Special issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health on Disparities
Topics in this CIHR funded issue include health literacy, aboriginal health and the delivery of health care services.

RESEARCH

Draft paper - for input:
Several comprehensive approaches have been developed for schoolsto better support students indisadvantaged communities, including:
Healthy Schools, Community Schools, Safe Schools, and Effective Schools. The paper attached below is a draft attempt to group the issues, provide examples of successful programs and approaches, and explore the potential to tie it all together. This paper was drafted by Doug McCall, Canadian Association of School Health, with the hope that there will be input and feedback from others working in the area.


Examples of COMPREHENSIVE APPROACHES to alleviating disadvantage

Community Schools - US
From the Coalition for Community Schools website
A community school is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement leads to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. Schools become centers of the community and are open to everyone – all day, every day, evenings and weekends.Using public schools as hubs, community schools bring together many partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities. Partners work to achieve these results:

• Children are ready to learn when they enter school and every day thereafter. All students learn and achieve to high standards.
• Young people are well prepared for adult roles in the workplace, as parents and as citizens.
• Families and neighborhoods are safe, supportive and engaged.
• Parents and community members are involved with the school and their own life-long learning.

Community Schools - Canada
In Canada, the Saskatchewan Community Schools Association provides links to information through its newsletters and other resources. There are over 100 designated Community Schools in Sasketchewan. The current copy of their newsletter, with an overview of the lobbying efforts of the organization with government, and the commitment of staff, parents, and partners involved, is available by emailing Delphine Melchert, President at: DMelchert@srsd119.ca.

Healthy Schools - UK
From the website,
The National Healthy Schools Program takes a whole school approach to physical and emotional well-being, and focuses on four core themes:

• Personal, Social & Health Education
• Healthy Eating
• Physical Activity
• Emotional Health & Wellbeing

The whole school approach involves working with children and young people, parents, school staff and the whole school community to provide a solid foundation from which developments and improvement are embedded in a systematic way. These processes contribute to the physical and emotional development of all members of the school community.

• 96% of schools in the United Kingdom have joined the program, 56% have achieved healthy school status, and the program is currently conducting a multi-year evaluation.

Intervention in Disadvantaged Schools - Quebec
New Approaches, New Solutions: fostering success for Secondary Students in Disadvantaged Areas, is a government program of intervention adopted in over 200 schools in Quebec. Click here to learn more about the project, and itsgoals to partner with local and regional communities, provide better support to parents and schools, and guarantee equal opportunties for students.

Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction - Hamilton, Ontario
The HRPR is a community-wide effort to tackle the problem of poverty in Hamilton and promote prosperity for all Hamiltonians. A number of different aspects of the HRPR have been written about. See the separate page on the Hamilton initiative that is attached to this page.

Educational, Planning, Policy & Training Resources on Comprehensive Approaches

Crossing Sectors- Experiences in Intersectorial Action
(Public Health Agency of Canada, 2007)
The paper provides an overview of approaches to intersectoral action at the global, sub-regional, national, sub-national, and community levels.