Independent Program Evaluations

• In the 2005-2006 school year, Sigma Plus Research and Evaluation conducted an independent school wide coordinated health implementation study of the Healthy and Wise program in Sudan ISD (grades K-7). The study included students, teachers, and parents. Across all groups from which feedback was solicited, results followed a consistent, positive pattern whereby both health-related knowledge and behaviors were affected by the program.
  
  

• After a program review by a committee convened by The Texas Education Agency, TEA has approved Healthy and Wise as a coordinated health program that school districts can use to comply with the coordinated school health requirements in Senate Bill 19 (SB 19).  Healthy and Wise was reviewed and evaluated by the Texas Education Agency for alignment with criteria in 19 TAC Chapter 102, Subchapter CC, Commissioner’s Rules Concerning Coordinated School Health Programs. 

• After a peer review, Healthy and Wise was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award  (Judges Award) by the Association of Educational Publishers for its timely content, curriculum integration, and an instructional design that provides health instruction and information to students, teachers, and parents.  

• In 2004, Sigma Plus Research and Evaluation, Inc. conducted independent evaluations of the Healthy and Wise program.  This study examined administrators’, teachers’, and students’ perceptions of the usefulness and effectiveness of the Healthy and Wise curriculum.  Schools participating in this random study were from the following school districts in Texas: Irving Independent School District, Houston Independent School District, Weslaco Independent School District, and Mercedes Independent School District.  The evidence gathered to date indicates that the Healthy and Wise curriculum, alone, is having a positive impact on students’ health-related knowledge and behaviors. 

Research and Best Practices

Healthy and Wise is a research-based program that was developed in response to current research and proven, best practices from schools and districts incorporating adequate health instruction, after-school programs and family literacy in their school improvement plans. 

Every school day, 53 million young people attend nearly 117,000 schools across our nation. Because of the size and accessibility of this population, school health programs are one of the most efficient means of shaping our nation’s future health, education, and social well-being.

Coordinated school health programs can be an effective means of improving educational achievement. Young people who are hungry, ill, depressed, or injured are less likely to learn.

Rigorous studies in the 1990s showed that health education in schools can effectively reduce the prevalence of health risk behaviors among young people.

Research on the Ability of Health Instruction to Change Children's Health Status

Hundreds of studies have evaluated health education and concluded that it is effective in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, decreasing smoking rates among young people, and preventing the adoption of many high-risk behaviors.  But its effectiveness depends upon factors such as teacher training, comprehensiveness of the health program, time available for instruction, family involvement, and community support (Gold, 1994;Seffrin, 1990).

Effect of After-School Programs:  What Does the Research Say?

Studies show that participation in after-school programs is associated with higher grades and test scores, especially for low-income students (Hamilton and Klein 1998;Ohio Hunger Task Force 1999;Schinke, Cole, and Poulin 1998), and has been linked with improved attitudes toward school, higher expectations for school achievement, better work habits, and higher attendance rates (Brooks, Mojica, and Land 1995; Posner and Vandell 1994;Schinke, Cole, and Poulin1998; Witt 1997).

Family Literacy and Parental Involvement: Components of High Performing Schools

Research suggests that the best after-school programs provide a challenging curriculum that combine academic, enrichment, cultural, and recreational activities to guide learning.  Furthermore, research during the past 30 years demonstrates the difference that family involvement makes in children's learning and chances for success.  After-school programs that have a strong family and community involvement have had the greatest success. Programs that extend to the home to promote parental literacy and help parents instruct their children, especially in reading, have had the most significant impact on student achievement.