Programs

Important note: Occasionally CHL will schedule and post one or more of these workshops on its events calendar. (For a list of our current offerings, go to the link Trainings Events on our home page.)

For the most part, however, these programs are available for a fee-for-service based contract when a specific audience has been identified, such as a school, supervisory union or professional development organization. For more information on how to get CHL involved in your school or community, call us at 802.254.6590 or write: info@healthandlearning.org.

Nutrition Education:  In-school, After-school, Summer and Snack Programs by Center for Health and Learning

Center for Health and Learning (CHL) works to improve the food choices of children in schools in order to optimize learning and prevent chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease. This programming aims to support the development of school policy and environments that encourage healthy eating and promote positive food choices.

CHL offers a fully customizable program for schools with a menu of options for activities. The programming aims to involve as many stakeholders as possible to increase the program’s impact and effectiveness. Towards that end, our consultants will work to engage educators, school administrators, after-school and summer programming staff, food services staff, parents and parent-teacher associations, the school board, and of course, the students themselves. Some of the options CHL offers include:

Nutrition Survey & School Assessment

CHL will assist your school in designing a 5-15 item web-based survey on student nutrition habits, specific to the interests of your school. The next steps are to administer the survey, input the data, and we will provide you a report of the compiled results as well as suggestions on what areas to focus on, e.g., soft-drink vs. milk intake, target to increase fruit and vegetable intake, etc.

School Snack Program Assessment

Using interview data from parents, teachers and students, the consultant will evaluate your school’s existing snack and nutrition policy according to current guidelines and research. CHL will generate a set of snack program recommendations and ideas for your PTO and/or School Board.

Healthy Snack Jamboree

This is a weeklong healthy snack initiative. Parents get a week’s vacation from sending daily snacks in with their child and the CHL consultant works with the PTO and teachers to provide healthy students snacks for a week. Students sample all sorts of healthy foods that they might otherwise not choose or know about.

Healthy Snack Family Event

The CHL Consultant works with parent and teachers volunteers from the PTO to offer a free fun and educational evening of food tasting and health education for parents and students.

School Policy

The consultant will assist in the development of nutrition policy and/or snack policy and work with staff to present it to parents or the school board.

Growing Healthy Newsletter Inserts

CHL will provide newsletter inserts related to children’s nutrition for you to use in school newsletters.

Fat Pyramid

CHL has created an original and unique pyramid, which teaches about healthy fats. View/download a PDF version of the Fat Pyramid that was developed by Lisa Ford of Center for Health and Learning. Lesson plans and nutrition education that focuses on the Fat Pyramid is available by contacting us.

Classroom Instruction and Parent Education

CHL consultants can work with teachers to deliver nutrition education in the classroom or conduct parent education on nutrition at a school-sponsored event. You can also order HealthTeacher.com – a state of the art comprehensive on-line K-12 health education curriculum for an entire year at a discounted rate through us.

For an example of CHL’s work in this area, please visit the Power of Choice web site.

Media Literacy for Health

Media shapes our culture and promotes risk-taking behaviors as glamorous lifestyles. Learn ways to teach students how to maintain their authenticity in a culture that is heavily saturated with media. Media can affect brain development in children, body image issues, issues of violence and fearfulness, substance abuse, bias and nutrition. Instructional support and one or two-day training is available for teachers, students, school staff, or parents. Classroom or community presentations may include planning for activism.

Center for Health and Learning has teamed up with Know Media to build local capacity for media literacy education.

Addressing Bullying and Harassment in Schools

Bullying and Harassment is a problem with multiple dimensions that needs to be addressed through school policy, school climate, curriculum, counseling and referral services, intervention through the school nurse’s office and a variety of other approaches. CHL offers training in bullying, harassment and interpersonal skills and works with school staff to identify an action plan to promote pro-social behavior. CHL uses a comprehensive model for creating environments at schools that are safe and healthy for all students.

Follow this link to see Vermont’s State Law concerning bullying and harassment in public schools. For more resources on Vermont Department of Education’s guidelines for creating safe schools, please visit their website.

