Healthier Schools, Healthier Generation 2030

Summary

In 2025, Healthier Generation committed to continue its work to provide ongoing national and place-based support for K-12 schools in the United States to develop and sustain whole child health policies and practices. Healthier Generation, with the support of its partners and funders, will celebrate 1,700 schools for adopting and strengthening policies and practices that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Through this commitment, Healthier Generation will support the training of 1,500 educators and administrators and reach 500,000 students in the United States. This commitment will build on the success of the America’s Healthiest Schools award, founded in 2007, which has already celebrated excellence across 3,300 schools, tens of thousands of educators and administrators, and millions of students.

Approach

As Healthier Generation celebrates its 20th anniversary, this milestone underscores the urgency and importance of continuing to elevate and advance equitable whole child health. The organization’s long-standing commitment to schools as catalysts for change reflects a deep understanding that sustainable health begins where children live, learn, and grow. This anniversary is not just a celebration of past impact—it is a renewed call to action for the future.

Healthier Generation aligns its efforts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ASCD’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model to promote healthier, more supportive educational environments through both localized, place-based strategies and national initiatives. At the local level, the organization partners with communities to drive measurable improvements, with a focus on areas experiencing significant health disparities. Schools conduct needs assessments, collaborate with community partners to set shared goals, and receive tailored tools, training, and technical assistance to implement and sustain proven best practices. Nationally, Healthier Generation offers the Action Center—a digital hub featuring best practices, policy templates, and training resources. This platform enables any K-12 school community across the country to strengthen whole child health policies and practices, regardless of location or resources.

To help schools sustain progress and amplify impact, Healthier Generation celebrates excellence through its America’s Healthiest Schools award program. Schools are recognized for implementing evidence-based policies and practices that support lifelong well-being. Since 2007, more than 3,300 schools across 47 states have been honored.

By 2030, Healthier Generation commits to celebrating an additional 1,700 schools, 5,000 total, as America’s Healthiest Schools for adopting, strengthening, and sustaining policies and practices that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This commitment aligns with the nation’s Healthy People 2030 objectives and underscores the critical role schools play in shaping the long-term health and well-being of future generations.

Action Plan

Healthier Generation will continue to provide ongoing national and place-based support year-round to K-12 school communities demonstrating readiness to adopt, strengthen, and sustain whole child health policies and practices. This includes broad, self-guided resources as well as direct, localized hands-on support. It also includes an annual training plan with the goal of training between 200-400 educators and administrators during each year of the commitment (cumulative total 1,500+) on whole child health policies and practices to support ongoing adoption and implementation of whole child health policies and practices.

In 2026, Healthier Generation will pilot a cohort or Community of Practice model to support engaged schools, and recognize 300 new schools as America’s Healthiest Schools reaching approximately 90,000 students and 9,000 staff (cumulative total 3,600+ schools) .

Between 2027-2028, the organization aims to launch a revised application, expand the cohort model, and celebrate 600 new schools reaching approximately 180,000 students and 18,000 staff (cumulative total 4,200+ schools) .

In 2029, Healthier Generation will support and celebrate 400 new schools reaching approximately 120,000 students and 12,000 staff (cumulative total 4,600+ schools) .

By 2030, Healthier Generation will reach a major milestone — recognizing 400 new schools and achieving a cumulative total of 5,000 schools honored as America’s Healthiest Schools since 2007. This 5-year effort will impact approximately 550,000 students and 50,000 staff across the country, advancing whole child health and aligning with the nation’s Healthy People 2030 objectives.

Background

Research by the National Academy of Medicine shows that health is largely shaped by social and environmental conditions rather than by medical care alone. In fact, 80-90% of health outcomes are shaped by social determinants of health—such as income, education, and neighborhood conditions.

With nearly 50 million students spending much of their day in schools, these institutions are uniquely positioned to drive positive health outcomes. Despite being trusted, accessible hubs, school-based health strategies are often underutilized and inconsistently implemented.

School leaders face challenges like limited staff capacity, burnout, siloed systems, and competing priorities. They need accessible support to implement policy, systems, and environmental changes that promote health. Effective interventions must meet schools where they are, considering their capacity and goals.

Furthermore, a child’s physical and mental health directly affects their ability to succeed in school. Food insecurity disrupts concentration, memory, and motor skills, while limited access to physical activity and emotional support undermines academic performance.

For more than 20 years, Healthier Generation – founded by the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association – has collaborated with school communities, partners, and funders to address these challenges by centering whole child health as an effective solution. Whole child health is a holistic approach to achieving complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

As a national organization dedicated to youth well-being, it offers practical, self-paced roadmaps and hands-on support to improve health outcomes. Through an evidence-based, systems-level approach, Healthier Generation prioritizes the well-being of both youth and adults, breaks down barriers, and fosters stronger community connections.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

Healthier Generation actively seeks partnerships with schools, districts, community-based organizations, media outlets, and funders to co-design, develop, implement, and sustain this nationwide initiative—leveraging collective expertise and resources to advance whole child health at scale.

To achieve this commitment, Healthier Generation invites funders and strategic partners to share this vision of what’s possible when healthy schools and districts create a lifelong foundation for good health for young people everywhere.,For over twenty years, Healthier Generation has demonstrated expertise in convening and facilitating industry-wide and community-based solutions that promote whole child health within school communities. Its staff are highly skilled in bringing together diverse community partners to strengthen cross-sector collaboration, delivering customized tools, training, and technical assistance, and guiding data-informed dialogue that leads to actionable insights. By adapting strategies to meet the unique needs and strengths of each school, Healthier Generation supports effective implementation and long-term sustainability. Through its ability to inspire and motivate schools to adopt health-promoting policies and practices — and by celebrating their achievements through impact stories and the America’s Healthiest Schools recognition program — the organization continues to drive meaningful change at the intersection of public health and education.