11 Feb
ACHSC Regional School Health Team Information
History
In March 2008, over 200 participants at the Alberta Coalition for Healthy School Communities (ACHSC) symposium The Time is Now: Taking Action on School Health identified increased collaboration and greater regional action as important action items for moving school health forward in Alberta. In response to those views, the ACHSC Executive created a plan to host a series of regional school health meetings across the province in the 2008/2009 year, and obtained grant funding for this work through the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Ten meetings were held between October, 2008 and March, 2009 in the nine former health regions. The objectives of these meetings were to:
Bring stakeholder groups to the table, in many cases for the first time, to discuss school health
Examine the state of school health throughout the province
Identify local champions of school health
Stimulate awareness and interest in school health
Determine the level of support for the concept of regional school health teams
The meetings were a success in meeting these objectives. Most significantly, broad support was expressed for the idea of creating regional teams in Alberta. In response to this support ACHSC has committed to further the development of regional teams. Once again, funded by PHAC, plans are being finalized to host regional meetings in 2009/2010.
Purpose of the Regional School Health Teams
The purpose of the regional school health teams is to have in place a sustainable provincial infrastructure for school health that will:
Strengthen regional response in the area of comprehensive school health through:
• Addressing challenges
• Exploring opportunities
• Sharing best practices
• Strengthening partnerships
Act as a provincial network to:
• Support inter-regional sharing and communication
• Identify provincial advocacy messages in support of school health
Focus of This Year’s Meetings
This year the focus of meetings will be to bring together stakeholders committed to meeting on a regular basis (two to three times a year) to actually create regional teams, as opposed to exploring support for the idea. The work will not look the same in all areas as some regions already have a team in place, while others are just beginning to explore the concept of a regional team. ACHSC will work with local representatives to ensure that the specific needs and current context of each region are respected. The result will be a tailored meeting agenda for each region.
Structure of the Teams
With the amalgamation of the former health regions, a decision has been made to model these teams on the education zones of the province. Both the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) and the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) organize their work through five geographic zones. The boundaries of these zones are the same for both organizations. Aligning the regional teams with the education zones provides an opportunity to strengthen the involvement of these key education groups.
A unique feature of this year’s regional team meetings will be the engagement of these zones. Each CASS and ASBA zone is being asked to identify one representative to attend regional team meetings for a minimum of one year. These representatives will then report to their respective zones on the work of their regional team, creating a process whereby all districts within a zone, at the Superintendent and Trustee levels, will be engaged in the work of regional teams. Creating the capacity for regional teams to effectively be connected to all school districts in the zone and ultimately the province, with a minimum commitment of time and resources, is a very attractive notion. Parents, trustees, health professionals and administrators will be a powerful alliance in the world of school health.
The Executive Directors of ASBA, CASS, the Alberta School Council Association and a senior executive member of the Alberta Teachers Association have all endorsed this concept of regional teams.
Intended Outcomes
If successful, we hope to have five working regional teams in place in the next year that will strengthen local response and create a network that will allow provincial conversations about school health.
Sent by ASCA at the Request of the ACHSC to parents with children in Alberta schools.
T. Kaley
Senior Advisor, Policy and Research
Alberta School Councils' Association
1-780-451-7146 (direct)
1-780-454-9867
1-800-661-3470
visit our website at http://www.albertaschoolcouncils.ca
Location: Lethbridge
Date: March 2nd
Time: 10am to 2pm
Place: Victory Church
