Health Education Information

Comprehensive Health Education Curriculum
The comprehensive health education curriculum meets the MA Department of Education's Health Education Standards and focuses on developing the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for young people to become healthy.

The Knowledge Content Areas are:
  • Physical Health: Growth and Development, Nutrition, Reproduction/Sexuality
  • Social and Emotional Health: Mental Health, Family Life, Inter-personal Relationships
  • Safety and Prevention: Disease Prevention and Control, Safety and Injury Prevention, Tobacco Alcohol and other Drugs
Personal and Community Health: Consumer Health, Community/Public
The Health Life skills taught include:
  • Emotional: Coping with Feelings, Stress Management, Goal-Setting
  • Social Skills: Resisting pressure, Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, Accepting Diversity
  • Critical Thinking Skills: Critical Media Skills, Decision-making, Using Resources

Prevention Strategies & Activities
Health Promotion Activities: The Health Education departments supports and collaborates in initiatives to support the health of students in such areas as physical activity, healthy weight, and dental health.

Safe School Activities: The department supports initiatives around bully prevention, peer mediation and violence prevention educational groups.

Policy and Procedure Development: The department has worked on developing policies and procedures related to sexual harassment, bullying, teen dating violence, healthy vending machines and others.

Collaborations: The Health Education department works together with other School Departments and Community Agencies around health promotion and safe and drug free schools.

Community Agencies: We collaborate with many agencies and community groups including: Healthy Children's Taskforce, School Health Taskforce, Women's Commission, Peace Commission, Cambridge Prevention Coalition, Dating Violence Intervention Project, Cambridge Health Alliance, Commission for People with Disabilities, Domestic Violence Free Zone, and others.

Staff Development: Staff development workshops are offered to teachers and other staff members on teaching health education and school climate issues. Topics include: bullying and harassment, substance abuse and violence prevention, peer mediation, discipline, and class meetings and other health-related topics. Teachers from many schools have attended introductory workshops and week long institutes on Developmental Designs and Responsive Classroom, programs with classroom strategies for increasing social skills, academic success and decreasing problem behaviors.

Family Involvement: The Health Education department strives to partner with parents in helping all students be healthy and succeed academically. Family members are notified of health education curriculum via letters in 6 languages. In grades K-6 the Great Body Shop magazines help keep parents informed of what's occurring in the classrooms. The curriculum also contains parent bulletins, which are sent home by some teachers. Parent workshops on bullying, internet safety, personal body safety, healthy eating and other topics can be arranged through the Health Education office.

Peer Programs: Peer leaders are active at the high school and elementary schools working on bullying, sexual harassment and violence prevention. The Students Advocating and Teaching Respect (STARS) organizes violence and health awareness prevention activities for all students at the high school each year. Students teach about decision-making in all 9th grade health classes. A peer mediation program is being implemented at interested elementary schools.

Health & Fitness Report Cards
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Health Surveys
To view results from health surveys in our district, please click on a link below:
Middle Grades: 2016 - 17 | 2014 - 15 | 2012 - 13 | 2010 - 11 | 2008 - 09

Teen Health Surveys: 2017 - 18 | 2015 - 16 | 2013 - 14 | 2011 - 12 | 2009 - 10
Health Survey Infographic: 2018 | 2017

Health Education Frequently Asked Questions
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Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
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More Resources 
Wellness Policy
Wellness Policy Implementation Procedures
Highlights for Families
Highlights for Teachers
Highlights for Administrators
Healthy Celebrations
Healthy Fundraising
Non-Food Rewards
Wellness Policy Report (2017)
The Great Body Shop Health Curriculum Book List
Healthy Snacks: English | Spanish | Haitian Creole | Portuguese
Department Information

Health Education Information


Physical Education Information

Elementary: Middle School: High School: District:
Contact Us

Jamie McCarthy, Preschool-12 Curriculum Coordinator (Health, PE, and Wellness)
Judith Doran, Clerk (Health, PE, Wellness, and Athletics)
Ariana Starling, Lead Teacher (Preschool-8 Health Education and Wellness)
Blair Williams, Lead Teacher (Preschool-8 PE)
Sara Varella, Lead Teacher (Preschool-12 Aquatic Programming)
Michael O`Connell, Lead Teacher (CRLS/HSEP 9-12 Wellness Program)
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