You don’t always know who it is: which student had their first drink over the weekend? While you can’t always know exactly who, we do know that more than 70% of DC students have had at least alcoholic drink by the time they leave high school. Knowing that alcohol use is a common risk behavior among DC students can prepare you to support you’re your students in healthy decision making. This session will explore this and other student health issues as described by results from the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey report and how teachers and schools are responding as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Healthy Schools Act School Health Profiles. You will come away with a deeper understanding of students’ health needs and what you can do in the classroom and at school to make a difference.
Speaker Information
Ife Bamikole, Management Analyst, OSSE
Ifedolapo Bamikole works as a data analyst in the office of data management at DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education. In this role she works as an evaluation specialist on the CDC HIV/STI prevention program in schools and provides data support to the Healthy Schools Act initiatives. Ife works to align the wealth of data we have from our schools and students – such as the YRBS (Youth Risk behavior survey), School health profiles, DC Comprehensive Assessment System (CAS) for Health and Physical Education, etc with student achievement to know how best we can serve our students and reduce the achievement gap. Prior to this role, Ife worked as an evaluation coordinator for an education non-profit in Dallas, TX that served as a principal development program for high performing teachers looking to make the most difference in a low performing school district. Ife holds a master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in community health education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience/Psychology and a minor in Biology from the same university.
Grace Friedberger, Assessment & Evaluation Specialist, OSSE
Ms. Friedberger is an Assessment and Evaluation Specialist at the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. In this role, she is responsible for the assessment and evaluation of the Healthy Schools Act of 2010. The Healthy Schools Act is a groundbreaking piece of legislation to combat the childhood obesity epidemic in the District of Columbia. Ms. Friedberger evaluates changes in the environmental, behavioral, and health outcomes of the Healthy Schools Act through administration of the School Health Profiles and DC Comprehensive Assessment System (CAS) for Health and Physical Education. Prior to this role, Ms. Friedberger worked with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools to develop an evaluation plan and procedures for their Local Wellness Policy. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from George Washington University.
Julie Ost, Health Education Specialist, OSSE
Julie C. Ost, Health Education Specialist, works in the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education and is responsible for school-based youth surveillance and school climate trainings in support of public and public charter middle and high school students, staff and administrators. A New Jersey native, lives and works in the District of Columbia as health educator and trainer regarding HIV/AIDS prevention, survey design and the diverse needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) communities. Before focusing more deeply within sexual health education, Julie’s professional work centered on decreasing cancer and chronic disease disparities, with a special focus on youth tobacco prevention efforts. Passions include anti-racism coalition-building work, domestic violence prevention efforts, and national harm reduction efforts to reduce the harm of viral hepatitis and liver cancer. Ms. Ost holds a BA in Women and Gender Studies from Douglass College of Rutgers University and a Masters of Public Health degree with a focus in Maternal and Child Health from George Washington University.
DC Metro Teacher Wellness Symposium Presentations
