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Schools Advancing Youth (SAY) Wellness is a CDC-grant funded project centered around improving the behaviors and experiences of middle and high èßäÊÓƵ èßäÊÓƵ (grades 6-12) by working to promote youth health and wellness and reduce youth risk behaviors related to unintended pregnancy, STIs, HIV, violence, poor mental health and suicidality. Funding supports èßäÊÓƵ to:

• Deliver high-quality health education;

• Increase access to needed health services, including behavioral and mental health services;

• Create safe and supportive èßäÊÓƵ environments for all èßäÊÓƵ;

• Foster engagement with youth, families and communities. 

SAY Wellness is aligned with the CDC’s  model, which provides evidence-based strategies for promoting èßäÊÓƵ health and reducing risk behaviors. 

Program implementation is guided by the biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Results from , , and are available now.

Please contact our team at hape@pps.net with any questions about the SAY Wellness Grant or YRBS data requests.

Adolescents and Communities Together (ACT) is funded through the Multnomah County Health Department. This three-year grant is a part of a teen pregnancy prevention project to promote optimal health among Multnomah County adolescents through a systems-thinking, youth-driven, and equity-focused approach by replicating effective curricula, Get Real and Positive Prevention PLUS, in èßäÊÓƵ settings.

èßäÊÓƵ have been a recipient of this grant since 2015. ACT strives to bridge gaps in sexual health outcomes by addressing health disparities caused by systemic racism, poverty, and neglect for the sexual health and education of Black/African American, Native, Latinx, Pacific Islander, LGBTQI2S+ youth and youth with disabilities.

ACT Technical Assistance

• Support for NEW Teachers: ACT educators can offer skill-building supports designed to help teachers build familiarity with comprehensive sexuality education and prepare to teach ACT curricula
  • Full Curriculum Demonstration – a demonstration of ACT lessons, modeled for 1-2 class periods same-grade cohorts.
  • Lesson observation – ACT educator can observe and provide support as needed when the teacher is facilitating the lessons for the first time.
• Support for ALL Teachers: ACT educators offer supports designed to help teachers strengthen their comprehensive sexuality skill using ACT curricula.
  • Individual Lesson and Activity Demonstration – a demonstration of specific lessons and/or activities in the classroom.
  • Co-teaching: ACT educator is available to co-facilitate lessons and/or activities with the classroom teacher.
  • Teach Backs – outside of class time, an ACT Educators is available to demonstrate lessons and support teach backs, virtually or in-person.
• Consultation & Resource Requests –
  • ACT educators can offer consultation and resources on facilitation strategies, anonymous questions, family engagement, racial and reproductive justice, LGBTQ2SIA+ inclusion, gender affirming practices, trauma-informed approaches, building a culture of consent, Oregon law and best practices in sexuality education.

ACT Workshops (offered online or in-person)

• Sex Ed Basics: a full-day workshop on the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to implement CSE education in alignment with the Oregon Health Education Standards.
• Refreshers: short workshops providing skill building and peer support in key content areas, such as: Gender Affirming Practices, Trauma-Informed Approaches, and Building a Culture of Consent.
• Parent/Guardian Workshop: workshops available to review Health Education, with a focus on the ACT sexuality education curriculum, with parents/guardians.

As a part of the CARES Act (the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, 2020) and an extension of the SAY Wellness Grant from the CDC, the PPS Health Education team worked on updating the K-12 curriculum for the mental health units.

This work was completed over the 21-22 and 22-23 èßäÊÓƵ years. The Health and PE team solicited feedback from teachers and other èßäÊÓƵ staff who support èßäÊÓƵ' mental health over the 21-22 èßäÊÓƵ year. In the subsequent year, the Health & PE team used the feedback to run the curriculum through teacher review panels. The new K-12 mental health curriculum was piloted in the 23-24 èßäÊÓƵ year.

initiative, "works to build greater integration and alignment among the education and health care sectors to support the total health of the èßäÊÓƵ community."

As a part of the Thriving Schools initiative, the Health and PE worked to further develop and build out curriculum for the K-5 Nutrition unit. The team intentionally partnered with culturally specific community-based organizations to help bring in new and different perspectives on food, nutrition, and food systems.  

Utilizing their comments and feedback, the Health and PE team worked with K-5 teachers over the 22-23 èßäÊÓƵ year to help scaffold and build out these lessons and piloted the new K-12 nutrition curriculum in the 23-24 èßäÊÓƵ year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) and ICF, a research and evaluation firm, partnered with PPS middle èßäÊÓƵ and high èßäÊÓƵ health teachers to participate in the Comprehensive Health Educator Core Knowledge and Skills (CHECKS) study during the 2021-2022 academic year.

This study was designed to help better understand the knowledge and skills that are most important for delivering health education and to test the effectiveness of CHECKS, a package of professional development offerings, in enhancing this knowledge and skills. The goal of the CHECKS study was to strengthen teachers' knowledge and skills to deliver comprehensive health education to middle and high èßäÊÓƵ èßäÊÓƵ across PPS.

