Student Health and Life Skills

Working to reduce youth risk behaviors through comprehensive health education, access to health services, and creating safe and supportive environments in school.

• Safe Zone
• GSA
• Health Education

• Welcome to Student Health and Life Skills

  Albuquerque Public Schools recognizes the critical relationship between healthy students, attendance, and academic achievement. An increasing number of our students face a variety of health-related circumstances that make it more challenging for them to learn at an optimal level and achieve academically in a classroom structure. Many of these health issues are preventable.

  Student Health & Life Skills (SHLS) department, funded through a five-year cooperative agreement with the CDC-DASH PS18-1807, works to reduce youth risk behaviors through comprehensive health education, access to health services, and creating safe and supportive environments in school. SHLS is also funded through Title IV, Part A, Student Support, and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grants which are intended to improve students' academic achievement by increasing the capacity of schools to provide all students with access to a well-rounded education.

  SHLS provides access to evidence-based curriculum, technical assistance, workshops, and professional development to students, teachers, staff, and parents on topics such as HIV/AIDS prevention, LGBTQ+ support, healthy relationships, parent/child communication. SHLS program staff work closely with health teachers, Safe Zone Coordinators, GSA advisors, and external partner organizations to provide additional workshops.

  The University of New Mexico Prevention Research Office in connection with the New Mexico Department of Health and New Mexico Public Education Department work together to administer the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) as a part of this grant.

  Components of Our Program

  Health Education

  SHLS provides access to evidence-based curriculum, technical assistance, workshops, and professional development to teachers and staff on topics such as HIV/AIDs prevention, LGBTQ+ support, healthy relationships, parent/child communication, and peer mediation.

  Health Services

  Albuquerque Public Schools has 15 School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) in elementary, middle, and high schools. SHLS encourages health teachers to collaborate with SBHC to increase student knowledge of hours, services offered, and fees.

   Safe and Supportive Environments

  SHLS recognizes that there are a number of strategies that can be used to enhance school climate and make schools safer and more welcoming to LGBTQ+ students. SHLS provides training to staff on the implementation of the Safe Zone program. This program helps educators, administrators, and other school district employees become recognizable as allies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students and staff. For information about the Safe Zone program, check the Safe Zone page.