Kent, Ohio (November 12, 2009) – Peter Hunt, MEd, MPH, Health Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC/DASH) received the 2009 Outstanding School Health Educator of the Year Award from the American School Health Association (ASHA).

 

Mr. Hunt, an ASHA member for 13 years, was recognized for multiple contributions during his 30 years in the field to the health and well being of young people. Mr. Hunt currently serves as a lead health scientist in CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). Prior to coming to CDC, Mr. Hunt taught high school health education in Caldwell, Idaho for 10 years, served as the district school health coordinator in rural North Carolina for 2 years, and worked at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for 2 years before coming to CDC. During his 19 years at CDC/DASH, Mr. Hunt has served as a project officer and team lead in DASH’s Program Development and Services Branch and as a lead health scientist in DASH’s Research Application Branch. During his CDC tenure, Mr. Hunt has helped define the roles and responsibilities of state health and education agencies in building effective approaches to coordinating school health; develop and implement DASH’s school-health related technical guidance and professional development for state and local education and health agencies, and develop school health-related tools and resources including the Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) to help school districts select or develop more effective health education curricula.

 

The sponsor of the award was HealthTeacher, a leading provider of online health, wellness and prevention education resources for kindergarten through 12th grade that is used by more than 20,000 teachers nationwide. HealthTeacher provides teachers the resources, tools and background material to educate students about making healthy lifestyle choices through more than 300 lesson plans aligning to the National Health Education Standards. HealthTeacher helps establish community-based health literacy collaboratives by developing partnerships between healthcare organizations, businesses, community leaders and schools to address the growing issues affecting the health status of children. To learn more, visit www.healthteacher.com.

 

Founded in 1927, the American School Health Association unites the many professionals working in schools who are committed to safeguarding the health of school-aged children. The ASHA mission is to build the capacity of its members to plan, develop, coordinate, implement, evaluate, and advocate for effective school health strategies that contribute to optimal health and academic outcomes for all children and youth. Learn more about ASHA at: www.ashaweb.org

 

Contact: Tom Reed; 330/678-1601; treed@ashaweb.org

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