2012 School Health Policies and Programs Survey

2012 School Health Policies and Programs Survey

School Principal

Dear Principal:

For more than 12 years, the WVDE has maintained a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This partnership has been formed to foster coordinated school health policies and programs for our youth. As part of our cooperative agreement activities, we are conducting surveys of elementary and secondary principals, secondary lead health education teachers, and secondary lead physical education teachers to assess the status of school health policies and practices at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. The data collected and presented as School Health Profiles will be used to improve school health policies and practices in our schools.

Your response to these surveys is very important. Without an accurate view of the extent of our current school health policies and program activities, we cannot plan and allocate program resources adequately. School Health Profiles is critical for designing and administering programs to meet the needs of our students and to provide a basis for future requests for funding. A letter from Dr. Marple supporting this survey and encouraging your participation is included in this packet.

Your school was chosen through a random selection process. Within the survey packet is a questionnaire booklet for the principal. Secondary school packetscontain a principal survey, lead health education teacher survey, and lead physical education teacher survey to use asworkbooks before completing the surveysONLINE. The teachers you select may be the only health or physical education teacher, the department chair, the most senior teacher, or the teacher who is most knowledgeable about required instruction of health or physical education topics. Determine who best fits this description and distribute the appropriate questionnaires and cover letters. Once finalized, a school administrator will need to use their WVEIS username and password to access the ONLINEWVEIS site and enter the data from the workbooks.

We are aware that some principals oversee schools at both the elementary and secondary levels. Please complete the online surveys for all the grade spans indicated on the booklets.

Although participation is voluntary, completed surveys from both you and your lead teachers will help provide a more accurate portrayal of your school. No data will be reported about individual schools, principals, or teachers.

Read carefully before responding to each question. Please feel free to consult with other school personnel (school nurse, counselors, food service, etc.). Individual responses will be kept confidential, and at no time will your identity or that of your teacher, school, or community be disclosed. The identifying information requested will be used only for contacting you to clarify information you provide, if necessary.

Please complete the ONLINEsurveys by February 29. If you have questions, please call Bev McCloud at the Office of Healthy Schools (304)558-8830) or Carl Calvert, the WVEIS programmer at (304)957-9833 x 53330. Your time and cooperation are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Melanie Purkey

Executive Director, Office of Healthy Schools