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The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy

American Skin Association (ASA), in partnership with The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), has developed The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy — a free program that provides schools with a comprehensive skin health education curriculum, onsite professional development training workshops, student materials, ongoing consultation, and technical assistance.

Curriculum

The curriculum consists of activities and lesson plans for Kindergarten through Grade 12. There are four modules:

"On behalf of the nurses at Newport-Mesa Unified School District, I want to thank you for the presentation and the curriculum training you provided. The materials are beautiful and we will certainly find them useful with our students. Thanks for making it so easy."

Merry A. Grasska, RN, MPH, NP
HOPE Clinic - Health Services

The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy has been reviewed and approved by expert dermatologists for scientific content and by a national cohort of educators for its educational material.

All modules include "Teacher Background Information" sections on skin health and "Appendices" with basic information on school health. The entire curriculum contains teacher-friendly developmentally appropriate lessons on a range of skin topics such as the structure and function of skin, first aid, media/advertising, sun safety, acne, nutrition, tattooing and body piercing, and skin diseases and disorders. The skills-based, culturally sensitive curriculum aligns with national health education standards.

Professional Development

"Our staff wants to take this opportunity to thank you for your wonderful presentation [on The Wonders of Skin...] at our 2008 Safe and Healthy Schools Conference...We feel fortunate to be able to call upon such outstanding professionals in our field to share their expertise. The conference feedback has been very positive and your presentation was very well received."

Gayle Jones, Director Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Oklahoma State Department of Education

Professional development training workshops last between 2½ and 3 hours and are specifically designed to meet the needs of each local school district. Participants are prepared to teach skin health immediately upon returning to the classroom. NYAM NYAM program staff leads the professional development-training workshop along with a local dermatologist who presents an expert overview on skin health, answers questions, and serves as a resource to the participants after the training.

Typical training workshop participants are classroom teachers, administrators, health and physical education teachers, science teachers and school nurses. Training workshop attendees each receive The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy curriculum materials for the grades they teach. Participants also receive take-home materials for students, parents, and families that link to, reinforce, and expand the classroom lessons. These interactive magazines and workbooks help parents understand key skin health messages and provide opportunities to support at-home student learning.