Get Healthy San Mateo : Healthy School Environment

Benefits of a Healthy School Environment

The Learning Connection: the Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools by Action for Healthy Kids examines the impact of the root causes of childhood obesity revealing a strong link between nutrition, physical activity, and academic achievement.

The breakfast and lunch programs offered through your school do more than provide a meal and satisfy your child's hunger during the day. They help meet your child's daily nutrient needs and maximize his or her potential for learning. Studies show that eating school breakfast and school lunch is associated with improved academic performance. Learn more about the importance of breakfast and lunch during the school day.

Action for Healthy Kids published Benefits of School Meal Participation

Better Nutrition and More Physical Activity Can Boost Achievement and Schools' Bottom Line published by Action for Healthy Kids.

The Need for Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools published by Action for Healthy Kids.

Failing Fitness: Physical Activity and Physical Education in Schools published by the California Endowment.

Evaluating Progress

Click here for resources to evaluate school wellness policies.

School Health Index (SHI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a self-assessment and planning tool that schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs.

California Food Policy Advocates published Running on Empty: A Report on the School Breakfast Program in California.

The Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: Monitoring Progress in Funded States. This article summarizes the progress of the first 20 states funded by this program. The states have made progress in developing capacity and infrastructure for their programs, including leveraging financial resources and developing strong partnerships. In addition, they are planning and initiating environmental changes through legislation, and, although less frequently, through policies and other changes such as expanding physical activity opportunities. Collectively, the states are making progress in planning and implementing activities to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases.

School Foods Report Card published by Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Does your School's Wellness Policy Make the Grade? This hand out is directed toward parents and was published by Action for Healthy Kids.

California Action for Healthy Kids Team was recently awarded a grant through the national Action for Healthy Kids Team Grant Program. The California Action for Healthy Kids Team is collaborating with a diverse group of stakeholders to provide school districts with assistance to identify and prioritize their Local Wellness Policy implementation strategy. The project will reach students from 6-12 grades with diverse ethnic populations. The California Team developed an assessment tool to assess base-line measures of each district relevant to school wellness.

Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Schools. Brief Summary: Institute of Medicine Regional Symposium. Available for purchase.

In 2006, California Center for Public Health Advocacy released Dropping the Ball, a series of documents that include information based on the state's assessment of physical education in elementary schools throughout California. Website includes the full report, information from a teacher's perspective and fact sheets on understanding physical education, how the California Department of Education assesses physical education performance, and California's obesity epidemic.

Physical Education Matters published by the California Endowment

Strategies/Things I Can Do

JointUse.org is a website created by the Joint Use Statewide Task Force (JUST) to ensure that all children have a safe space to play and be active within easy reach. The website features information on joint use policies, joint use checklist and agreement templates, funding resources, and success stories. It even has a joint use locator where you put in your address and it gives you the contact information of organizations near you that currently have joint use agreements with other organizations in their area.

Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP) has just released a toolkit that helps communities and school districts work together to develop joint use agreements, increasing access to recreational facilities on school grounds. PHLP also developed many joint use resources, including a comprehensive checklist for developing a joint use agreement and model agreement language that can be tailored to any community’s needs.

Building the Argument: Providing Health-Promoting Foods Throughout Our Schools by Action for Healthy Kids.

Resources to Improve Schools by Action for Healthy Kids

Taking Action for Healthy School Environments: Linking Education, Activity, and Food in California Secondary Schools by the California Department of Education. This publication illustrates promising practices in nutrition and physical activity policy development and implementation that have been field-tested and found successful in over 18 California middle and high schools.

Coalition for Activity and Nutrition (CanDo) to Defeat Obesity in Fort Collins, CO developed a School Wellness Resource Kit.

The Institute of Medicine published Schools Can Play a Role in Preventing Childhood Obesity (Fact Sheet)

Fit for learning is a response to the alarming increase of childhood obesity. The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE), in cooperation with The Health Trust and Healthy Silicon Valley, launched the program in 2005.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation provides information on the Healthy Schools Program Best Practices Framework. This section of their website outlines specific steps that schools can take to create healthier school environments

Food 4 Thought, LLC is a company that brings the highest quality fresh produce into schools to help students eat healthy and learn better. They have programs on farm to school, Harvest of the Month, Farmers' Market on campus, and healthy fundraising.

How we Raised the (Salad) Bar by Five a Day describes how several school districts in Florida implemented a pilot project to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. They used three strategies: changes in school food service operations, promotions and marketing, and nutrition education.

USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program documents how amazing things began to happen when 64,000 U.S. students had access to fruits and vegetables.

Strategies for Success: Enhancing Academic Performance through Nutrition Education sponsored by the California Department of Education. This “road map” includes a wealth of materials and resources from SHAPE (Shaping Health As Partners in Education) agencies for forming partnerships, creating policies, and promoting student health.

Parents Advocating for School Wellness Toolkit, published by Action for Healthy Kids, includes materials to help motivate and assist parents - particularly in urban communities - to move from awareness and caring to hands-on advocacy.

Center for Weight and Health, University of California, Berkeley published Cafeteria Facilities, Often Overlooked, Yet Key to Student Nutrition and Health

CANFit Needs Assessment Guide outlines a process for uncovering the role of culture in nutrition and physical activity habits in multi-ethnic youth so that information may be used in to improve their habits in a multi-culturally appropriate way.

Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating were developed by CDC in collaboration with experts from other federal agencies, state agencies, universities, voluntary organizations, and professional associations.

Site offers catalogs for food service staff to purchase such as 'School Foodservice Guide: Promotions, Activities, and Resources to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption' and 'Foodservice Guide: Equipment, Sourcing, and Presentation for Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.'

Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP) is one option available to schools for planning breakfasts and lunches that comply with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Under NSMP, school menus are evaluated using a nutrient analysis of all foods offered during the school week.

The United States Department of Agriculture offers resources for food service managers and staff, covering everything from purchasing, regulations, marketing and more.

The Healthy Eating, Active Communities Program is designed to demonstrate how collaborative approaches can change environmental risk factors. It engages youth, families, community leaders, health professionals and communities in creating healthy environments in order to facilitate healthy choices, particularly in low-income communities.

Parents, Schools Develop Innovative Programs to Encourage Healthful Eating. Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.

View the results of Action for Healthy Kids' exclusive poll of students regarding issues related to nutrition and physical activity and the summary of the findings and results highlights.

View the results of Action for Healthy Kids' exclusive poll of secondary school principals responding to questions about student nutrition, physical education, nutrition education, and other school issues.

Public notices, agendas, meeting minutes and other related information for the Superintendent's Task Force on Childhood Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. This task force is charged with examining the complex factors that contribute to these chronic conditions and making recommendations to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on actions that schools and their partners can and should take to address the epidemic trends facing us in California.

How to Start a Walking Program: A Guide for Local Program Coordinators. This guide is designed to provide local coordinators with the steps needed to create successful walking groups in communities. You can use this guide to organize walking groups, motivate and train groups/organizations to create walking groups, and advocate for safe and accessible walking routes in your community.

Jump Rope For Heart is a national educational fund-raising program that is sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). This program engages elementary students in a physical activity (jumping rope) while raising funds to support lifesaving heart and stroke research. Students ask friends and family for donations and receive thankyou gifts based on the dollars they raise. This educational program teaches physical fitness and promotes the value of community service to students and their families. It shows students that they can contribute to their community's welfare.

Hoops For Heart is a fun basketball event for middle school students. Kids practice basketball skills and play fun and exciting skills games. Students also obtain donations and receive super thank-you gifts based on the dollars they raise.

PE4life was founded in January, 2000 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring active, healthy living by advancing the development of quality, daily physical education programs for all children.

Take the Go Healthy Challenge, an on-air and online community-based program that empower kids to take the lead in making their lives, schools, and communities healthier. The goal of the Go Healthy Challenge is to engage at least 2 million kids to take the Go Healthy Pledge and eat better and exercise more. Are you up for the challenge?

The California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program conducted Project REAL (Redefining Excellence, Activity, and Leadership) to encourage physical activity and healthy eating among Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) adolescents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Walking School Bus: Combining Safety, Fun and the Walk to School is a guide for parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, public health workers, and anyone interested in ensuring that children get to school safely. The walking school bus is the concept that one or more adults walks with children to school.

Safe Routes to School Online Guide provides an introduction to safe routes to school, information about funding, engineering, enforcement, education, encouragement and more.

General information about safe routes to school.

Evidence-based Physical Activity for School-Aged Youth published in the Journal of Pediatrics, June 2005; 146: 732-7.

California Department of Health Services published Physical Activity Guidelines for Children, Youth and Adults.

Healthy Beverages

Berkeley Media Studies Group prepared Obesity Crisis or Soda Scapegoat: The Debate Over Selling Soda in Schools.

Center for Science in the Public Interest published Raw Deal: School Beverage Contracts Less Lucrative Than They Seem.

Small Taxes on Soft Drinks and Snack Foods Promote Health published by Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Healthy Classrooms

Constructive Healthy Classroom Rewards published by Center for Science in the Public Interest

Center for Science in the Public Interest published information on healthy classroom celebrations and food free ways to celebrate in the classroom.

Farm to School

Eat Smart-Farm Fresh is a guide to buying and serving locally grown produce in schools.

Small Farms/School Meals Initiatives is a step by step guide on how to bring small farms and local schools together.

Community Food Security Coalition provides general information about farm-to-school.

California Farm to School website - learn about farm to school, find schools and farmers in your area to connect with, and make farm to school a reality in your area

Vending Machines

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) wrote Dispensing Junk: How School Vending Undermines Efforts to Feed Children Well

Bay Area/San Diego and Imperial Regional Nutrition Network
Vending Machine Toolkit has information to help you begin the process of adopting a healthy vending machine policy. These tools will help you to assess, strategize, and implement a healthier way of eating in your organization and community.

Healthy Eating Tools

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a BMI Calculator for Children and Teens

USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Resource Center at Baylor College of Medicine recommends the Children’s BMI-percentile-for Age Calculator to determine whether a child is at a healthy weight for his/her height, age and gender.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services established MyPyramid, formerly called the Food Pyramid. Many other pyramids exist today including the Asian, Latin American, Mediterranean and Vegetarian diet pyramids. Many pyramids are designed for different populations. This site offers information about the basic principles of all food pyramids, differences in food pyramids, and how to use the food pyramids.

U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration. How to understand and use nutrition facts labels.

Nutrition.gov website offers information on meal planning and shopping for fruits and vegetables.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation offers the Healthy Schools Product Calculator to determine if a snack food or side item meets the Alliance's Guidelines for Competitive Foods.

California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program’s Healthy Snack Guide offers tips on how to start serving snacks and sample cycle menus to get you started. Includes recipes for healthy after school snacks.

California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program’s Three Week Healthy Snack Plan

The amount of fruits and vegetables your family needs daily depends on caloric needs, which are determined by age, gender and activity level. Find out how much you and your family members need. Fruits and Veggies More Matters Campaign.

Fast Food

American Heart Association proposes How to Make Fast Food Friendlier

California Center for Health Improvement published Fast Food in California's High Schools: Popular, Profitable, Contributing to Teen Obesity?

Healthy Fast Food: Healthy Choices at Fast Food Restaurants

Center for Science in the Public Interest published From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Supersizing

for Educators

Healthy School Environment