State May Pull Plug on Coordinated School Health Programs
January 11, 2010
Hawkins County native Connie Givens devoted her professional life to children’s health issues, and her crowning achievement was the establishment of the Coordinated School Health (CSH) program which now exists in 136 Tennessee school systems.
She was the first and only CSH executive director for the Tennessee Department of Education from the program’s inception in 2001 until her death on Nov. 29 at the age of 61 following a long illness.
With the Tennessee General Assembly facing one of its tightest budget seasons in recent history state lawmakers will be making a lot of difficult decisions this spring, and the $16 million CSH program is one that might not survive the fiscal year.
Gov. Phil Bredesen told the Times-News last week that Givens’ passing has nothing to do with the fact that the CSH program is on the chopping block this year.
Prior to the current fiscal year the program was funded by the state, but in the current fiscal year it has been funded almost entirely by federal stimulus dollars.
“The fact that she has passed away hasn’t caused us to say, ‘Let’s go after that’,” Bredesen said. “It is a very good thing and has done a lot of good things. I am cutting a lot of things which are very good things.”
Bredesen added, “All I’m asking the Legislature to do is say ‘I am making the best set of calls I can.’ You can disagree with those, but please keep it a zero sum game. Don’t just restore a bunch of stuff because there’s no way to pay for it. If you’d rather keep that and take the money from somewhere else, I’d defer to your judgment on most of those.”
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Givens championed the CSH program while a staff member at the Hawkins County School System, where she spent 27 years as director of health services.
It’s an eight-part program which includes health education; physical education; health services; nutrition services; counseling; psychological and social services; healthy school environment; health promotion for school staff; and family/community involvement.
In 2000 Givens’ CSH program received state funding as a pilot program in 10 school systems across the state thanks to a bill sponsored by her husband, former state Rep. Ken Givens of Rogersville.
Ken Givens told the Times-News last week he believes his wife literally gave her life for the program. She postponed some medical examinations a few years back because she was a one-person operation at that time in the Department of Education, Givens said.
Although the program is close to his heart, as Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Givens will have his own budget and program cuts to worry about this year.
That’s why he won’t be “leading the parade” to save the CSH program, although he said he believes it is worth saving.
“You’d have to say that I feel strongly (about CSH) — that if it were important enough for Connie to give her life for, I’m certainly going to have some interest because of the commitment she made,” Givens said “As an individual citizen I believe government should do everything it can do for the health of children who otherwise might not get it if it’s not dealt with in school settings. I believe that healthier children achieve better in classrooms, and that’s really the premise of the program.”
In only its third year as a statewide program CSH showed positive results, particularly in battling obesity.
Body Mass Index (BMI) rate s statewide for overweight and obesity are declining, which is contrary to national trends. The BMI rate in Tennessee decreased from 41.2 percent in 2007-08 to 39.5 percent in 2008-09.
Also during the 2008-09 school year, there were more than 1.4 million student health screenings statewide through CSH programs resulting in 178,280 students being referred to a healthcare provider.
Givens added, “This program is on life support because in last year’s fiscal year budget it was funded with state dollars and in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, it is funded almost, if not entirely, with federal stimulus dollars. So, you’re talking about $16 million funded with federal stimulus dollars, and whether there will be enough to fund it next year is a decision the governor’s office and lawmakers will have to decide.”
CSH didn’t make an appearance in the Hawkins County and Rogersville school systems until just a few years ago, but Ken Givens said his wife’s presence and spirit can still be felt in the programs that she was responsible for bringing to her home county just a few years ago.
Rogersville City School joined the program midway through the 2006-07 school year and is led by CSH Coordinator Stephanie Eidson.
CSH wasn’t introduced into the Hawkins County school system until the beginning of the 2007-08 school year with the hiring of system coordinator Erika Phillips.
A few of the many CSH programs brought to Hawkins County since 2007-08 include:
• Partnering with local health services to organize a task force to develop a prevention and response plan to the H1N1 flu virus.
• Received $391,553 in funding for elementary walking trails with nine of 11 planned trails completed and the remaining trails to be completed this spring.
• Te chnology grants including Nintendo Wii; Wii Fit; Dance, Dance Revolution; and Computerized Exercise Bikes for every P.E. class, as well as physical activity kits in every elementary classroom.
• Hearing, vision, height, weight, and blood pressure screenings in grades K, 2, 4, 6, and 8; and annual high school wellness classes for students who receive parent permission.
“We feel these screenings serve an important purpose in ensuring academic success,” Phillips said. “If a student cannot see or hear properly, they may not perform well in school. If a student has not visited a physician in several years, they may not be aware that they have high blood pressure.”
Phillips added, “A constant headache stemming from high blood pressure can prevent a student from performing well in school. By identifying potential health problems or concerns through these screenings, we can have direct impact on how well our children learn.”
A few of the CSH programs under way at Rogersville City School include:
• Awarded $229,810 for the T-DOT Safe Routes to School grant.
• New P.E. and playground equipment including volleyball, swings, and tetherball.
• Weekly food backpack program serving students in need of food with backpacks are filled and sent home weekly.
• BMI screenings, blood pressure measurement, mile run data, dental screenings all compiled and sent to ETSU data collection for statistics.
• A pavilion was installed on the playground with a concrete pad for outdoor health classes, health fairs, etc.
• Awarded the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Grant.
“It is proven that a child’s health, physical and mental, is directly related to academic progress or failure,” Eidson said. “This progra m is not just fluff in the budget. It makes a difference.”
A major component of the CSH program is compiling data for study and use in planning future programs. Eidson noted that with only three full school years of data as of the end of 2009-10, there is still much to learn and progress to be made.
“Every school has data which show areas of need and huge gains that we have made regarding student health,” Eidson said. “School systems do not have the time or the resources to adequately address the various health needs of our students. Cutting CSH will send a message to our children that their health is not a top priority.”