West Virginia's Coordinated School Health Program

West Virginia established coordinated school health programs (CSHPs), giving its students the advantages of a well-rounded approach to school health that includes health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, counseling/psychological services, a healthy school environment, and parent and community involvement. Through a revision of West Virginia’s Board of Education Policy, the President’s Physical Fitness Test became a school accreditation standard. In each school, 40% of students must pass the test or the school must demonstrate improvement over 3 years.

The goal of this program is to improve the health and fitness of students in West Virginia.

Statewide, the proportion of children passing the President's Physical Fitness Test increased from approximately 5% in 1992 to 40% in 1999. From 1992 to 2000, more than 700 physical education teachers or health teachers received training related to CSHPs. The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) also held training sessions for physical educators to introduce the Physical Education Instructional Goals and Objectives and to emphasize lifetime fitness in physical education programs. Partnerships were also established, including the WVDE Office of Healthy Schools, the Office of Child Nutrition, and the West Virginia Nutrition Coalition, which collaborated on the planning and delivery of a week-long nutrition symposium.