County-supported school health and wellness position reports data and partnerships; staff to return with evaluations

Rob Schooley, the Chatham County Schools health, physical education and wellness program facilitator, briefed the Board of Commissioners on June 16 about the position’s first multi-year results and partnerships.

Schooley described a logic-model approach that links teacher professional development with student health outcomes and highlighted partnerships with Duke Health, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Piedmont Health Services. "Because of your investment, we're not just teaching health. We're creating a healthier, more resilient generation of students in Chatham County," he told commissioners.

Key items from the year included more than 40 mental-health referrals routed through a district mental-health team; a new substance-use prevention curriculum aligned to updated state essential standards; Piedmont Health Services mobile dental visits providing on-campus care with more than 50 referrals leading to six site visits; and participation in the nationwide Youth Risk Behavior Survey along with a Duke-led health-literacy study.

Commissioners asked about data showing improved outcomes and about the program’s flexibility to adapt to new issues such as social-media impacts and future public-health changes. Schooley said RTI’s What Works in Schools study will help evaluate long-term impacts and noted the program’s logic model is a living document intended to adapt to new needs.

Schooley said he will return with follow-up reports to the Board of Health and the county commission with more detailed data, and commissioners encouraged continued reporting in one-year intervals to monitor both implementation and outcomes.