Thursday, October 10, 2024
10/10/2024
The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is seeking funding from Improving Adolescent Health and Well-Being Through School-Based Surveillance and the What Works in Schools Program (Opportunity number: CDC-RFA-DP-24-0139) for Promoting Adolescent Health in Full Service Community Schools, a comprehensive health education program for its students, called Healthy Oakland Kids & Teens. The District has outlined strategies and activities aimed at a variety of outcomes for students, teachers, staff, and families including: increasing student access to health services and health education; increasing teacher knowledge and skill to teach sexual health education effectively; deepening practices and policies to create safe and supportive environments with an emphasis on LGBTQ students; engaging families and the community in health education practices; and understanding the health-related needs, including risks and protective factors, of the 49,032 diverse students attending schools in its jurisdiction. Over the last 11 years, OUSD has invested heavily in student health services, rolled out a comprehensive sexual education program for all secondary schools, and implemented widespread policies supporting safe environments. Within this time, project evaluation showed significant increases in student knowledge, awareness, comfort, behaviors, and attitudes about sexual health, including protective factors such as school and parental connectedness, yet continued investment is needed. In addition to the interventions planned directly by OUSD, this project will build heavily on collaborative relationships established by the District. OUSD will leverage funding from other sources and will work with other CDC-funded and -supported organizations, its County Health Department, and the state association for school-based health care to complement activities, advocacy, data collection, and policy development. This initiative will continue to collaborate closely with its School-Based Health Centers and local service providers to ensure that students have easy and facilitated access to age-appropriate health services. The District already has a strong and effective Program Manager for the project in place, consistent District investment and leadership, and tested mechanisms for school site engagement. Through Healthy Oakland Kids & Teens, the Program Manager has been overseeing the effective administration of YRBS and Profiles for 11 years, and facilitating programs and policy improvements in partnership with the District, informed by this data. This project also benefits from the District’s Research, Assessment and Data department, which has expertise and rigor in survey design, sampling and analysis. Finally, the District has an established School Health Advisory Council and project staff in place to support the dissemination of targeted information to a variety of stakeholders, including analysis of project outcomes to ensure continuous improvement.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
