RECRUITMENT LETTER TO DISTRICTS
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
[DATE]
Dear [DISTRICT CONTACT]:
I am writing to inform you that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be conducting the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) during the 2013-2014 school year. In your district, [NUMBER] school(s) has/have been selected for participation in SHPPS. Your support for the study also would help ensure the voluntary participation of schools in your district. The selected schools are:
[SCHOOL NAME] [LEVEL/GRADE RANGES]
SHPPS is the largest, most comprehensive assessment of school health programs and practices and has been conducted since 1994. SHPPS helps us to understand how schools contribute to the health and well-being of our Nation’s young people and the communities they serve. The underlying assumptions behind SHPPS are that healthy students learn better and that a healthful school environment is more conducive to learning. SHPPS is conducted under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 241). A national sample of approximately 800 schools has been randomly selected to participate in the study.
[PLACE HERE TEXT FROM STATE LETTER OF SUPPORT, IF PROVIDED; OR ADD TEXT ABOUT VERBAL SUPPORT FROM STATE]
The SHPPS study will assess the characteristics of eight components of school health programs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels:
Health education
Physical education and activity
Health services
Mental health and social services
Healthy and safe school environment
Nutrition services
Faculty and staff health promotion
Family and community involvement
SHPPS does not involve a student survey. School staff will be interviewed in person during a convenient time at their school campus. Data from a nationally representative sample of schools will be collected between February and May 2014. Study procedures are designed to allow for anonymous participation; states, districts, schools, and staff will not be identified in any published reports.
Enclosed is an informational packet about the study, which contains questionnaire content outlines, a study fact sheet, and invitational packets for the selected schools in your district. Results from SHPPS will be available by the fall of 2015 and will be available on the CDC’s web site. SHPPS data will be used to help improve school health policies and programs nationwide and to support the school health and HIV education programs CDC has supported since 1988.
Within a few days, a representative from ICF International will call you to discuss any questions that you might have. If you have any immediate questions please contact Alice Roberts at ICF International, toll-free at 800-287-1815. You also may contact Dr. Nancy Brener of the CDC at 770-488-6184. For additional information about SHPPS, please visit the study web site: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/shpps/.
Sincerely yours,
Howell Wechsler, Ed. D., M.P.H.
Director
Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Enclosures
cc: [DISTRICT CDC/DASH CONTACT NAME, ORGANIZATION]
[STATE APPROVAL NAME, ORGANIZATION]
[STATE CDC/DASH CONTACT NAME, ORGANIZATION]
[STATE CC 1 NAME, ORGANIZATION]
[PRINCIPAL, SELECTED SCHOOL]
Nancy Brener, CDC/DASH
Alice Roberts, ICF Macro
RECRUITMENT LETTER TO DIOCESES
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
[DATE]
Dear [TITLE] [NAME]:
I am writing to inform you that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be conducting the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) during the 2013-2014 school year. In your disocese, [NUMBER] school(s) has/have been selected for participation in SHPPS. Your support for the study also would help ensure the voluntary participation of schools in your diocese. The selected schools are:
[SCHOOL NAME] [LEVEL/GRADE RANGES]
SHPPS is the largest, most comprehensive assessment of school health programs and practices and has been conducted since 1994. SHPPS helps us to understand how schools contribute to the health and well-being of our Nation’s young people and the communities they serve. The underlying assumptions behind SHPPS are that healthy students learn better and that a healthful school environment is more conducive to learning. SHPPS is conducted under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 241). A national sample of approximately 800 schools has been randomly selected to participate in the study.
The SHPPS study will assess the characteristics of eight components of school health programs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels:
Health education
Physical education and activity
Health services
Mental health and social services
Healthy and safe school environment
Nutrition services
Faculty and staff health promotion
Family and community involvement
SHPPS does not involve a student survey. School staff will be interviewed in person during a convenient time at their school campus. Data from a nationally representative sample of schools will be collected between February and May 2012. Study procedures are designed to allow for anonymous participation; states, districts, dioceses, schools, and staff will not be identified in any published reports.
Enclosed with this letter is an informational packet about the study, which contains two articles published in the journal of the National Catholic Educational Association, Momentum, about data collected by SHPPS, questionnaire content outlines, a study fact sheet, and invitational packets for the selected schools in your diocese. Results from SHPPS will be available by the fall of 2015 and will be available on the CDC’s web site. SHHPS data will be used to help improve school health policies and programs nationwide.
Within a few days, a representative from ICF International will call you to discuss any questions that you might have. If you have any immediate questions please contact Alice Roberts at ICF International, toll-free at 800-287-1815. You also may contact Dr. Nancy Brener of the CDC at 770-488-6184. For additional information about SHPPS, please visit the study web site: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/shpps/.
Sincerely yours,
Howell Wechsler, Ed. D., M.P.H.
Director
Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Enclosures
cc: [STATE CDC/DASH CONTACT NAME, ORGANIZATION]
[STATE CC 1 NAME, ORGANIZATION]
Nancy Brener, CDC/DASH
Alice Roberts, ICF International
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | Andrea Velissarios |
| Last Modified By | Alice Roberts |
| File Modified | 2012-12-13 |
| File Created | 2012-12-13 |