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| Junior Fellows Induction Ceremony. Left to right, looking at camera: Romina Cepeda, Ashley Brown, Sahara Baker from The Young Womens Leadership School |
The Office of School Health Programs (OSHP) develops and delivers a wide array of health education initiatives for New York City public schools and for schools and communities nationally. This is accomplished through creation of state-of-the-art curriculum materials, interactive training workshops, dynamic programs for professional development and consultation, and technical assistance. OSHP also addresses the health needs of children, parents, and families through partnerships with community based organizations. OSHP works through its Junior Fellows, Scholars Programs, and G.I.R.L.S. (Getting Into Real Science) and Health Professions to increase the diversity of the health care workforce by helping New York City minority youth, underrepresented in medicine, to build their capacity to pursue careers in medicine, nursing, public health, social work, and other health professions.
The programs address an extensive array of health education issues, including mental and emotional health, asthma, skin health, physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco, and are designed to promote literacy objectives, uphold educational standards and use technology in support of learning. The Office of School Health Programs also collaborates on the development of interdepartmental programs at NYAM integrating resources from other departments to expand services to schools.
The Office of School Health Programs has created and maintains a coalition of more than forty-five private sector foundations, corporations, voluntary agencies and informed individuals who support the programs. The Office administers the largest public-private sector supported comprehensive health education program in the United States and is recognized by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a “beacon of change” in the area of school health education.
Leslie Goldman, the founding Director of the Office of School Health Programs (OSHP), who has led NYAM’s efforts to promote education about health since 1981, left her position in June to transition into the next phase of her professional life as Senior Advisor to the President.
NYAM’s health education and training initiatives were the vision of the late John V. Waller, MD, a NYAM Trustee and Vice President. “It seemed to me that the problems of family life planted seeds of behavior disruptive to health, and this could be turned around by introducing a health education program in the schools,” Dr. Waller said in a 1982 interview. “The younger the children we reach, the better.”
Knowing that children need reliable information in order to make healthy choices, and that their health and academic success are inextricably intertwined, NYAM has been committed to providing young people and their parents with comprehensive health education, and has developed health education curricula and trained teachers to teach about important health issues.
Under the innovative leadership of Ms. Goldman, NYAM has trained more than 40,000 elementary, middle and high school teachers in more than 1,400 New York City public schools and 2,000 schools nationwide; they in turn have taught more than 5 million young people how to be healthier and academically successful. By reaching outside of its own walls in New York City and through national dissemination of its curricular and teacher training programs, NYAM has made a tremendous impact on the lives of children and their families. We have helped them gain the knowledge and skills about nutrition, fitness, mental and emotional health, cardiovascular disease prevention, stress management, injury prevention, and asthma, among other topics, needed to make decisions to enhance their physical, emotional and social well-being.
In a special partnership with American Skin Association, NYAM developed The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy program bringing a compellingly positive focus on skin health, self- esteem, our diversity, and skin cancer prevention to schools in 27 cities across the United States.
In addition, OSHP has implemented a series of programs to promote the interest of underrepresented young people in medicine, nursing, social work, public health, and other health professions. Over the past 10 years through its Junior Fellows and Scholars programs, more than 1000 students in 20 New York City public middle and high schools have had the opportunity to learn about the research process and careers in the health professions. OSHP has just launched a program targeting girls for academic support, career exploration, and mentoring experiences with minority women scientists, physicians, and health professionals.
Beginning last year, OSHP also works with community based partner organizations to build the capacity of their staff to include health education in their ongoing programming with youth. Work with United Neighborhood Houses of New York member agencies from around the city and The Boys’ Club of New York is the beginning of an additional strategic direction that promises even wider reach and impact on the health of young people in the coming years.
Over the last three decades, with the help of an Advisory Committee made up of representatives from The New York Community Trust, MetLife Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and others, an unprecedented private-public coalition was established that still works together today. Over $20,000,000 from foundations, corporations, individuals, and city, state and federal agencies has been raised to sustain NYAM’s school, community and health career programs. The initiatives pursued by Ms. Goldman and her staff have benefited millions of children. The Office will continue to influence the behaviors of a new generation of youth as present programs are continually evaluated and enhanced and new ones are developed and introduced.
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