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BACKGROUND: The New Jersey Safe Schools Program (NJSS) offers an online professional development certification course, titled "Designing and Implementing Student Training Plans," for NJ high school (HS) teachers developing secondary school student work‐based learning (WBL) programs. WBL provides students opportunities to engage in career‐related field tasks, aligned to curricular instruction. METHODS: In January‐July 2021, during 7 cohorts of trainings, questions in the training's assignment gauged teacher and student concerns regarding worksite placements during the COVID‐19 pandemic, learning delivery format preferences, and alternative activities for WBL credit. RESULTS: In January‐July 2021, 68 of 134 HS teachers (51%) were concerned placing students in WBL and indicated "no" and "I don't know" (37% and 31%, respectively) about employer willingness to offer virtual mentorship during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study presents insights of newly credentialed WBL supervisory HS teachers regarding impacts of COVID‐19 on student health and workplace safety, preferred WBL formats, and potential implementation of COVID‐19 safety trainings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: New Jersey (NJ) Safe Schools Program, primarily funded by the NJ Department of Education, has aims concerning safety and health including helping to alleviate harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB) in secondary school because HIB can affect learning. We evaluated officially reported adolescent HIB total incidents and estimated rates in NJ public city and county school districts for the 2011‐2016 school years. METHODS: A cross‐sectional observational study using population‐based state‐reported public data. We calculated point prevalence and incidence rates for K‐12 students in 22 public city school districts, students in 21 career‐technical‐vocational education (CTE) school districts, and 8 special services school districts during 2011‐2016. RESULTS: HIB is prevalent in NJ school classrooms. HIB comprised ≥75% of total officially reported in‐school violence‐related incidents in a given school year. Rates per 100 enrollees of total officially reported incidents for the 5‐year period of 2011‐2016 was highest in special services school districts (5.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.67, 5.34) followed by CTE districts (1.94; 95% CI: 1.86, 2.01), and lowest in city districts (1.46; 95% CI: 1.44, 1.48). The special services school district also had the highest rates per year and the 5‐year period. CONCLUSIONS: Data analyses suggested ideas for further research and improvements for school HIB incident reports. Policies and programs could remedy issues observed in state secondary school classrooms. Best practices within districts and schools can help protect students from HIB and promote safety, health, learning, and maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Despite increased awareness of concussions, epidemiologic surveillance efforts have been scarce, especially among adolescents. This project, which was developed with school stakeholders (certified athletic trainers [ATCs], nurses, athletic directors), piloted a public secondary school‐based online surveillance tool for interscholastic and intramural sports and physical education‐related concussions in New Jersey during 2014‐2017 school years (SY). METHODS: Participating public high schools (5 within 4 districts) and career‐technical‐vocational education districts (2 with 5 campuses) completed forms anonymously online via PsychData within 5 days. RESULTS: There were 208 concussions reported, 115 in 2015‐2016 SY and 93 in 2016‐2017 SY. In fall 2015, 86 concussions were reported, including 16 from summer preseason. In fall 2016, 56 concussions were reported; 3 occurred during preseason. There were 7 concussions reported in winter 2016 and 16 in winter 2017. Twenty‐two concussions were reported in spring of both 2016 and 2017. Most online forms were completed in <10 minutes, usually using either desktop computers or tablets/iPads. School nurses followed by ATCs were primary sources of data entered online, usually by ATCs. CONCLUSIONS: Cooperation of nurses and ATCs at participating schools suggested online surveillance was valued and viable. Data inform future concussion prevention education and ongoing injury surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The US General Accounting Office (GAO) documented generally poor conditions of school facilities in the early 1990s. Previous papers examined, for time intervals ending before 2002, relationships between education facility indoor air and environmental quality (IEQ), including adequate ventilation, and occupant health and productivity. Research on IEQ related specifically to new or refurbished traditional school construction, or portable classrooms, is limited. A review of school IEQ literature through fall 2003 was conducted. Then, acknowledging the limited resources and competing priorities facing American schools, practical science-based, best practices recommendations to promote IEQ and hence prevent or reduce potential occupant exposure to biological, chemical, and physical agents of concern were proposed. Electronic search engines, conference proceedings, the Internet, and reference lists of peer-reviewed papers and reports were used. Eighteen best practices based on scientific references are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors discuss aspects of the challenges of meeting the United Nations' (UN's) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is a UN mandate for achieving healthful living for all by the year 2015. Topics include an overview of the fundamental issues in school settings and school environmental health programs that present a challenge for attaining MDGs.