The Oregon Department of Ed has finally stepped up and recently posted a half-time physical education and half-time health education specialist. The Healthy Kids Learn Better Coalition was going to make it one of their top priorities going into the next legislative session, but ODE beat us to it!

Hopefully that person, when hired will be able to advocate for the health and pe cadre that Oregon has worked so hard to sustain. I also hope that person recognizes that Oregon has TWO Centers for Disease Control and Prevention trainers… Margaret Bates who is a PECAT trainer (Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool) and myself, Jess Bogli who is a HECAT trainer (Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool). Both of us are sent around the country facilitating training sessions for states that ask CDC- DASH (Division of Adolescent School Health) for the training. I hope Oregon Dept of Ed and school districts recognize that they have two of these trainers and to tap into us while we are here!

Another Healthy Kids Learn Better (Oregon’s Coordinated School Health Program) Coalition ‘ask’ to Dept of Ed is a full time, state funded Coordinated School Health (CSH) Team Lead; not in the Student Learning and Partnership Office (for reasons obvious to those who know our system). DHS has a CSH team lead, Isabelle Barbour. It’s time for ODE to step up and begin that collaboration and partnership piece. It’s embarrassing that DHS has someone doing coordinated SCHOOL health work and ODE doesn’t…

Today I was interviewed by Emily Harris of OPB’s Think Out Loud. It was a great experience and I hope that people listen and take out of it the following:

Teens are having sex. Not all, not even the majority. But, many are sexually active.

Family and community support is important; when you have it. Some of our teens are homeless, living in horrible living conditions, do not speak English well enough to navigate our health system, etc.

Abstinence-Only programs are ineffective. They have been proven ineffective over and over again. They work for intent, but do not lead to behavior change.

Abstinent -Based programs are effective and promote abstinence, but include contraception lessons. They have lead to behavior change and abstinence for a longer period of time.

Sexuality Education should be skills-based, not just basic biology where students learn information and are tested out of a textbook.

In Oregon, we need teachers to be supported through professional development opportunities by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Currently there is no health education specialist on staff and we’ve recently lost our school health team lead. We need to advocate to ODE to support school health programs. Because healthy kids learn better…

To listen to the show, go to http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/listen/

UPDATE: You can listen to or download the show as an MP3 by clicking here. (24MB)