The Crisis Prevention and Management Project (CPM)

The Center for Health and Learning has entered into a collaboration with Ron Rubin, who brings with him 30 years of experience in education.  Ron has taught inner city and rural students, prison inmates, parents and professional educators.  He has been a principal, a consultant with the Department of Education and a faculty member at the University of Vermont.  Most recently Ron co-authored a Guide to Positive School Discipline and contributed to the development of model discipline system guidelines, which included strategies for preventing and responding to bullying behaviors.  Both of these publications were developed at the Vermont Department of Education.  Ron has also published some of his work in Reclaiming Children and Youth.

The Crisis Prevention and Management Project (CPM), which was designed by Ron Rubin, focuses on supporting individuals through behavioral crisis, developing school wide discipline systems and improving school climate.  CPM distinguishes discipline from punishment.  It teaches anger management and impulse control techniques.  It builds positive relationships with students and develops individual student behavior plans.  It assesses the likelihood of targeted school violence and teaches collaborative problem solving.  It promotes self-reflection and strengthens family-centered practices.

The Center for Health and Learning sponsors a one-day workshop called Understanding and Preventing Challenging Behavior: “The Circle of Courage”.  Based on a widely used framework derived from native-American child rearing practices, this training develops  practical classroom and school wide strategies for positively impacting the behavior of students and adults. 

HEALS (The Hospice Expressing Arts Loss Support Program)

Founded in 1990 by Anne Black and Penelope Simpson, The HEALS Program offers social and emotional education and support for grieving children by utilizing the expressive arts in schools and community settings. Self-expression through the arts can be a potent doorway to deep communication, insight and healing, especially for those who have difficulty expressing themselves. The program uses art, movement, sound, imaginary journeys, writing, ritual and relaxation in a specific sequence, which encourages participants to express their thoughts, feelings and dreams as they search to access their healing energy and inner wisdom.

The goals and objectives of The HEALS Program are designed to offer grieving children an opportunity to meet in an accepting and caring environment so as to decrease the isolation children often feel following a loss and help them experience safe and creative ways to express all their feelings. The workshop increases a child’s sense of self-worth and belonging, provides activities and experiences to enhance social and emotional literacy, strengthens skills needed to navigate future losses and life transitions and   reduces the need for substance abuse to deaden the feelings of grief.

The Art of Healing Grief For Teams in Medical Settings
The HEALS Program is a solid framework for guiding children through the stages of grief while introducing them to techniques that can become lifelong tools for self-expression. Another program, The Art of Healing Grief evolved out of HEALS to include health care teams working with the bereaved in medical settings. Designed for doctors, nurses, case workers, mental health practitioners and Hospice workers, participants return to their home communities with a set of tools uniquely designed to help people access and express painful feelings occasioned by the loss of a loved one or by the need to adjust to a chronic or life-threatening situation. Whether the context is natural death, suicide or homicide, disaster or an act of terrorism, each participant will receive significant support in remaining a compassionate presence during times of sudden and traumatic loss.

YogaKids

CHL is pleased to announce the following offerings from YogaKids:

YOGAKIDS FOUNDATIONS TRAINING: a four-day weekend designed to introduce the YogaKids Way to parents, educators, yoga teachers, physical therapists and other professionals working with children.
TASTE OF YOGAKIDS: In a one-day workshop language arts, games, music and storytelling are integrated with yoga movement to engage the "whole child" in the miltiple intelligences theory of learning.
TEACHING YOGA TO TEENS: This innovative training provides tools for empowering teens with essential life skills for dealing with daily challenges.
TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS: This is a comprehensive teaching solution with a vital mission: to create less stress and greater success for teachers, students, parents and their communities. The teaching kit includes: Teacher's Manual; YogaKids Tool Box; Tack-on Mat; YogaKids Book; three fitness DVDs; one CD; two posters; six-hour training.
These trainings are offered by Lynda Meeder, who brings over 30 years' experience working with kids and specializing in school settings. Lynda has also adapted this work for special needs children, in physical education and alternative education settings.