School Health
Miami-Dade AHEC strives to create innovative and highly interactive health education programs.
Health education provides students with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for making health-promoting decisions, achieving health literacy, adopting health-enhancing behaviors, and promoting the health of others. Comprehensive school health education includes courses of study (curricula) for students in elementary through grade 12 that address a variety of topics such as healthy eating/nutrition, mental and emotional health, personal health and wellness, physical activity, safety and injury prevention, sexual health, and tobacco use.
Our programs are available all throughout the school year and offered through our Health Self Collaboratory. Our current health education programs include, but not limited to:
Nutrition
Food for Thought
Food for Thought Educational program is designed to provide health literacy and nutrition education that will allow students to make better decisions about the food choices available to them inside and outside the school environment. The program covers nutrition, eating disorders and obesity topics. During the first part of the class students will learn about the different types of nutrients, choose my plate food guide and recommended servings. In the second part of the program they will be introduced to eating disorders, signs and health consequences, obesity and calculation of body mass index.
Grade Level: 4th – 12th grades
Duration: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Understand The importance and classification of nutrients
- Learn about choose my plate
- Learn the five food groups and their recommended servings
- Understand the different types of eating disorders and their health consequences
- Learn about the causes of eating disorders, obesity and how to calculate Body Mass Index
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Request Information / Schedule a Class
Plate Power
Plate Power is an educational program especially designed for students from 1st grade to 3rd grade. The program provides students with a basic yet complete overview of different types of food groups and recommended servings according to the students’ age group. The material is taught in a friendly and engaging way, encouraging participation from the students.
Grade Level: 1st – 3rd grades
Duration: 45 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Understand The importance and classification of nutrients
- Learn about choose my plate
- Learn the five food groups and their recommended servings
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Survey
Breast Health
Breast Cancer Awareness
Breast Cancer Awareness
Hands on Health
Supported by the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation, the Hands on Health program educates both male and female students about the most critical aspects of breast cancer. This includes national and local statistics for men and women, risk factors, steps to have breast self awareness and the importance of early diagnosis. It is estimated that for 2014 in the US there will be 232,670 new invasive breast cancer cases in women and 2,360 in men. With the increase in the incidence of the disease in the country, it is critical for the young population to learn about breast cancer risk factors and ways to protect their health.
Grade Level: 9th – 12th grades
Duration: 90 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Understand national and local statistics
- Learn about cultural barriers related to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
- Understand breast anatomy
- Learn about the most common types of breast cancer
- Learn how breast cancer is diagnosed and treated
- Understand breast cancer risk factors
- Understand the components of “breast self awareness.”
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Oral Health
Smile Appeal
The Smile Appeal program provides students with valuable information on preventing oral diseases and adopting healthy practices. In the program students will learn about tooth anatomy, the proper brushing and flossing technique, oral health hazards, sealants, and sports safety.
Grade Level: 3rd – 12th grade
Duration: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about tooth anatomy
- Learn about the different types of teeth and function
- Learn the proper brushing and flossing techniques
- Understand oral health hazards and ways to prevent them
- Learn about sealants and sports safety measures.
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Request Information / Schedule a Class
Tooth Town
The Tooth Town oral health program is specifically designed for students in 1st and 2nd grade. This is an interactive program that engages students to participate in the class and learn about the importance of having healthy teeth. Students will also learn the proper name of the teeth, definition of dental cavity and plaque and proper brushing and flossing techniques.
Grade Level: 1st and 2nd grades
Duration: 45 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about primary and secondary teeth
- Learn about the types of teeth and function
- Understand what is cavity and plaque and ways to prevent them
- Learn the five steps to have healthy teeth
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Heart Health
About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the US every year. One in every four deaths is related to heart disease making it the leading cause of death for both men and women in the country. It is necessary for people to have accurate information at an early age on the importance of healthy habits to prevent heart disease. Heart health program educates students on the anatomy of the heart and function of the circulatory system, heart disease risk factors, warning signs of a heart attack and importance of physical activity to improve heart health.
Grade Level: 9th – 12th grades
Duration: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about national statistic of heart health
- Understand the function of the circulatory system and anatomy of the heart
- Learn about the types of blood vessels
- Understand the risk factors of heart disease
- Learn the warning signs of a heart attack
- Learn about the importance of of physical activity to improve overall health
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Health Careers
The health careers program offers information on various health careers including job description, academic requirements for admissions and graduation, expected salaries and academic programs offered in the state of Florida. The goal of this program is to present students with a clear understanding of health careers and inspire them early in their education to become the next generation of health providers.
Grade Level: 9th – 12th grades
Duration: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about description and academic requirements of health careers
- Learn about careers in medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, dentistry, physical therapy, Pramedics/EMT, technical radiology and respiratory therapy
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Tobacco and Youth
Each day in the United States, more than 3,200 people younger than 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette, and an estimated 2,100 youth and young adults who have been occasional smokers become daily cigarette smokers. In this program we provide education to the students on the negative effects of tobacco on their health and encourage them to maintain a healthy lifestyle free of tobacco.
Grade Level: 7th – 12th grade
Duration of the program: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- National statistics of tobacco use
- Types of tobacco products and effects on the body
- Chemicals found in cigarettes
- Consequences of using tobacco
- Secondhand smoke health effects
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
Sex Education
It has been reported that in Florida, 270 cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) are diagnosed each day and in Miami, STI rates increase every year mostly in teenagers. The lack of information and resources makes the young population more vulnerable to contract STIs. Most of the STI’s cases could be easily prevented if the people had more information on ways to protects themselves and the importance of safe sex. In this program students will learn about the common misconceptions regarding sexual practices, definition of STI, types of STI, importance of getting tested and safe sex practices.
Grade Level: 9th – 12th grades
Duration of the program: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the definition of sexually transmitted infections
- Types of STI
- Importance of getting tested and locations where they can get tested
- Importance of having safe sex practices
Impact Evaluation: Pre/Post Tests
Process Evaluation: Teacher Surveys
If you are interested in our School Health programs, please fill out the form here and one of our Community Health Workers will contact you to discuss in further detail.
