Posted March 16, 2020

We at Action for Healthy Kids and Active Schools understand the challenges schools and parents are facing right now and the concerns they have about COVID-19/Coronavirus.  We recognize the impact that school closings and uncertainty from day to day around COVID-19 pose to daily life. The safety of students, their families, and their school communities is our highest priority.

To support schools and families during this challenging time, we have modified many of our plans for the rest of the school year and offer the following recommendations for educators, parents and caregivers:

• If you are a current AFHK grantee, please do not be concerned about a delay in completing your funded project. We hope that any schools that are able to resume normal operations later this spring will then be able to complete their grant work by the end of the school year. Your state coordinator is here to support you in the interim, and will work with you at the appropriate time on what to submit for your final reports (information about these reports will become available mid-April).
• If you are interested in or in the process of applying for a school grant for the 2020-2021 school year, we have extended the deadline to May 1. Visit actionforhealthykids.org/grants for more information.
• While Every Kid Healthy Week remains an annual event on the calendar (April 20-24, 2020), we are not encouraging or expecting our grantees or other schools to host Every Kid Healthy Week events this year, regardless of whether or not your school is closed.
• We encourage schools to use our Game On library to incorporate healthy activities, brain breaks and nutrition education, and opportunities for social emotional learning into their online learning to help kids maintain healthy routines during what could be a prolonged period of time away from school.
• Action for Healthy Kids offers year-round ideas and resources for parents and caregivers to keep their kids and families healthy and active at home, whether for a snow day or during spring break. With the potential for children to be home from school for several weeks and the CDC’s recommendation on social distancing, we encourage parents to find dozens of tips, activity ideas, healthy recipes and more on our website, actionforhealthykids.org, and our blog. Visit our blog post that puts a variety of at-home ideas, activities and resources at your fingertips.

Stay up to date with us by ensuring you are receiving our emails, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and visit our COVID-19 FAQ blog post.  Schools should contact your state coordinator directly with any additional questions about your grants or anything else we can help with to make this time more manageable for everyone.