School-based partnerships and programs

Research shows that improved health will lead to increased academic success. Children’s Health℠ is partnering with local schools on several exciting new initiatives to keep children healthy. From wellness and prevention to chronic illness management, our school-based health program objectives are to ensure optimal health care outcomes for children. These programs are designed to improve health literacy and decrease the amount of time kids are out of school due to illness, and thereby increasing the amount of time spent on learning.

GoNoodle

Children’s Health has expanded the reach of its school-based health programs as far south as San Antonio and as far east as Tyler with an additional investment in GoNoodle, the leading provider of online movement videos and games that gets kids moving.

• The sponsorship allows children in nearly 300 school districts – more than 1,400 elementary schools across Texas – to enjoy fun and educational movement videos designed to keep their young minds active and healthy.

View complete list of participating districts

GoNoodle’s short, interactive movement videos help channel classroom energy and improve student focus. This tool offers teachers access to over 120 interactive videos that incorporate vigorous movement into the school day. GoNoodle also offers calming mindfulness exercises, and some videos include key health topics for health skills reinforcement.

While the goal is to provide a physical activity break, these 3-5 minute videos, games and exercises also reinforce core subject content, aiding in subject fluency through kinesthetic learning and assist teachers in positive classroom management while achieving student focus and time on task. Over 2,900 Texas teachers in the Children’s Health sponsored regions are already using GoNoodle, delivering more than 6 million minutes of in-classroom physical activity each month.

Parents can also turn screen time into active time with GoNoodle! Kids, teachers and parents can set up a free account by simply registering at www.gonoodle.com.

Continuing education for school nurses

The school nurses program at Children's Health℠, in partnership with the Regional 10 Education Service Center, collaborates with school health providers through online and live educational opportunities in order to facilitate optimal health for children in the learning environment.

By fostering relationships with area school nurses, across more than nine counties in North Texas, the school health program at Children's can offer multiple trainings, on a variety of health conditions.  Nurses can earn Continuing Education credits by participating in the monthly webinar series titled, The Nurse Is In. Every month during the academic school year, a content expert presents information on a different topic related to school nursing.

Children's Advisory Committee

The Children's School Nurse Advisory Committee was formed in 2008 with the Region 10 Educational Services Center (ESC) and local school districts. The Advisory Committee works with local school health providers to facilitate optimal health for children in the learning environment.