Alliance helps districts improve health policies

School board members concerned with children’s unhealthy nutrition habits might want to check out the resources available from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint of the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation.

The group’s goal is to reduce nationwide increase in childhood obesity by 2015, says Lori Stern, the alliance’s policy implementation director. She spoke about how schools can promote that goal Sunday at a conference workshop, along with Detroit school board member Ida Short and John Fraraccio, supervisor of health and physical education at New Jersey’s West New York school district.

The Healthy Schools Program focuses on combating childhood obesity in schools by creating overall environments that provide access to healthier foods and increased opportunities for physical activity. Because the program receives its funding from foundations and individual donors, it is available to schools at no cost.

The alliance provides on-site technical assistance to 2,036 schools in 35 states. Another 2,011 schools from all 50 states participate in the program via online resources.

The technical assistance is aimed at helping districts change policies and systems related to school meals, competitive foods, health education, physical education, and staff wellness.

The centerpiece of the Healthy Schools Program is the creation of a school wellness council, which brings together school staff, students, and family and community members to work on creating “health-promoting schools.”

An evaluation of participating schools found that:

• 90 percent implemented at least one new program or policy aimed at promoting health.
• 75 percent made marked improvements in at least one component of their overall Healthy Schools Program.
• No significant differences were found in the results between schools with high and low socioeconomic status.