Healthy Schools

NEW! Click here to see how Colorado compares in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey 2009 State Report

Healthy School Champion Page

The Office of Health & Wellness coordinates the following Healthy Schools initiatives:

Healthy Kids Learn Better!

The academic success of America’s youth is strongly linked with their health.

Health-related factors such as hunger, physical and emotional abuse, and chronic illness can lead to poor school performance. Health-risk behaviors such as substance use, violence, and physical inactivity are consistently linked to academic failure and often affect students’ school attendance, grades, test scores, and ability to pay attention in class.

Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap

In turn, academic success is an excellent indicator for the overall well-being of youth and a primary predictor and determinant of adult health outcomes. Leading national education organizations recognize the close relationship between health and education, as well as the need to embed health into the educational environment for all students.

The following fact sheets and slide presentations present data from the 2003 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey on the association between health-risk behaviors and academic grades:

Academic Grades

Fact Sheets

Overview (PDF 1.1M)
Alcohol & Other Drug Use Behaviors (PDF 1.1M)
Sexual Risk Behaviors (PDF 1.1M)
Tobacco Use Behaviors (PDF 1.1M)
Physical Inactivity & Unhealthy Dietary Behaviors (PDF 1.1M)
Unintentional Injury & Violence-Related Behaviors (PDF 540K)

Presentation Slides

Alcohol & Other Drug Use Behaviors (PPT 906K, PDF 300K)
Sexual Risk Behaviors (PPT 354K, PDF 132K)
Tobacco Use Behaviors (PPT 508K, PDF 250K)
Physical Inactivity & Unhealthy Dietary Behaviors (PPT 42K, PDF 242K)
Unintentional Injury & Violence-Related Behaviors (PPT 878K, PDF 281K)