A School-Community Partnership for At-Risk Students in Pennsylvania

• Published in: The Journal of school health Vol. 71; no. 2; pp. 53 - 55
• Main Authors: McMahon, Beth, Browning, Susan, Rose-Colley, Mary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-02-2001; American School Health Association
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Academic Failure; Administrator Surveys; At Risk Persons; At Risk Students; At risk youth; Child Health; Childhood Needs; College Students; Community; Community development; Community Health Services - organization & administration; Community Health Services - statistics & numerical data; Community Involvement; Community Relations; Community Services; Counseling - organization & administration; Counties; Educational Facilities Improvement; Elementary Education; Elementary Schools; Evaluation; Experimental Schools; Family Needs; Female; Focus Groups; Health aspects; Health Behavior - ethnology; Health Conditions; Health Education - organization & administration; Health Promotion; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Health Services; Health Status Indicators; Health Surveys; High Risk Students; Humans; Interdepartmental Relations; Learning Readiness; Male; Meetings; Nursing; Parent Participation; Parenting; Parenting - psychology; Parents & parenting; Partnerships; Partnerships in Education; Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania - epidemiology; Poor children; Poverty; Program Evaluation - statistics & numerical data; School Community Relationship; School Health Services - organization & administration; School Health Services - statistics & numerical data; School-based health clinics; Schools; Study and teaching; Pennsylvania; United States > US
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2001.tb06490.x

This four‐year, school‐community health improvement project addressed fragmentation and under‐utilization of services of an at risk population in a county in central Pennsylvania. A population profile was developed that included demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral information as well as information related to liabilities and assets that affect resiliency and decrease or increase the likelihood of academic success. The profile was used in the planning and implementation of risk‐reduction strategies that promote a healthy family and, in turn, a healthy community. More than 50 local, state, and national organizations as well as individuals volunteered or provided services at each school. The project produced a 22% increase in parental involvement in school activities; a 15% increase in parental involvement in educational sessions; a 22% increase in volunteers within the school; and a 75% decrease in truancy. (J Sch Health. 2001;71(2):53‐55)