Three Major California Foundations Invest $700,000 to Explore Education, Health Link
The California School Health Centers Association joined a host of education and health officials to support a new statewide project, California Education Supports, which will explore the link between health and educational outcomes.

The California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have dedicated $700,000 over the next few years to release policy papers and hold hearings on a broad range of issues such as obesity, mental health and reproductive health, and how those conditions impact academic achievement.

“This investment and commitment from three major foundations will help elevate support services on the education policy agenda,” Serena Clayton, Executive Director of the California School Health Centers Association, said at the Nov. 3 kickoff held at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles.

“Manual Arts is truly a model for how schools can make health services a part of the school's strategy for student success,” Clayton said.

“We are asking policymakers to recognize the importance of school health services in creating conditions in which all kids can learn and thrive. In some schools, this might mean a comprehensive school-based health center; in others it might mean school nurses, mental health programs, dental services, asthma care or violence prevention programs. We need policies that enable communities to build the kind of schools that meet the needs of their families,” she said.

The goal of the California Education Supports is to develop policy recommendations that foster healthy and supportive school and community environments. To that end, the consortium will work with administration officials, state legislators and key members of the education community to identify near- and long-term solutions to simultaneously promote student health and learning.

Read more about Tuesday's kick off in the Los Angeles Times.

Read more about the California Education Supports Project.

Read the inaugural policy paper, The Critical Connection Between Health and Academic Achievement: How Schools and Policymakers Can Achieve a Positive Impact.