MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES NEW OFFICE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL-COMMUNITY SERVICES TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT AND ENRICHMENT SERVICES TO
STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

Mayor Announces Innovative School Health Partnership between Department of Education and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Dr. Lester Young, Jr., to lead the Department of Education's newly redesigned Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services.  Under Dr. Young's leadership, the office will work to ensure that students receive the effective health, mental health, guidance, and educational enrichment services necessary to create and sustain academic achievement.  The office will utilize partnerships with community organizations and City agencies to provide these in-school and after-school services so the 1.1 million public school students have access to the full array of services offered by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and other entities.  To that end, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new School Health Partnership between the Department of Education (DOE) and DOHMH and selected Dr. Roger Platt to oversee the new initiative.  Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Commissioner Thomas Frieden joined Mayor Bloomberg for the announcement in the Blue Room in City Hall.  Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced sweeping reforms of the City school system.

“In order to improve our children’s education and facilitate the learning process, we must efficiently provide effective health and safety services and foster a school environment conducive to learning and development,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “By integrating these important functions and promoting collaboration between City agencies, we will build a City-wide system of school-linked youth, family, and health services that focuses on and meets the needs of our children.  I am confident that Dr. Young and Dr. Platt will utilize the new partnership to promote the health and safety of all schoolchildren and consequently help our kids learn and grow.” 
 
“The Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services will make certain that students receive the support and enrichment services that are critical to ensuring student achievement in the classroom,” Chancellor Klein said.  “Dr. Lester Young will help us forge critical partnerships with community-based organizations and city agencies who bring trusted expertise in health, mental health, youth development, and after-school programming.  These community partnerships are essential to the overall success of the New York City public schools.”

The Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services will work to ensure that all children attend school healthy and ready to learn so that they may achieve success in the classroom.  Dr. Young will report directly to the Chancellor and oversee all matters relating to school culture, health, mental health, safety, child and youth development, after-school opportunities, post-secondary and career awareness opportunities, alternative education programs, mentoring, and welcoming physical environments.  The office will develop, coordinate, and bring coherence to all non-instructional aspects of schooling so that every child is known and supported in a safe, respectful, and enriched learning environment.  The office will also build partnerships with community-based organizations and City agencies to promote connections to the family and community. 

“I thank Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein for the opportunity to serve the schoolchildren of our city in this critical endeavor,” Dr. Young said.  “This is an historic moment - together we can bring real change to our school system and improve the provision of services to our students and their families.  A safe and supportive school environment is the strongest foundation for learning.  The Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services will draw upon the best in the schools and the community to make sure that this foundation is as strong as possible.”

Dr. Young, who as Superintendent of District 13 in Brooklyn has received national recognition for creating an atmosphere in schools “where every student can be successful,” began his remarkable career over 30 years ago as a teacher in the New York City public school system.  He has also served as a guidance counselor, supervisor of Special Education, and principal.

Mayor Bloomberg also selected Dr. Roger Platt to oversee the new School Health Partnership on behalf of both DOE and DOHMH.  As Assistant Commissioner for DOHMH's Bureau of School Health, Dr. Platt will oversee 1,600 staff persons, including over 800 nurses and 70 physicians, and an annual budget of $60 million.  Dr. Platt will report both to Dr. Young at DOE and Dr. Mary Bassett, Deputy Commissioner for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, at DOHMH.  The five main areas in which DOE and DOHMH will collaborate are physical nutrition, mental health, physical education, sexual and reproductive health, and substance abuse, including tobacco. 

“Healthy kids are all of our responsibility,” Commissioner Frieden said.  “If kids are out sick, they aren't in school learning.  The vision here is of healthy kids learning in healthy school environments.  After decades of poor coordination and inefficient services, the Departments of Health and Education will now work jointly under a single management structure to promote the health of our school children.”

 “Children must be healthy in order to learn,” Dr. Platt said.  “The new partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will help ensure that every child comes to school healthy and ready to thrive in the classroom.”

Dr. Platt is an outstanding clinician and administrator whose experience in managing health care systems makes him uniquely qualified for the challenge of integrating the New York City school health program. Most recently a Vice President of the Mount Sinai NYU Health and Medical Director of the Mt. Sinai Community Practice Network, he has held appointments at Beth Israel Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Harvard Medical School.

DOHMH conducts the following services in schools:

• Entrance exams including the diagnosis of serious medical conditions;
• Identification and addressing of needs for vision and hearing;
• Monitoring of immunization status;
• Disease and environmental investigations;
• School based clinical services as appropriate;
• Ongoing medical care through referral to a primary care provider who provides a medical home; and
• Provides other services such as outbreak investigations, environmental investigations, and oral health services