To help students develop lifelong behaviors of good nutrition and physical activity, a comprehensiveapproach to supporting wellness in schools is necessary. Action for Healthy Kids works with schools to improve school wellness practices and achieve sustainable change to improve the health and learning of students.Through the Campaign for School Wellness, Action for Healthy Kids strives to provide schools the crucial support necessary to implement wellness practices.
All school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program are required to have Local Wellness Policies in place with the goal of promoting better nutrition, physical activity, and wellness (Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act). Local Wellness Policies provide school districts the extraordinary opportunity to make changes benefiting children’s health and learning.
The Campaign for School Wellness aims to help schools, school districts, and the people who work in them to overcome the challenges that Local Wellness Policies present – schools already have a full agenda with meeting performance goals and overcoming the challenges of financial constraints. With support from Action for Healthy Kids and all who care about the success and future of our children, these policies can be turned into meaningful action to improve school practices in nutrition and physical activity.
Campaign for School Wellness Goals: Inform, Motivate, Mobilize
- Direct attention to all phases of the Local Wellness Policy Process — implementation, evaluation, and refinement — motivating schools to continue improvements over time.
- Catalyze actions from multiple sectors, private and public, national, state, and local, to provide further support for the improvement of nutrition and physical activity.
- Engage parents, students, minority and urban communities in supporting wellness practices of good nutrition and improved physical activity at school. Educate and promote the importance of sound nutrition and good physical activity for achievement and health.
- Generate resources and facilitate exchange of information and experts to assist districts in all phases of the Local Wellness Policy Process.
Campaign for School Wellness Reports, Programs, and Resources
An Action for Healthy Kids Report: “A Mission Becomes A Mandate: Campaign for School Wellness”
Released in the fall of 2006, this report offers a comprehensive description of the multi-year Campaign for School Wellness initiative to ensure that Local Wellness Policies bring about meaningful improvements in schools that will contribute to cross-sector efforts to curb and prevent childhood overweight and obesity.
View and download “A Mission Becomes A Mandate: Campaign for School Wellness”.
Action for Healthy Kids field reports
A new publishing initiative launched in the fall of 2006, Action for Healthy Kids field reports feature the successful initiatives of Action for Healthy Kids volunteer Teams to assist school districts in making meaningful changes to benefit the health and learning of their students. Field reports underscore the conviction and founding principle of Action for Healthy Kids that mobilizing change at the grassroots level leads to creative and sustainable solutions. Additional field reports in the series will be forthcoming as Action for Healthy Kids continues to share proven-effective strategies for assisting schools to improve nutrition and physical activity.
View and download Action for Healthy Kids Field Reports.
Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge
As part of the Campaign efforts, Action for Healthy Kids worked in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge, an activity course that teaches healthy habits of nutritious eating and encourages physical activity for students, their families, teachers, and community leaders.
Learn more about Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge.
Web Forum: The Role of School Wellness in Creating High-Performing Schools
In April of 2006, Action for Healthy Kids convened nationally reputable school leaders for a virtual panel discussion about the connection between school leadership and school wellness. This interactive online forum features proven-effective strategies for promoting the healthy habits of eating right and getting daily physical activity to improve student performance in the classroom and beyond.
View the Web Forum video and supporting materials