Nearly 25 million young people in the United States of America are either obese or overweight, putting this generation at risk of being the first in American history to live shorter lives than their parents. They are also more likely to suffer from illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and asthma, have social problems, and miss more school than their average weight peers.

Schools have the power to shape the lifelong health and well-being of children and adolescents, and school districts have an exciting opportunity to help schools address the childhood obesity crisis by partnering with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program. Participation in the Healthy Schools Program is an excellent way to complement other ongoing efforts surrounding the implementation of The School District of Palm Beach County’s Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035) as well as an opportunity to be recognized nationally for their efforts.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation was founded by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation in 2005. The Alliance launched the Healthy Schools Program in February of 2006 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Healthy Schools Program provides tools, resources, and support to more than 27,000 schools nationwide in the following six wellness categories that address school health improvement:

1. Any school can enroll in the online program and receive electronic and telephonic support and access to resources at no cost. The only difference being that online schools do not have a Program Manager assigned to assist those schools.

2. Onsite schools receive support from a dedicated Program Manager from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Program Managers guide the School Wellness Councils through needs assessment and action planning steps; local, state, and national resources into the schools; and showcase school successes. Participating schools attend two workshop trainings a year to support their efforts to improve nutrition, physical activity, and staff wellness.

This graph illustrates the percentage of assessment items in each SHI module that are marked as a “3”, i.e. fully implemented on the most recent SHI assessment. If a school entered a 0, 1, or 2 to any item, then that would be considered incomplete. This graph also compares the SHI assessment results to the results of other schools in that state and nationally who are also enrolled in the Healthy Schools Program and have completed at least one SHI assessment.

This graph illustrates the percentage of SHI items in each module that have been added to a school’s action plan at the time of the schools’ most recently completed SHI. This graph also compares the percentage of items added to this district’s action plan to the that of all other districts in that state combined and nationally who are enrolled in the Healthy Schools Program and have completed at least one assessment. This graph also compares the percentage of items added to the schools’action plans in that state and nationally who are also enrolled in the Healthy Schools Program and have completed at least one SHI assessment.

This table highlights the percentage of schools that are currently meeting the bronze, silver or gold criteria for a National Healthy Schools Award eligibility in each module. This is based off of the schools’ most recently completed SHIand does not take into account whether a school has applied or been awarded with a National Healthy Schools Award.

This graph displays schools’ progress over time in each SHI module and across the Nutrition topic and Physical Activity Topic, comparing the schools’ responses to the first completed SHI to the responses on the schools’ most recently completed SHI.

Every day in the United States 53 million people go to schools to either teach or learn, making America’s schools one of the most important environments in the struggle to reduce childhood obesity. Schools are powerful places to not only teach young people the academic skills they need to succeed, but also healthy life skills. Healthy students learn better, are better able to concentrate on their work, attend school on a regular basis, and perform better in class. Because of this, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation launched its Healthy Schools Program in February of 2006 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Program promotes a comprehensive approach by helping schools improve access to healthier foods; increase physical activity opportunities before, during and after the school day; enhance nutrition education; and establish staff wellness programs.

The goal is to have all schools in Palm Beach County participate in the Healthy Schools Program. The Healthy Schools Program offers free access to a wealth of resources and tools for schools to become a healthier place for students to learn and for staff to work. This partnership will inspire young people and their families to develop lifelong, healthy habits. Overall, it will enhance wellness efforts as well as provide a monitoring instrument to evaluate how the Program is doing. To learn more visit: http://www.healthiergeneration.org/

Thank you…Wellness Champions for your support and promotion!