5-Year Goal I: By 2013, LAUSD will reduce risk behaviors associated with HIV infection among school-aged youth by increasing the capacity of school staff members to implement a research-based HIV prevention-education program that targets priority populations identified by L.A. County Department of Public Health and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Objective 1: By February 28, 2011, LAUSD will increase access to resources and materials to effectively implement HIV/AIDS prevention-education.

Rationale for the objective: Students can be expected to absorb and retain HIV-prevention information and skills that are presented in a variety of modes designed to address their unique cultural and educational needs. YRBS 2009 data indicates 85% of students in LAUSD say they have been taught in school about AIDS or HIV infection. Profiles 2008 indicates 89% of lead health teacher and principal claim instruction is being provided. In 2008, the HYM Study in Los Angeles focusing on YMSM found many health concerns and risk reported are preventable and can be addressed by including health care and social service providers, religious organizations, schools and employers. The study sample was ethnically stratified to include substantial number of African Americans, Caucasians, and Latinos of Mexican descent.

Activities in support of the objective:

1. Review HIV-prevention curriculum(s) that are research-based used for regular and special population classrooms.
2. Review and revise classroom resources and materials to ensure incorporation of information and skills addressing HIV infection, STD infection, unintended pregnancy, and abstinence. A targeted effort will be made to find resources that relate to these same topics, but specifically addresses African American, Latino, and LGBTQ youth.
3. Conduct District wide educational events such as Worlds AIDS Day, National Latino AIDS Day (focusing on the Latinos who make up seventy-three percent of our student population), National Black HIV Awareness Day (focusing on the African American populations), or other AIDS-awareness collaborative days of recognition, such as teen females, LGBTQ, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders.
4. A comprehensive LGBTQ resource packets will be distributed to all secondary schools to impact the level of awareness at school sites and services in the community or within the District for LGBTQ youth. We hope to increase student success. We plan to use this resource packet and our additional strategies, like our Web site with a strengthened LGBTQ theme, as a future success story
5. Provide Positively Speaking HIV education presentations in secondary level classrooms to health teachers as part of a support activity in their HIV instruction. The speakers are HIV positive.
6. Evaluation data will be analyzed to plan for future speaker trainings and to develop policy, protocol, and resources to best support the speaker program.
7. Review and approve the curriculum(s) used by outside speakers for HIV prevention education and sexual health instruction in LAUSD classrooms and provide technical assistance to outside agencies and partners where needed. An increased emphasis will be placed on alternative resources that increase educational materials for our most at risk populations, like our continuation schools students and LGBTQ populations.

Objective 2: By February 28, 2011, LAUSD will increase training opportunities for health education teachers in current and effective HIV prevention curriculum and prevention methodology.

Rationale for the objective: Secondary-level teachers are the primary health educators in the LAUSD and will present the curriculum and prevention strategies to students at risk for HIV and STDs. Our School Level Impact Measures (SLIM’s) findings shows that only 27% of our schools are delivering programs to meet the needs of our ethnic/minority youth at high risk. November 2009, the District’s evaluation branch approved the measurement instrument to assess the use and effectiveness of using the nations first health textbook with a chapter including LGBTQ populations. In 2006, 60% of teachers reported using the text in the health course.

Activities in support of the objective:

1. Train secondary-level health teachers in District-adopted Positive Prevention curriculum. The training is skills-based and uses strategies such as storytelling and role-playing. Attendance at trainings will range from twenty to over one hundred health teachers.
2. Train secondary-level special education teachers in the District-adopted Positive Prevention curriculum for special populations.
3. Host the AIDS Update Conference for minimum of one hundred health teachers, advisors, and other LAUSD staff from eight local districts. The conference covers topics specific to STD/HIV infection for African Americans, Latinos, woman, and LGBTQ. Other related topics that affect infection like substance abuse or unintended pregnancy are added. YRBS 2009 showed that 7.1% of our students are using methamphetamines, which is almost double the national average. Statistics continues to validate the link between methamphetamines use and HIV infection. An online workshop option on abstinence, STDs and HIV will be made available.
4. Train secondary-level teachers in the HIV/AIDS prevention needs of District-identified special populations and give technical assistance where needed.
5. The office will continue to use the database (Training Tracker or Excel formatted program) to maintain records and evaluation data from trainings and conferences to be analyzed and reviewed for planning future professional development opportunities and develop teacher resources for follow up.
6. An attendance (electronic or print) verification certificate and thank you with directions to access follow-up resources and contact information for any technical assistance will be provided by e-mail and online surveys. Web site will house presentation materials from conference for teachers to access.
7. Administer the School Health Profiles Survey to LAUSD schools to determine strengths and weaknesses from principal and teacher knowledge that need to be addressed through information sessions and specific teacher trainings.

Objective 3: By February 28, 2011, the LAUSD will increase awareness of current LAUSD policies and procedures affecting HIV/AIDS prevention-education.

Rationale for the objective: Access to information through the new Web site will provide additional opportunities for accessing HIV prevention techniques and risk-reduction behaviors, and will support dissemination of the most current District policies and training opportunities with LAUSD stakeholders. As the District attempts to go paperless, a policy requires that all teachers maintain a District e-mail, which is used for electronic communication of policies and other district documents. A new Web site has launched with a new URL to align with our scope of work and to be user-friendly for school staff, parents, students, and community partners. A new logo has been designed to modernize and re-brand the office and reframe our delivery system of information. Multiple marketing strategies will be used to promote the new Web site.

Activities in support of the objective:

1. Work in collaboration with District Student Medical Services to review the policies pertaining to the treatment of students infected with HIV.
2. Using the data from Youth Risk Behavior Survey, California Health Kids Survey, LA County Department of Public Health, Project Connect, and internal evaluations, we will promote and direct the review and revision of HIV/AIDS prevention-education policies as needed.
3. Review and revise HIV/AIDS prevention policies in LAUSD Parent and Student Handbook that is distributed by District.
4. Electronically disseminate LAUSD HIV/AIDS prevention education policies to health teachers and the public at large via HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit and District Web site.
5. Complete the administration of the School Health Profiles Survey in selected schools in accordance with CDC guidelines to increase awareness of programs and policies.