The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is delighted to share with you the Curriculum Review Guidance documents as health and physical education resources for the District of Columbia. OSSE strives to improve the overall health of the children and adolescents who reside in the District of Columbia.
About the Curricula Review Guidance Documents
OSSE created the Curriculum Review Guidance documents as a guide for educators, particularly those in the District of Columbia Public and Public Charter school systems. Each guide includes summary and in-depth information about various health education curricula. Each curriculum has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure it aligns with the HECAT, which is based on the National Health Education Standards, and the 2016 Health Education Standards. Preliminary information and short summaries of each of the available curricula are included in the guide as well as contact information on means of accessing curricula. The Health and Physical Education Curricula and Resource Library may be accessed for viewing the curricula through OSSE’s Healthy Schools and Wellness Programs by emailing [email protected].
About the HECAT Crosswalks
The HECAT Crosswalks can be used either independently or as a complement to its counterpart Curriculum Review Guidance document. Because the Curriculum Review Guidance documents were created prior to the release of the District's 2016 Health Education Standards and the CDC's 2012 HECAT, we have created a crosswalk to complement each to demonstrate which standards may not have been addressed in our initial review of curricula for which the 2008 HECAT was used.
Each crosswalk:
- Shows users the alignment between the 2008 HECAT, the 2012 HECAT, and 2016 Health Education Standards.
- Is a tool users can use independently with the HECAT to conduct their own HECAT analysis to make sure that they are including the 2016 Health Education Standards in their analyses. This will save users planning time and provide consistency across the District by ensuring all users are incorporating the 2016 Health Education Standards that are not covered in the original 2008 HECAT.
- Will show the minimal difference between the 2008 HECAT, the 2012 HECAT, and the 2016 Health Education Standards covered in the reviews.
How to Use These Documents
Below are examples on how each Curriculum Review Guidance document can be used. The examples are by no means exhaustive, but serve to illustrate some prime ways the information in the documents can be used to further enhance health education and research efforts.
- Learn more about the HECAT tool that is used to systematically analyze health education curricula.
- Identify health curricula options that are aligned to the 2016 Health Education Standards.
- Find the most comprehensive health curriculum that you can use for a specific lesson.
- Learn more about why and how OSSE’s curricula review process took place.
- Learn more about adapting a curriculum to better fit your specific target population.
- Next steps on curricula selection, planning, and implementation.
How to Request Technical Assistance
Assistance is offered on next steps, getting trained on the HECAT, curricula implementation and adaptations. To request technical assistance, learn more about the Curricula Review Document or the HECAT tool, or view the curricula in-person, please place a request by emailing [email protected].
Related Content: Wellness and Nutrition Resources
