Healthy Practice

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TAFP High School Wellness Graduation Cord Project

Piloted and launched in 2023, TAFP’s High School Wellness Graduation Cord Project encourages high school seniors to take matters into their own hands when it comes to their health and wellness.

About the project

Texas family physicians collaborate with their local school districts and School Health Advisory Councils to help graduating seniors meet specific health-related requirements and earn an honor cord to wear at graduation. Honor cords recognize special distinctions or student accomplishments, and in many districts are highly sought after by graduates.

This project encourages family physicians to engage in their local communities, promoting them as trusted voices on preventive care and health promotion.

Start your own local project

All TAFP members are welcome to sponsor this project in their own communities. Members are responsible for connecting with their local school district or School Advisory Council to logistically run and promote the project. TAFP provides the honor cords at no cost to the member.

Since the project is specifically aimed at graduating high school seniors, it is advised that promotion begin in November/December, or at the beginning of the spring semester in January. Orders for cords must be placed with TAFP staff at least four weeks prior to needing them. We suggest presenting the cords to students before graduation day.

Project toolkit

The first step is to approach your local school district of School Health Advisory Council with the project idea . Once you receive approval to begin the project, contact Samantha White at swhite@tafp.org to begin working with TAFP.

Next you’ll want to partner with school personnel to create a system for collecting the students’ requirements, marketing the project, and talking with the interested students. This may be the physician liaison on the SHAC, school nurse, school’s PR/advertising department, HOSA, student council, National Honor Society, etc. TAFP has a Google Form that can be used for data collection. Contact Samantha White at swhite@tafp.org to gain access.

Set a reasonable timeline (three to five months suggested) for the seniors to start completing the requirements and gathering the necessary data. We suggest creating a Google or Microsoft Form the students will complete to prove they’ve completed the requirements. The required rubric set by the TAFP Council on Health of the Public is below. You can also download a version of it here. Students must:

Have all immunizations up to date (including meningococcal and HPV) or demonstrate that they’ve been educated on vaccines.
Have proof of dental visit within the last year.
Complete one week’s worth of a food diary (template provided).
Have proof of annual physical within the last year.
Write a brief on volunteer service completed in the last year.
Watch videos on three relevant health topics and answer a few questions about each topic (topics include stress management, exercise and nutrition, alcohol use/abuse, smoking/vaping, cancer prevention, living on your own, oral health, dating etiquette, responsible driving, opioid abuse).

Order the amount of honor cords your school needs by contacting Samantha White at swhite@tafp.org. TAFP will purchase the cords and have them shipped to you, or someone at the district. Lastly, set up a time to recognize the graduating seniors who completed the requirements, give them their honor cords, and don’t forget to get a group photo to submit to TAFP!

Thank you

The High School Wellness Graduation Cord Project is a product of TAFP’s Council on Health of the Public and was originally piloted by Li-Yu Mitchell, MD, in Whitehouse, Texas. The project’s resources are funded by TAFP.