Main: 302-323-2700 • Transportation: (302) 323-2851 info@colonial.k12.de.us

Health Education

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) supports educating the whole child and advocates for every Delaware student to build positive mental, emotional, and physical health skills. DDOE considers health education to be a combination of learning experiences designed to help students improve their overall health and wellness, such as learning how to:

  • Avoid or reduce health risks
  • Understand the importance of decision-making skills
  • Apply goal-setting skills to their lives
  • Advocate for themselves, their families, and their communities

Delaware public schools provide health education to students from kindergarten through grade 12. Current legislation requires students to earn the following number of health hours per grade:

  • Grades K-4 – A minimum of 30 hours in each grade with at least 10 hours in drug and alcohol education.
  • Grades 5-6 – A minimum of 35 hours in each grade with at least 15 hours in drug and alcohol education.
  • Grades 7-8 – A minimum of 60 hours of health education separate from other subject areas. At least 15 hours must address drug and alcohol education. (If all 60 hours are provided in one grade, an additional 15 hours of drug and alcohol education must be provided in the other grade.)

Grades 9-12 – Delaware students must earn 0.5 credit in health education in order to graduate high school.

  • Erin’s Law (Child Abuse Prevention) 

Erin’s Law requires all Delaware public school students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, their educators and families be provided information about personal body safety and child sexual abuse awareness and prevention. Named in honor of Erin Merryn, a victim of child sexual abuse who worked to enact legislation on this subject throughout the country, Erin’s Law is intended to help young victims speak up about child abuse and concerned adults recognize the signs of abuse so that children can get the assistance they need.

This is a personal safety program from Prevent Child Abuse Delaware that is available to all schools throughout Delaware.  In Colonial, this program is utilized for students in grades Pre-K through 5th.  Programs are conducted in a classroom, are multi-session, and range from 30-45 minutes per session. All programs are presented in a tasteful and non-threatening manner and utilize age-appropriate materials. All programs cover good and bad touches, safe people, and safety rules and include interactive activities.  For questions about the B.E. S.M.A.R.T. Program, please contact the school counselor in your child’s school.

  • It’s Not Okay (Grades 6-12)

This is an online module created by the Office of the Child Advocate (Delaware Courts).  This module is completed individually in one session (approximately 30-45 minutes).  While students are completing the module, support staff will be available to address any questions or concerns.

Mental Health Education

House Bill 301 requires schools to teach mental health to students in grades K-12 using materials approved by the Delaware Department of Education.  The following programs will be used in Colonial to provide instruction to students.

Compassion Project (Grades K-5)

 

Compassion is an important social-emotional skill that begins to develop in early childhood and is essential for lifelong health and success. Learning compassion increases a student’s sense of well-being and improves the learning environment for all learners. By developing empathy in children, educators lay the groundwork for a long-term understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and life. Compassion education is important because it helps to build key social-emotional learning competencies, such as:

  • development of the understanding of self
  • social awareness, and
  • relationship skill.

With interactive online activities and robust offline lesson plans, The Compassion Project provides invaluable resources for teaching empathy in the classroom.

Erika’s Lighthouse (Grades 6-12)

 

Erika’s Lighthouse is a program developed by a highly respected mental health education and advocacy organization, Erika’s Lighthouse: A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression.  Lessons are broken into three levels:

Level I: We All Have Mental Health

Level II: Depression Awareness

Level III: Depression Education & Suicide Awareness.

 

The program goals include:

  • Raising awareness of good mental health.
  • Raising awareness of the signs of depression and risk and warning signs of suicide. 
  • Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
  • Encouraging help-seeking skills and, if necessary, additional support services.

 

A key component of the Erika’s Lighthouse program is Family Engagement through education and awareness. They have developed two ways that may help promote conversations with your children about mental health and depression which can be accessed here:

 

  1. “We All Have Mental Health” was written by parents, for parents. It is designed to help you understand and promote good mental health at home. It is part of the Family Workbook Series on Mental Health & Depression.

 

  1. A short On-Demand Virtual Family Workshop is available for you to watch. This workshop will allow you to learn more about mental health and depression in adolescents, and prepare you for any discussion at home.  The video will also review the materials that your child will be learning about in the classroom.

 

These fact-based, student-friendly, and hopeful programs promote the messages we need our students to hear – Everyone deserves to have good mental health, depression is common and can be serious, but there is hope and help. You are not alone.

 

Colonial wants all of our students to be healthy, both physically and mentally. We encourage students to take control of their mental health and learn how to seek help for themselves or a friend if needed.  One of the biggest challenges to mental health is teen depression, a very common, yet widely overlooked mood disorder that will impact 15–20% of young people before they reach adulthood. It is also a risk factor to suicide.

 

We look forward to working together to better inform students of important issues, like depression, and provide the tools students need to navigate challenging times.

All these programs are donor-funded and no-cost to schools like ours. For more information on this program, please visit erikaslighthouse.org.

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Substance Abuse Prevention (Drug and Alcohol Education)

Education

Students in Grades K-12 are required to receive education regarding substance abuse education.  This developmentally appropriate education focused on topics such as:

  • Protective Factors (Goal Setting, Responsible Decision-Making, Pro-Social Relationship Skills, Identifying and Managing Skills, and Communicating Effectively).  
  • Drug/Alcohol and Its Effect

Community Partnerships/Resources for Substance Abuse Prevention

District Office

318 East Basin Road, New Castle, Delaware 19720

Phone

302-323-2700

Email

info@colonial.k12.de.us