Children spend more time at school than anywhere else except home; thus, schools can have a major effect on children's health by providing a healthy physical environment, serving meals and snacks built around sound nutritional guidelines, and teaching about health, as well as modeling and promoting healthy behaviors. School health services programs involve not only school nurses and focus not only on nursing practice, standards, and performance issues; they also include services and classes to teach students the information and skills they need to become health-literate, to maintain and improve their health, to prevent disease, and to reduce risky behaviors impacting health. School nurses, teachers, administrators, health coordinators, guidance counselors and social workers all join with parents in safeguarding and promoting the health and well-being of school-aged children as a basic foundation for academic success. The Encyclopedia of School Health offers quick access to health and wellness information most relevant to children in America's K-12 school setting. You'll find valuable guidance on developmental stages, acute and chronic illnesses, special education, nutrition, crisis response, prevention, and more.
David C. Wiley, Ph.D., MCHES, is a Professor of Health Education and Health Education Graduate Coordinator at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He is a lifelong health educator who has focused his professional career on addressing health issues of adolescents. As a vocal advocate of coordinated school health education, Dr. Wiley has testified on numerous occasions before the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), the Texas Legislature, and the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), and has also served on the SBOE Review Committee for the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Health Education. In 1996 the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD) recognized Dr. Wiley as the Outstanding College Health Educator in Texas. He was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the American School Health Association (ASHA) in 1999, and in 2002 was awarded the Martha Licata Service Award by the Texas School Health Association (TSHA). In 2005 he also received the John P. McGovern Award from the Texas School Health Association. In 2012, the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy established the David C. Wiley Award to honor individuals who have provided extraordinary service to teen pregnancy prevention initiatives in Texas. Dr. Wiley is the Past-President of ASHA and TSHA. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for CommuniCare, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and in 2008 founded the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Amy C. Cory, Ph.D., RN, is an assistant professor of nursing at Valparaiso University. Her area of expertise is in Maternal Child Health with specialization in School Health. Currently she serves as a child care health consultant in early care and education settings and as a school health consultant on several coordinated school health advisory councils. Dr. Cory has experience as a school nurse and as a pediatric nurse practitioner in school-based health centers. She is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences. Dr. Cory is an active member of Sigma Theta Tau, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American School Health Association, and American Public Health Association. In addition to her service to professional organizations, Dr. Cory has also served as a member of the board of directors at the Valparaiso Family YMCA where she chaired the Child Care Task Force. Her research interests are in community-based participatory action research in health in underdeveloped, developing, and developed countries. Currently she is engaged in an interprofessional community-based participatory action research project in rural Nicaragua, which was partially funded through a Wheatridge Fellowship.
