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How Health Education Can Help Meet Michigan Literacy Goals
Discover how the Michigan Model for Health™ aligns naturally with Michigan ELA standards to strengthen student literacy without adding instructional time. Explore real-world classroom examples across K–12 grade levels and learn how cross-curricular health education supports critical reading, writing, and communication skills for whole-child success in your district.
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Most Kent County Students Are Making Healthy Choices—Here’s How to Reinforce It
“Most Kent County high school students are making healthy choices. Learn why conversations trump technology for substance use prevention, and discover evidence-based strategies to empower students and transform your approach.
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New Michigan HIV Curriculum: Simplified Access and Free Grant Funding
Michigan Model for Health streamlines HIV curriculum for grades 7-12 with simplified access and integrated licensing starting August 2025. Teachers get digitized lessons, consolidated content, and everything in one place. Plus, Kent ISD offers free grant funding through November 1st to support curriculum adoption and implementation.
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Teen Tobacco Realities: Key Insights from 2023 and Effective Strategies for Change
In the latest 2023 data, a concerning reality surfaces: more than 2.1 million teens nationwide are currently using e-cigarettes, with a surprising 1 in 4 engaging in daily vaping, as reported by the FDA (FDA, 2023). In Michigan, around 14 percent of high school students are into electronic vapor products, slightly lower at 13.6 percent…
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Substance Abuse in Kent County: What Educators and Parents Need to Know
You might be aware of vaping, but what do you know about dab pens or pressed fentanyl pills? Do you know both are present in our communities and schools? In Kent County between 2021 and 2022, there were close to 200 drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 77% of these overdose deaths. We read…
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Renovate Your Reproductive Health Curriculum
It’s that time of the year again where you are preparing to teach Reproductive Health. You need to send out letters to parents and secure a VHS player to show “the video.” You know the one…because you probably watched it when you were in 4th or 5th grade too. Times have changed, laws have changed,…
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Local Experts Address Marijuana Impacts on Teen Health
Pandemics and quarantines are known to cause a significant increase in mental health and substance use issues. – University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry Even before the pandemic hit in March, surveys like the National Institute on Drug Abuse- Monitoring the Future showed that the vaping of marijuana was on the rise among teens. Marijuana…
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Educators Learn Signs and Symptoms of Mental Illness and Emotional Crisis
Written by: Nicole Batway, BS, CHES, YMHFA Instructor for Public Health Educator at Kent County Health Department Mental health. It seems to be a hot topic these days, or maybe I just hear about it more than others because part of my job is working in mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Thinking back to…
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The Truth About E-Cigarettes
Teenage use of e-cigarettes or vaping is skyrocketing. The National Youth Tobacco Survey shows alarming trends from 2011 to the present. In 2011 only 1.5% of our teens used an E-Cigarette product.1 Today over 27% report use, which means that over 3.6 million youth are using these products! Kent County data from our state survey,…
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Safe Routes to School Mini Grant
Starting January 22nd, the Michigan Fitness Foundation will be accepting Mini Grant RFPs for the 2019-2020 school year. Any Michigan school with students represented in grades K-8 is eligible to apply for programming funds that support active transportation to and from school. Grants of $5,000 are available per school, and up to $25,000 per district.…