A systems approach is needed to better align the health and education sectors in order to address the needs of the whole child.
The Issue
Students who are healthy, present, and engaged learn better. At the same time, those with more education tend to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. In short, the relationship between health and education is reciprocal: higher education has been found to improve health, and better health supports learning. But despite these connections the education and health sectors have largely worked separately.
Key findings:
A systems approach is needed to better integrate health and education.
There are many policy avenues for doing so, including the Every Student Succeeds Act, and the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act at the federal level, as well as myriad state policies.
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model can help build a shared framework for health and education leaders.
To build a true systems approach, we will need to confront challenges and opportunities related to operations, quality, and implementation.
To read the report, go to: http://www.rwjf.org/content/da...iefs/2016/rwjf431842
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