Saturday, September 1, 2018

Ohio PTA Voice / September 2018 - Health, Welfare and Safety PTA Resources


(Photo by: Palm Beach County PTA)

The goal of PTA’s Health, Welfare, and Safety(HWS)  programming is to be a resource for PTA  leaders in partnering with schools to create safe environments that encourage healthy, safe choices and social and emotional support for all students. National PTA's HWS programs include:

Healthy Lifestyles. PTA’s Healthy Lifestyles program provides family-centered
education and tools to empower families to partner with schools and advocate for
healthy changes around nutrition and physical activity. It also strives to create an
environment at home that supports the positive changes happening at school.

Healthy Habits Program. National PTA, National Education Association (NEA),
and LYSOL have partnered to educate students and families about health and
hygiene both in the classroom and at home.

series is designed to help create a safer environment for children with severe
allergies.

Parents for Healthy Kids--Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) and National PTA have teamed up to support parents in creating healthier schools through a new initiative, Parents for Healthy Kids. Parents for Healthy Kids features a website, online community forum, trainings and grants to educate, engage and empower parents nationwide to improve school and student health.

Connect for Respect. Bullying can happen anywhere that young people gather,
including online, via text and on social networks. This program encourages PTAs
to engage student leaders to lead conversations about how bullying is affecting their
communities and to develop collaborative solutions.

Digital Safety & Citizenship-Technology is woven into every aspect of life- from learning and socializing, to gaming and shopping, the possibilities are endless. Broad access and use of technology opens up many opportunities for students- but it can also be difficult to navigate these online environments. This is why National PTA partnered with LifeLock to help parents start a dialogue about staying safe and positive online.

National PTA Has a section on Health which includes Hunger, Safe Drinking Water, Obesity Prevention, Chronic Conditions, Substance Abuse and Emotional Health. Also, you can find detailed Information on Safety which includes Digital Safety, Injury and Prevention and Sports Safety, School Safety, and Teen Driver Safety.

Check out the Health , Welfare and Safety tab in the Ohio PTA website at ohiopta.org. The tab can be found under "Programs".  The Health, Welfare and Safety Handbook can be found under "PTA Resources".

What can you do to promote HWS programming at your PTA:
  • Volunteer as your unit/council's HWS chair or serve on the HWS committee.
  • Invite a speaker to a PTA meeting to address a HWS topic.
  • Join the Ohio PTA HWS committee by emailing HWS@ohiopta.org


Barbara Varley
Director of Health, Welfare and Safety