AAHE and HealthTeacher Partner to Create First National Health Education Awards Program

The American Association for Health Education (AAHE) and HealthTeacher today is announcing a partnership to create, promote and bestow national K-12 health education awards. The Blue Apple Health Education Awards will recognize up to 12 U.S. schools for their commitment and creativity in teaching students about the power of practicing a healthy lifestyle.

“We are excited to launch an awards program that extols those schools that serve as models of excellence in health education,” said Katherine Wilbur, Past President of AAHE. “Our goal is to bring much deserved recognition to schools promoting healthy behavior for all students and inspire more schools to adopt a comprehensive health education curriculum.”

“HealthTeacher is excited to be partnering with AAHE to create a national recognition program for schools that demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching quality health education,” said Scott McQuigg, CEO of HealthTeacher. “Exemplary health education in schools demonstrates commitment by administrators and teachers to help children and adolescents develop a healthy approach to life. The Blue Apple Health Education Awards Program will serve to recognize this type of leadership.”

The Blue Apple Health Education Awards are designed to capture how schools empower teachers and administrators to teach and promote health education, utilize best practices in the classroom and coordinate with other aspects of school health. Schools receiving the inaugural Blue Apple Health Education Award will be honored at an award reception and luncheon during AAHE’s annual national convention with the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) to be held in Tampa, Fla., in April 2009. Recipients will receive a host of benefits associated with the award including:

— Recognition award and flag denoting their school as a Blue Apple recipient

— AAHPERD/AAHE convention registration and travel stipend

— Inclusion in national and local public relations campaign highlighting Blue Apple recipients

— Free one-year subscription to HealthTeacher, a comprehensive online health education curriculum

Applications for the Blue Apple Awards will be available beginning October 2008 and they must be received by December 12, 2008.

Schools may submit detailed profiles of their health education programs and their link to coordinated school health. The awards criteria are based on the best practices for the discipline as outlined in National Health Education Standards: Achieving Excellence and Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health). The AAHE School Health Education Recognition Awards Committee will review all award submissions.

More information about the Blue Apple Health Education Awards can be found by visiting www.blueappleward.org

About the American Association for Health Education (AAHE)

The American Association for Health Education serves health educators and other professionals who promote the health of all people. AAHE encourages, supports, and assists health professionals concerned with health promotion through education and other systematic strategies. For more information on AAHE, visit www.aaheinfo.org or contact Becky Smith, Executive Director, AAHE, 800.213.7193, [email protected].

About HealthTeacher

HealthTeacher is a leading provider of online health education resources for kindergarten through 12th grade used by more than 15,000 teachers nationwide. HealthTeacher provides teachers the resources, tools and background material to educate students about making healthy lifestyle choices through over 300 lesson plans that meet or exceed the National Health Education Standards and the CDC’s Core Health Topics. HealthTeacher is an operating unit of ConnectivHealth, a leading provider of digital content solutions focused advancing health and wellness. For more information regarding HealthTeacher, visit www.healthteacher.com or contact Jennifer Faught, Director of Marketing, HealthTeacher, 615-345-7662, [email protected].