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A good friend and colleague of mine, Audra, is a middle school health and PE teacher in Frankfort, Kentucky. Recently, Audra was visiting me in Louisville for a late Sunday lunch and we got on the topic of health education and lack of professional development (PD) opportunities for her district. It's not that her administration doesn't support health and PE. It's that there aren't dollars to provide strong PD in both areas. And, with more PD days cut over the years, not much time. And, when that Read ▸ about Franklin County Public Schools

I see his photo for the first time and I immediately feel like he's a part of me. Is it because I know he's my nephew or is it that seeing his photo registers physical familiarity in my brain? Either way, I'm an aunt now. I don't have my own children and so this feels as close to having one of your own, which I know really isn't close at all. But nonetheless, I'm excited to be an aunt. His name is Dominic Cordeiro Lawrence and he was born today, March 5. What do I hope for my nephew's life? Read ▸ about Dominic’s Life

I'm facilitating a webinar hosted by SPARK on Wednesday, March 19 at 3pm PST/6pm EST! More information on how to register to come, but see description below. Feel free to share with others.“Riding the Path to a Comprehensive School Health Program”You can’t ride a bicycle unless all the parts are working. In addition, the parts need to work cohesively for a smooth ride to your destination.  A successful comprehensive school health program (CSHP) must have multiple components working Read ▸ about Gearing Up for School Health- Webinar!

Do you believe in the link between health and learning? Do you support the notion that healthy kids learn better? As I dig into more and more research on what creates effective, sustainable school health programs, you know what keeps coming up? Administrative support. District-wide implementation. Superintendents taking the lead and saying, "My district will work on school health initiatives because I know there is a correlation between addressing staff and student wellness and test scores, Read ▸ about 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring District Superintendents and School Administrators

As a child, I struggled as a reader. My mom loved to read and I remember her taking my brother and I on weekly visits to the library. We would come back with a stack of books. My books would sit collecting dust most of the week, untouched until heading back the following week to return the books and check out new ones. My brother's pile, however, were all over the house. He read these books in his bed, on the orange shag carpet in the den, in the car, on the toilet (I guess?!?). I was more of a Read ▸ about Reading, reading and more reading

Kudos to my new city for the public health plan released last week! The roadmap serves as a call to action to guide Louisville towards a healthier city. The mission of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) is to promote health and wellness; prevent disease, illness, and injury; and protect the health and safety of Metro Louisville residents and visitors. The focus is prevention, evidence-based intervention and health in all policies. There are 13 goals within this Read ▸ about Healthy Louisville 2020; Creating a Healthier City

Jefferson County Public Schools in which Louisville is a part, has a district Coordinated School Health (CSH) Committee. It's an impressive group that represents internal and external partners, the way a district wellness committee should be. It demonstrates partnership and collaboration and diverse stakeholders and that schools can't do this work alone. The meeting is facilitated by Bonnie Ciarroccki, the Coordinator for Health Services/Health Promotion Schools of Excellence. I've been Read ▸ about Jefferson County Coordinated School Health Steering Committee Meeting

A lot of people ask me what a school health consultant does. Instead of abstractly communicating my mission, I'm going to share my current contracts and I think it will paint a clear picture of what we do!I will be the content lead for a conference dedicated to health disparities and childhood obesity funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with Clinton Foundation's Health Matters Initiative. Being the content lead means I work with all the content for the conference- videos Read ▸ about What does a National School Health Consultant do?