Teacher Preparation

SOPHE leads quality assurance efforts in professional preparation programs for school health teachers with standards and accreditation under the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

Click the gray menus below to expand or collapse resources.

Search Items

School Health Education Teacher Preparation Model Guidance

The School Health Education Teacher Preparation Model Guidance guide provides faculty and staff of preservice health education teachers relevant resources, tools, and best practices in the provision of quality health education (HE) teacher preparation programs. This guide is designed as an interactive website and maintains sample curricula, syllabi, lesson plans, and more from health education teacher preparation programs. 

Access School Health Education Teacher Preparation Model Guidance

Contents include:

1: Characteristics of a High-Quality Health Education Teacher Preparation Program

2: SOPHE 2019 Health Education Teacher Preparation Standards

3: Sample Course Materials 

4: Model Toolkit for K-12 School Health Educators 

5: Other Resources

Model Toolkit for K-12 School Health Educators

The Model Toolkit for K-12 School Health provides in-service health education teachers and other school health staff relevant and up-to-date tools and resources created or promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Schools. Links to key resources are provided below and a short video is provided to assist you with navigating this site.

Access the Model Toolkit for School Health Educators

Environmental Scan of Health Education Teacher Preparation Programs (2020)

image Download Environmental Scan of Health Education Teacher Preparation Programs 2020, a comprehensive environmental scan of baccalaureate health education teacher preparation programs throughout the United States and the District of Columbia.


The scan of 386 public and private teacher preparation programs in health education and related areas provides important insights into curriculum, graduation requirements, and state certification required by today’s colleges and universities in preparing their K-12 health education teacher candidates.

Professional Preparation and SPA Standards

SOPHE provides standards that guide curricula for professional preparation programs of entry- and advanced-level health education specialists.

These standards outline the knowledge and skills that health educators are expected to perform when working in government, community-based agencies, worksites, health care, PreK-12 schools, and other health promotion settings.

SOPHE focuses on health education teacher preparation programs and standards. SOPHE’s 2019 Health Education Teacher Preparation Standards expect beginning health education teachers to:

  • Possess a deep content knowledge, and an understanding of pedagogical skills including digital learning.
  • Work effectively with a diverse PreK-12 student population.
  • Use data to guide planning, instruction and feedback.
  • Apply evidence-based practice and expect practice-based teacher education.
  • Collaborate as part of a team—sometimes in a leading role and sometimes in a supporting role.

The focus is on the key knowledge and skills that contribute to the health and well-being of PreK-12 learners now and in their future.

The standards are organized into six separate statements, there is a high degree of integration across standards.

image