Schools

Goal: Promote health, safety, and learning in school settings.

Children sitting at desks listen to their teacher while writing in notebooks with pencils.

Starting with early childhood education, school environments have a major impact on the health and development of children and adolescents. Healthy People 2030 focuses on supporting child and adolescent development in school settings—and on expanding health education in health professions programs.

People with higher levels of education are likely to be healthier and live longer. Interventions to increase high school graduation rates and ensure that students are proficient in math and reading can help boost overall achievement. To promote physical health and well-being for children and adolescents, schools can provide safe and supportive environments, healthy foods, health education, and physical education. They can also offer access to health care and mental health services and help students manage chronic conditions.

To promote mental health, schools can follow trauma-informed practices, provide counseling and mental health interventions, and take steps to prevent bullying.

In addition, health professions programs can expand their curricula to include population health.