on school work because of the aches and pains associated with their dental problems.
In addition, Wilson said the school hopes to bring in counselors to help young mothers make sure they receive prenatal care or develop parenting skills. However, all the issues at Pimmit are not solely medical related, Wilson said.
"We have students who come day after day that are not clean or have clothing that is appropriate," Wilson said. "The staff had a clothing drive and the students picked up every stitch of clothing, so there was a need."
For Owner, the program means the staff at Island Creek, which is set to open in September, could learn to address the complex needs of their incoming students.
"We're seeing issues we had never had to deal with before," Owner said. "It brings communication for those who need to know everything about that youngster."
THE COMMITTEE is recommending enlisting Fran Meyer, a comprehensive school health specialist formerly with the state Department of Education, to train the schools staff and help create and evaluate the pilot. Meyer had met with the committee previous and is "committed to the program," said JoAnn Kammerdeiner, a school system student health specialist.
"We're a health advisory committee, so we looked at the health piece, but the model can be applied to behavior. We can look at why a child is doing this. Is it because the child is hungry?" Kammerdeiner said.
Bailer said the program could be set up to provide basic information to school personnel, such as "in general if this happens, this is the course of action." Or more specific case-by-case plans can be put in place.
"There is an expectation that the teachers would have an awareness of the issues affecting their students," Bailer said. "It creates an awareness of who does what."
The committee is still waiting the final go-ahead from the School Board to begin implementing the pilot.