By John Henry Ledwith | September 14, 2015
Senior Sales Manager, ETR

When I think about the teachers who’ve been part of my family’s life, I’m endlessly impressed with the dedication and heart they’ve brought to their classrooms. My kids grew up in K–12 public schools. More than once, I’ve stood in awe as I watched a gifted teacher grab kids’ attention, inspire them, guide their learning and still manage to maintain some semblance of order within those classroom walls.

What prepares teachers to deal with the intensity of child and adolescent growth and development? There is probably no other profession where we expect people to cover so much ground with a population of such varied ability and drive.

I had a conversation with an old friend the other day that really brought this home. 

By Susan Telljohann, HSD, CHES | August 18, 2015
Professor Emeritus, Department of Health Education, The University of Toledo

Something quite remarkable has occurred over the past two decades in the field of school health education. We’ve gotten evidence!

We’ve explored, examined, tested and refined everything we know about how to provide meaningful, effective health education in school settings. We know enough now to design and deliver programs that have a true impact.How do schools committed to program success choose the program that’s going to work best in their setting?

By John Shields, PhD, MSW | May 11, 2015
Senior Research Associate, ETR

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about my professional partnerships lately. Over the past 14 years, ETR has provided me with opportunities to partner with many community-based organizations and institutions. Now, I can’t honestly say they’ve all been easy. “Stuff” happens. But I can say each one has given me a chance to create fascinating relationships and do meaningful work that has a genuine impact.

By John Henry Ledwith | April 9, 2015
National Sales Manager, ETR

I never cease to be amazed at the skill and art of fine teaching. Here’s a story I heard last week from a high school teacher I know.

Students were coming into her classroom at the beginning of the period. Two young men started talking about a fight that occurred the night before between a couple of their peers. They took different sides on the fight.

Their talk was assertive, then challenging, then trash. Racial epithets were tossed back and forth. Other students started joining in and the entire situation was escalating.

By David Schonfeld, MD | February 10, 2015
Director, National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement

Grief in children is real, powerful and common. Over the course of their school lives, 9 in 10 children will experience the death of a family member or close friend. One in 20 will lose a parent.

Think about this for a moment. Chances are that in almost every class, in every school throughout this country, there is at least one grieving student. Grief can have an impact on that student’s learning, school performance, social development and emotional health.

Schools have a unique and essential role to play in supporting grieving students. Some fairly simple interventions can help students navigate their experience more successfully and better manage school, friends, family and their own emotions. The newly introduced Coalition to Support Grieving Students offers schools and staff a rich set of resources to help them provide support that is both practical and meaningful.

By John Henry Ledwith | February 5, 2015
National Sales Manager, ETR

Happy February! What a great time to plan some dynamic school health activities for the coming months. In most parts of the country we still have some super-cold days ahead. Those are the days when Physical Education classes move indoors, and everyone tries to figure out what to do with a bunch of energetic, slightly stir-crazy kids.

And we’ll also start seeing the thaw into spring—the occasional crisp, sunny day, that changing angle of light that tells us the earth is moving on its axis and, yes, baseball season is coming again!

Indoors, outdoors—it doesn’t matter. These are all perfect days to support Healthy Behavior Outcomes for your student population.

By John Henry Ledwith | December 9, 2014

One of the truly rewarding things about the work I do is that I get to interact with school professionals on both the local and national levels.

When I talk to people in the local school world—teachers, health educators, administrators—I often hear questions such as:

• Where can I go for more information on school health?
• Whom can I talk to about the health issues in my school community?
• Where can I engage in conversations that will help me grow as a health educator and contribute my own ideas to the process?

Of course, ETR is always available to respond to and answer any questions we can. But the real key is building your network with other classroom professionals. And there are many ways to do that.

By John Henry Ledwith | November 13, 2014

I love teacher trainings! As long as I’ve been going to these events—and I’ve gone to a good many—I always learn something new.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Buffalo, New York, with a group of about 80 teachers being introduced to their new health curriculum—ETR’s signature product, HealthSmart. The training was facilitated by Susan Telljohann, PhD, one of the authors of HealthSmart, a master trainer, and a leading thinker in school health theory and development today.

This was quite the group. First of all (and speaking as a native son) these folks were New Yorkers! They were smart, dynamic, personal, and totally willing to participate.

Second...