The Healthy Schools Program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helps schools create healthier environments for students and staff, and recognizes schools that succeed in this endeavor.

The key objectives of the Healthy Schools Program are to:

• Establish healthier school environments as an education priority
• Provide access to healthy food options for students and staff
• Increase opportunities for students to exercise and play
• Offer wellness programs for school staff to help them become healthy role models

The Healthy Schools Program has established recognition and best practice criteria that provide schools with tangible benchmarks to strive toward and to measure their successes. The Healthy Schools Program supports schools through electronic and telephonic support, such as implementation kits, Webinars, success stories, and online assessment and action planning tools. All schools in the United States are eligible to participate in the Healthy Schools Program and take advantage of the tools and resources provided.

Through a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Healthy Schools Program will be able to expand its reach to more than 8,000 schools in 17 states with the highest obesity rates by 2010. Learn More...

For more information on how your school can join, please visit www.HealthierGeneration.org/HSP, or call 1-800-KID-HLTH.

Success Stories

Making Fruit “A-peeling” Neshaminy Middle School Langhorne, PA Imagine hopping off the school bus in the morning and being greeted by a giant vegetable handing you a fruit. This is the scene once a month at Neshaminy Middle School in Langhorn, Pa., as “health ambassadors” dress in costume and distribute fruits and vegetables to students as they walked in to school. Homeroom classes answer the “Healthy Question of the Month” for a chance to win a full basket of bananas, apples and oranges for breakfast. Through these creative activities and events, students are being introduced to new healthy foods like pineapples, strawberries and kiwis. Learning about healthy food has never been so fun! Read More Success Stories >

An Exciting Kick-Off Arthur Eddy Academy Saginaw, Michigan Just a month after attending the Healthy Schools Forum, Principal Mike Tanner launched the Healthy Schools Program at Arthur Eddy Academy in a big way. Along with members of the School Wellness Council, Tanner organized an all-day event to generate excitement around the program and encourage students to participate. During the event, volunteers from nearby Saginaw Valley State University offered students health risk counseling as well as health and body mass index screenings. Individual scores were recorded confidentially to allow students to track their progress throughout the school year, and class averages were used to determine the success of the program over time. The kick-off event concluded with an assembly at which students agreed to take the “Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge” pledge to get healthy. The gathering included an inspiring talk by a local coach who encouraged students to become more active, as well as a representative of the Saginaw Spirit Hockey Team who awarded an outstanding student health achiever free tickets to an upcoming game. Read More Success Stories >

Creative Ideas Stir Up Student Excitement Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Community Schools Northern Minnesota Since joining the Healthy Schools Program in May 2006, students and staff at Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Community Schools in Minnesota have taken a creative approach to integrating healthy ideas into their school day. Their first target: recess. Previously, teachers observed students hurrying through lunch in order to get outside, often leaving fruits, vegetables and milk on their trays. At Ogema Elementary School, students now enjoy recess before lunch. Since the switch, school administrators and teachers have noticed better nutrition practices and improved behavior. Additionally, the district no longer offers second helpings of main course entrees at lunch. Students may only go back for second servings of fruits and vegetables. The schools have also made an effort to serve all fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in place of the canned goods they previously served, greatly improving the nutritional value of each meal. With all of these changes underway, students are getting a taste of good nutritional practices they can take home with them. Read More Success Stories >