Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Adolescent Sexuality Conference in Seaside, Oregon. Of the many workshops I participated in, the most memorable was It Will Never Happen to Me led by four young mothers as a senior final project, each young woman told us about the broad range of changes and struggles they face as teen mothers.
Nearing the end of my Sophomore year of high school I began dating Jane. Her name isn’t Jane but that’s not important to this story. Jane and I met through following each other on Twitter and we began our relationship sometime around mid May of 2012 and things were great.
Spring has proven to be a busy time for SBHCs as they bring this school-year to a close and begin looking ahead to next year’s priorities, programs, and projects. Here at the Oregon School-Based Health Alliance, we’ve been finalizing project plans with next year’s new round of CORE grantees (keep your eyes open for a 2014-2015 CORE recipient announcement soon!).
Over the years, OSBHA has learned many invaluable lessons about how to build collaborative relationships with school administrators, teachers, SBHC staff, and adolescents. We were very excited to see helpful guidelines and recommendations for SBHCs interested in working closely with policymakers, school administrators, teachers, and other school staff to improve student health and well-being outlined in How Schools Work & How to Work with Schools recently released by the National Association of State Boards of Education. Some of the most relevant portions of this resource are listed below:
In a recentOp-Ed piece, Fyona Rose with Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon’s Youth Action Council confirmed the importance of “treating youth as valued members in our community” by integrating their voices into decisions made about health care and education. The Oregon School-Based Health Alliance recognizes that young people make thoughtful choices about their health when they have access to high-quality health services that engage youth as partners in promoting adolescent health.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Adolescent Sexuality Conference in Seaside, Oregon. Of the many workshops I participated in, the most memorable was It Will Never Happen to Me led by four young mothers as a senior final project, each young woman told us about the broad range of changes and struggles they face as teen mothers.
Nearing the end of my Sophomore year of high school I began dating Jane. Her name isn’t Jane but that’s not important to this story. Jane and I met through following each other on Twitter and we began our relationship sometime around mid May of 2012 and things were great.
In a recent 
