School initiative: Keeping students happy and healthy
8/6/2009
Wicked Local Wayland
By Susan L. Wagner
WAYLAND, MA - Note: This is the fourth in a series of reports on six major projects currently being undertaken by the Wayland Public Schools. Health and wellness, which is the subject of this story, is an ongoing initiative.
Along with some guarded signs of progress, substance abuse among adolescents remains a thorny problem for communities around the country.
MetroWest is no exception.
In late June, for example, Wayland authorities reported that, although the use of substances of all kinds among Middle and High School students in town has remained steady or decreased since 2000, the phenomenon of "pre-gaming," i.e., consuming excessive amounts of alcohol in a very short time before arriving at a social event, is increasingly prevalent.
Even more recently, a survey of Lincoln-Sudbury High School students found that approximately a third of the seniors there had consumed alcohol or marijuana before driving during the preceding 30-day period.
Wayland has been particularly proactive in its attempts to address these issues with the work of the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, which draws together members from various parts of the community, including students, parents, school staff, health and public safety professionals, and religious and community leaders, in addition to the High School Health and Wellness Curriculum Committee.
Because of the efforts of these groups, the town recently received a five-year Drug Free Communities grant worth $625,000.
During the 2008-09 school year, the Curriculum Committee explored programs that had been implemented at high schools in suburban communities throughout eastern Massachusetts, including Brookline, Canton, Lincoln-Sudbury, Newton, Wellesley and Weston.
"These communities have embraced the nation’s trend of incorporating the model of physical education within their wellness curriculum, with emphasis being placed on teaching and developing lifelong healthy living and decision-making skills," according to Heidi Heilman, director of the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and a member of the Curriculum Committee.
A four-year health and wellness curriculum has been proposed for the High School to add stronger evidence-based wellness components to the physical education and fitness programs already in place.
Among the highlights are:
Alcohol.edu – An online mini-course that includes a pre-course assessment, three 30-minute lessons, and a post-course assessment, with a 30-day follow-up session.
Class action – A curriculum that consists of eight to 10 group sessions in which students divide into teams to research, prepare and present mock civil cases involving hypothetical persons harmed as a result of underage drinking.
ATLAS – A curriculum designed for male high school athletes to deter drug use and promote healthy nutrition and exercise.
ATHENA – A team-centered curriculum format that aims to reduce unhealthy eating habits and deter the use of body-shaping substances among female athletes.
Major components of the current curriculum, such as rape aggression defense (RAD) for 11th-grade girls and Refuge Education Advocacy Change (REACH), a violence prevention program for 11th-grade boys, will be retained.
An additional development will involve placing the entire health and wellness curriculum for K to 12 under the leadership of the Wayland High School athletic director, and, if approved by the administrators of the Drug Free Communities Grant, a modest increase in staffing.
Superintendent Gary Burton applauds these efforts.
"Numerous studies have identified unhealthy habits prevalent among American children," he said. "And this has led Wayland administrators to examine curriculum with an eye to addressing this national problem. We believe that the lifestyles of too many American youngsters places them at risk of physical illness, obesity, and excessive mental and emotional stresses that could be addressed through a comprehensive health and wellness program."