INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATIONS AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

Abstract In 2013, the United States spent about $2.9 trillion on health care, an expense that is expected to rise. It is critically important to implement preventive programs that address this economic concern. Within the past 15 years, the District of Columbia passed several school health policies, regulations, and learning standards that provided opportunities for educators to specify what concepts and skills students should know, while mandating a specific number of minutes for health and physical education instruction. Although there are several other components within the policies identified in this dissertation, the requirements within these policies are not uniform or applicable across all types of local education agencies within the District of Columbia. For example, these policies do not mandate schools to utilize best practices for curricula selection and implementation. This gap and others within these policies may cause a disparity between schools in providing quality health and physical education that is designed to enhance academic and health outcomes. The historical and policy shortcomings of the District of Columbia create an opportunity for change. The Problem of Practice for this dissertation focused on the successes and challenges of implementing effective health and physical education programming and services in schools. The dissertation identified models, frameworks, and theoretical perspectives to understand the scope and nature of how health education, physical activity/education, and health services impact the quality and outcomes of health and academic achievement among children and youth. In addition, I conducted a needs assessment, literature review, and intervention, not only to examine the current gaps, but also to provide a potential solution