Educate Tomorrow’s Parents (ETP) is excited to report our lessons in the Healthy Foundations for Future Families curriculum meet the newest national health education standards for secondary schools.
Just released this March, SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) published an important revision of the National Health Education Standards. This new version is the culmination of a multi-year process conducted by a coalition of teachers, administrators, and policy makers and incorporates several rounds of public review.
As they explain it, “At the core of the new standards is an emphasis on the importance of preparing students with the skills and functional health information they need to take meaningful steps to support their health and well-being throughout their lifetime — and to understand health as it relates to the world around them. “
This lifetime perspective and emphasis on equipping students with information and skills is already woven into the pedagogy of ETP’s curriculum Healthy Foundations for Future Families.
SHAPE America describes how a broader perspective has manifested in standards’ changes.
- Expanding from “health and health behaviors” to “health and well-being,” there is now a greater focus on mental health along with physical health.
- The focus has also expanded beyond individual health to support the health and wellbeing of self and others.
- In addition, some standards have been streamlined, moving away from lists of specific influences to allow teachers and students the flexibility to identify their relevant factors.
The Healthy Foundations curriculum aligns perfectly with these changes.
- ETP’s lessons address issues central to mental health, such as life-planning, healthy relationships, human development, and self-actualization.
- Helping teens anticipate a future child’s dependence on their care, ETP encourages teens to envision how their life-choices have repercussions for their future health and well-being and beyond themselves.
- Drawing upon motivational interviewing techniques and human-centered design, ETP’s student workbooks give teens ample space to identify positive and adverse influences germane to their particular circumstances.
Here’s a handy list of the 2024 Health Education National Standards met by ETP’s curriculum, along with ETP’s alignment with Education Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences, Sex Education, and Common Core.
Source:
National Health Education Standards Educator Kit, Society of Health and Physical Educators, March 2024. www.shapeamerica.org/standards/health
