What Does A Health Commissioner Do?
You may seem overwhelmed if you feel you have to cover so many topics relating to children’s physical and mental health. There are so many programs and activities that it would be impossible for one school to participate in all of them.
Your job as Health Commissioner is to work with your School and PTA Board and determine what are your greatest needs and focus on that. If you are an elementary school you may want to focus on Nutrition, Physical Health, Screenings and Bully Prevention. If you are a secondary school you may want to focus on Suicide Prevention, Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse Prevention. Plan just a couple of large events throughout the year to highlight the area(s) of focus your school wants to promote, but KEY is adding several small updates throughout the year to keep it in the minds of your teachers, parents and students.
There are so many wonderful organizations and events that can help you promote our children’s physical and mental health. There are many simple things you can do to make a difference—in your family, school, and community.
On this page you will find links to organizations that provide training, as well as information on programs and activities in accordance Health Standards Core Curriculum adopted by the Utah State Board of Education (schools.utah.gov/file/ed906f78-eaf5-44fa-892f-984e28c4c2a7). The Utah Core Standards for Health Education focus on overall health which includes physical, mental, emotional, and social health in each of the following six strands. Each of these strands will have resources and ideas of how you can collaborate and teach our children these important aspects of health.
- Health Foundations and Protective Factors of Healthy Self - School Wellness Policies, Protective Factors, Promoting Health Behaviors
- Mental and Emotional Health - Suicide Prevention, Mental Health Awareness, Coping Skills, Parent Resources, Screenings, Parent Education Nights,
- Safety and Disease Prevention - Immunizations, Environmental Safety, Screenings
- Substance Abuse Prevention - Red Ribbon Weeks, Underage Drinking, Vaping, Opioid Epidemic, Substance Use Disorder
- Nutrition - School Breakfast Programs, Healthy Treats, Non-Food Rewards, Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles
- Human Development - Physical Activity, Recess, Growth/Maturation