Chicago Public Schools' Healthy CPS Investment Initiative - The Board of Education of the City of Chicago, School District 299, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), is one of the largest school districts in the nation, serving over 322,000 students at 651 schools across Chicago. Approximately 71% of CPS students come from families within 185% of the federal poverty line, the majority of whom are youth of color. According to CPS’ most recently collected demographic data, 35% of students identify as black and 47% identify as latinx, making up the vast majority of the district’s student population. In Chicago, there are many health issues young people face today, especially youth of color. For example: data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows 43% of Chicago high school students reported experiencing persistent sadness, with particularly high rates in female and LGBTQ+ students, youth suicide attempts among adolescent girls increased 51% between 2019 and 2021, and suicides among black and LGBTQIA+ youth have risen, as well. Similarly, 37.8% of CPS students reported using drugs like marijuana, synthetic marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, illegal injection drugs, or prescription pain medicine without a prescription. And 40.9% of students reported using alcohol. Compared to their peers, LGBTQIA+ students and female students reported higher rates of these risky behaviors in almost all categories. Risky sexual behaviors are also a commonplace occurrence, and 41.1% of sexually active CPS students reported not using a condom during their last intercourse. In order to build upon the district’s prior work towards decreasing risky behaviors and increasing sexual health and substance use education, the proposed project will focus on strengthening the Healthy CPS framework, an initiative created by the district’s Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW) which leverages CPS’ Network Health Specialists to support schools and ensure they comply with over 50 federal, state, and local health and wellness policies focused on enhancing health education, connecting students to health services, and creating safe and supportive environments. Through this project, the district will improve its ability to provide schools with crucial Technical Assistance, expand its sexual health, mental health, and substance use curricula, improve staff access to trainings and resources, and build a healthier, more supportive district. With specific focuses on LGBTQ+ students and Newcomer students, the district respectfully submits this proposal to the CDC Improving Adolescent Health and Well-Being through School-Based Surveillance and the What Works in Schools grant program under Component 1: Local implementation of What Works in Schools and School-Based Surveillance.
