Mom's Talk Q&A: How Important is Health Class in 2011?

Welcome to  Moms Talk, a weekly chat where local moms discuss issues that are going on around them and around town.

The Kings Park School District has begun to implement the HealthSmart program in K-6.  Provided by the Suffolk County Health Department and implemented through Eastern Suffolk BOCES, it is designed to cover the six areas of risky behaviors among adolescents identified by the Center for Disease Control: tobacco use, use of alcohol and other drugs, physical inactivity,, unhealthy dietary patterns, behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries and behaviors that result in unintended pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS. 

The curriculum is age appropriate and supports students’ acquisition of critical health, social and personal skills.  It has a big family component which allows parents to partake in critical dialogues as well.

 HealthSmart is presently being utilized by forty-five school districts in Suffolk County, in six private schools and at thirteen BOCES sites.  More than six years of research went into developing HealthSmart and Eastern Suffolk BOCES trains school district health teachers to implement the program.   Health class old school was often called Hygiene, much of which included sex education and occurred somewhere in the junior high school years. 

Q: Do you remember Health Class or Hygiene and did you learn anything valuable?   How important do you think health curriculum is today in 2011? 

For more information about HealthSmart, the woman who oversees the curriculum for Suffolk County is Martha Kahan and she can be reached at mkahan@esboces.org   Ms. Kahan welcomes all inquiries!