Our Health Education section offers a wide variety of presentations for classrooms, parent groups, and community groups.

To schedule a program, please call 217-535-3100 and ask to speak with someone from Health Education.

Reducing the Risk

Audience:  High School Grades 9-12
Number of sessions:  8
Length of sessions:  45 minutes

Overview of program:  Reducing the Risk is a comprehensive school program with a major focus on the development of attitudes and skills that will help teens prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STD, including HIV. This evidence-based approach addresses skills such as self-assessment of risk, communication, decision making, refusal strategies and delay tactics. The program also contains a comprehensive section on contraceptives including abstinence, barrier methods, and hormonal methods.

Body Image and Eating Disorders

Audience:  School Grades 5-12, Adult, Community Groups
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions:  45 minutes

Overview of program:  Utilizing an interactive PowerPoint presentation, the educator discusses the issues of body image, self-esteem, and media influences that contribute to the development of eating disorders.

Face the Future

Audience:  School Grades 6 and 7
Number of Sessions:  4
Length:  45 minutes

Overview of Program:  Life skills education through demonstrations, discussions, and activities. Topics include goal setting, decision making, friendship & dating, and communication.

Hand Washing/Hygiene/Food Safety

Audience: School Grades 8-12, Adults, and Community Groups
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions:  45 minutes

Overview of program:  Discusses the importance of hand washing in regard to food safety. For older students, educates on proper food handling, restaurant inspections, and food-borne illnesses.

Activity: Glow Germ

Hand Washing & Hygiene

Audience: School Grades K-7
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions: 45 minutes

Overview of program:  This program is developed to review any area of personal health, including proper hygiene, hand washing, and disease prevention.

Oral Health

Audience:  School Grades PreK-12, Adults, Community Groups
Number of Sessions:  1
Length: 15-30 minutes, depending on grade level

Overview of Program:  This program provides age appropriate information on oral health. Topics may include:  brushing instructions, flossing instructions, tooth development, dental visits, nutrition, sealants, mouth guards, orthodontics, piercing, bleaching, tobacco effects, oral cancer, and the link between oral health and overall health.

Skin Cancer Prevention

Audience: School Grades 7-12, Adults, Community Groups
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions: 45 minutes

Overview of program: Utilizing an interactive PowerPoint Presentation the educator discusses the damage overexposure to the sun and UV rays can cause. Provides tips on protection from skin cancer, risk factors, signs and symptoms of skin cancer and treatment options.

Activity: Dermascan

Smoke Free, That’s Me!

Audience: School Grades 2nd, 4th, & 6th
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions: 45-50 minutes

Overview of program:  Designed to educate 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade students on the adverse health effects of tobacco use and the dangers of tobacco use. The students will learn how the heart and lung function, how tobacco harms the body, and how the tobacco industry tricks young people into smoking.

Smokeless Tobacco Education Program

Audience: School Grades 7-12, Adults, Community Groups

Number of Sessions: 1

Length: 45 minutes

STDs: Everything Sangamon County Teens Need to Know

Audience: School Grades 8 – 12, Adults, Community Groups
Number of Sessions: 1
Length: 50 minutes

Overview of Program: Students learn about the adult responsibilities related to contracting STDs; how it can affect current and future relationships; and the surprisingly high rate of STDs among teens ages 15 – 19.

Tobacco & Media Literacy

Audience: School Grades 7-12, Adults, Community Groups
Number of sessions: 1
Length of sessions: 50 minutes

Overview of program:  Designed to teach students critical thinking skills that will enable them to see through the advertisements and specifically how Big Tobacco targets youth. Using a variety of advertisements and media clips, students will have the opportunity to decipher ads, detect hidden messages, and learn the tricks used to sell a product.

Health Education and Life skills Partnership (HELP)

Audience: Teens, Parents, Teachers

Overview of Program: HELP is a multi-agency partnership that serves as a resource for Sangamon County teens, parents, and teachers.  Our various agencies provide classroom programs about decision making, relationships, communication, sexuality, and several other health topics.