# DP24-138 Demonstration Projects to Research and Evaluate Strategies Aligned with CDC's What Works in Schools Approach

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · ICF MACRO, INC. · 2024 · $454,927

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
To build the evidence base for innovative school-based or school-linked strategies aligned with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) What Works in Schools (WWIS) approach to promote the health of
American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, it is imperative to implement and evaluate culturally tailored
programming that addresses AI/AN youth’s unique health needs while preserving their Indigenous identity. To
address this need, the San Juan School District (SJSD) Wellness Demonstration Project seeks to align the
SJSD’s current school-based wellness programing to CDC’s WWIS approach, conduct a mixed-methods
applied evaluation of the SJSD Wellness Program, and pilot an adapted professional development intervention
for health education teachers. To accomplish our goal, we propose the following specific aims: (1) to conduct a
formative assessment of the SJSD’s current school-based and school-linked Wellness Program strategies; (2)
to conduct a process evaluation of the SJSD Wellness Program to assess facilitators and barriers to program
implementation, determine the acceptability of CDC’s WWIS approaches, and replicate and scale strategies to
broader populations; (3) to conduct an outcome evaluation of the SJSD Wellness Program to examine primary
and secondary outcomes of WWIS-aligned approaches being implemented by the SJSD, including associated
student-level outcomes, such as sexual and reproductive health behaviors, mental health and suicide-related
behaviors, substance use, and experiences of violence among AI/AN students, and environmental-level
outcomes such as parent and community engagement and safe and supportive school environments; and (4)
to identify, culturally adapt, and pilot a WWIS-aligned professional development (PD) program for middle
school and high school health teachers and assess teacher-level outcomes (e.g., instructional competency).
The SJSD Wellness Demonstration Project will use community-based participatory research approaches
appropriate for Indigenous evaluation including listening sessions, individual key informant interviews, and
observations. In addition, a combination of quasi-experimental methods will be used to explore relationships
between SJSD’s WWIS-aligned school-based strategies and priority outcomes. Two frameworks, the
Indigenous Evaluation Framework and the Knowledge to Action Framework for Public Health, will anchor all
evaluation components and translation/dissemination efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11063743
- **Project number:** 1U01DP006893-01
- **Recipient organization:** ICF MACRO, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Colleen Crittenden Murray
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $454,927
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-30 → 2029-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11063743

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11063743, DP24-138 Demonstration Projects to Research and Evaluate Strategies Aligned with CDC's What Works in Schools Approach (1U01DP006893-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/11063743. Licensed CC0.

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