From 2021 to 2023, New York City Public Schools conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to explore which Health Education practices are associated with significant impacts on middle school and high school student health risk behaviors. Learn about the findings, published in 2024, and the benefits of Health Education for students:
Read the full report: Quality Health Education is Linked to Healthier Students
Educators: Read and share the summary flyer: A Guide for New York City Educators and School Leaders
Parents/guardians and community members: Read and share the summary flyer in all 10 NYCPS languages
Background
Research shows1 that a student’s health directly affects academic performance and educational opportunity.
Health Education is an academic subject that provides students with the knowledge and skills to make physical, emotional, and mental health choices that support their safety, well-being, and academic success. Health classes address challenging issues that are present and relevant for our students now, such as mental health, bullying, the opioid epidemic, vaping, consent, healthy relationships, digital well-being, and much more.
Key Findings
Findings from this research show that schools that focus on these four aspects of health education tend to have healthier students:
- Health teacher training: In schools where at least one teacher had attended a health education professional learning opportunity in the past year, middle school students report better mental health.
Health teacher consistency: The number of teachers who taught health education for at least two consecutive years was associated with better middle school student sexual health outcomes.
Skills-based curricula: The number of skills addressed in health education curricula was associated with better high school student mental health outcomes.
School Wellness Council funding: Receiving school wellness council funding was associated with better sexual health outcomes for middle and high school students.
Acknowledgments
This project was made possible in part by a grant from The New York Community Trust to the Fund for Public Schools. Research activities were conducted by the Office of School Wellness Programs in collaboration with Sharp Insight, LLC. Thank you to the participating schools, students, teachers, and administrators for sharing their stories.