The Health & A/PE team partnered with SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America and OPEN Phys Ed to study the impact of COVID-19 on physical education and physical activity. The goal of this funding was to ensure that èßäÊÓƵ in kindergarten through grade 12 are receiving safe and effective standards-based physical education through online, hybrid, and in-person formats during and beyond COVID-19.

In addition, what was learned and developed through this project was shared with the other Campbell’s communities as well as èßäÊÓƵ districts throughout the U.S. It is likely there may be an increase in the use of online and hybrid physical education after a full return to brick and mortar èßäÊÓƵing, particularly for middle and high èßäÊÓƵ èßäÊÓƵ, and this project will serve as the foundation for implementing best practices for the long term.

The Teacher Hire (TH) Physical Education Expansion K-8 (PEEK-8) grant was established by the . During the 2019 Legislative Session, additional funding allocations were approved for the 2019-21 biennium.

The Teacher Hire Grant provided funds to èßäÊÓƵ districts and public charter èßäÊÓƵs to hire licensed physical education teachers. The grant was designed to support activities related to meeting the physical education instructional requirements for èßäÊÓƵ in kindergarten through grade 8.

èßäÊÓƵ Elementary (K-5) Health Education programs were funded through Oregon Health Authority under the HEALTH for K-5 project to build teacher and district capacity to provide Skills-based Health Education instruction and assessment.

The goal of this project is to improve health behaviors and literacy skills in our communities by providing youth with the skills they need to make age-appropriate decisions, present-day and throughout their lifetime.

Parents, Guardians, and Trusted Adults are our youth's first educators. We share with you our curriculum, which has been curated from evidence-informed, open-sourced resources, and cross-walked to ensure that it meets National and Oregon Health Education Standards. Curriculum is reviewed annually by a team of education specialists to ensure that èßäÊÓƵ are receiving the most current, evidence-informed content. PPS uses this curriculum for instruction and recommends its use for Oregon teachers.

Oregon is a local control state

Each èßäÊÓƵ district has unique demographics and needs. As a result, Oregon Department of Education encourages districts to use the curriculum most appropriate for their community. The recommended curriculum below is one option for districts to consider when reviewing health curriculum that meets state health standards.

Advocates for Youth (AFY) is a non-government organization that, "advocates for policies and champions programs that recognize young people's rights to honest sexual health information; accessible, confidential, and affordable sexual health services; and the resources and opportunities necessary to create sexual health equity for all youth."

PPS began their partnership with AFY in July of 2017, when the Health/APE team received a  grant, called the Build Local Capacity to Prevent HIV and STDs in Adolescents (10- 19 years old) through the CDC-Developed School-Based Approaches for Health Education and Safe and Supportive Environments Tier II Community Action Planning Capacity Building Assistance project. This grant allowed PPS to create a plan of action to create our .

Following this grant, in October of 2017, PPS was one of three districts nationally to receive the follow-up grant to fund the creation of our Comprehensive Sexuality Education Plan. Utilizing this funding, the PPS Health and PE TOSA assembled a team that met the parameters set in OAR Rule 581-022-1440. 

Beginning in January of 2018, in both full- and small-group sessions, this group met for approximately 30 hours, with team members doing additional work between meetings. The first draft was completed in May of 2018, was reviewed by the full committee, and then by members of their networks. Additionally, the document was reviewed by a team of PPS K-12 health instructors and the Sexual Health and School Health Specialist from the Oregon Department of Education, Office of Student Services. The edits recommended by the wider audience are represented in this document.

In 2019, through a partnership with Oregon Health Authority, the Health & A/PE team received a grant to be a part of a pilot program improving our instructional materials regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention to empower those who face addiction and mental health challenges to actively engage in their education, personal growth, development, and lifelong success.

Participating in the Botvin’s Life Skill pilot program allowed PPS to meet Oregon state standards as outlined by the PPS Health Education scope and sequence. This collaboration also supported PPS’s new Recovery Education & Action for Healthy Living (REAHL) initiative, which seeks to provide wrap-around services for èßäÊÓƵ who face additional mental health challenges.

Focusing on the prevention piece of wrap-around services, Botvin’s continues to allow PPS to deliver curriculum before the onset of a disorder, with proven interventions intended to prevent or reduce the risk of developing a behavioral health problem, such as underage alcohol use, prescription drug misuse and abuse, and illicit drug use.  

The George Pocock Rowing Foundation and USRowing awarded the 2016-2017 Erg Ed Grant to èßäÊÓƵ. This grant provides Portland èßäÊÓƵs with erg equipment, access to the Erg Ed Curriculum, and comprehensive teacher training throughout the year. 

Rowing now has the ability to help Portland kids grow and learn. Dr. Jenny Withycombe, Health and Adapted/Physical Education Program Administrator for èßäÊÓƵ, describes Portland as the “ideal location” for Erg Ed because of its diversity and number of èßäÊÓƵ: “We reach over 49,000 èßäÊÓƵ - half of whom are èßäÊÓƵ of color and half of whom receive free and reduced lunch. We know that by being a part of such an amazing opportunity as this grant provides, we are being given the chance to make a long-term and sustained positive change for our èßäÊÓƵ beginning with those most in need.”