LONG TERM SUCCESS

To create and sustain environments that promote school wellness, you need to consider nutrition, physical activity, staff wellness and parent engagement. Involve school stakeholders from the start and get high-level commitment at the school or district level.

Here are six simple steps for ensuring a high level of institutional support for your school wellness program:

FROM POLICY TO PLAN

In 2004, Congress established a new requirement that all school districts with a federally funded school meal program develop and implement wellness policies by the start of the 2006-2007 school year. In response, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity worked with more than 50 health, physical activity, nutrition, and education professionals from a variety of national and state organizations to develop a set of model policies for local school districts. For a copy of the model policy, see Documents and Resources or visit School Wellness Policies

At this point, the vast majority of schools have a wellness policy in place. But a policy is only words on paper unless it gets translated into action, and the best way to do that is to develop a Wellness Plan and engage the school community in implementing it. This section is meant to help you take that important leap forward if you haven’t already done so.

1. Create a Wellness Team

School wellness requires support from many stakeholders reflecting various segments of the school community. Many schools established Wellness Teams or Committees in order to develop Wellness Policies. It is important to maintain and build on that effort, making sure you have engaged those who can make decisions concerning your school's program, as well as those who will be affected by it, including administrators, staff, teachers, union members, students, parents and other family members, the school nurse, school food service director, physical education teachers and others. More…

2. Assess Your Program

Different schools have different needs, and face different challenges and opportunities when it comes to school wellness. One school might really need to address its vending program, while another faces the greatest challenges in PE. A good place to start is by assessing the current situation, identifying needs, gaps, barriers and opportunities, then using that information as a foundation for the Wellness Plan. More…

3. Develop a Wellness Plan

Federal law required that as of July 2006 all schools have a wellness policy that sets nutritional standards for all foods sold at school, establishes goals for nutrition education and physical activity, and outlines a process for measuring the impact on student health. As a result, most schools have established policies, but in order to move forward, many also need to develop a plan that identifies measurable outcomes, along with specific strategies and implementation steps for meeting these goals. More…

4. Implement the Wellness Plan

Once the plan is developed and approved, the Wellness Team can oversee its implementation. This means helping address problems, overcome barriers and work through the many operational and financial implications of making changes. Remember that you don’t have to do everything at once -- often a pilot project may be the best way to proceed, work out issues or test various solutions. More…

5. Evaluate Progress

The Wellness Team should conduct periodic reviews of the plan, referring to the plan's measurable objectives and attempting to quantify the benefits and savings. This information can help identify areas for change or improvement, and serve as a source of pride for students and staff. More…

6. Celebrate Success

Frequent two-way communication is critical to developing and implementing a Wellness Program. The objective is to educate and inform all stakeholders about the program, why it was initiated, how they fit into the implementation and ongoing success of the program, and the benefits that can result. More…

Forward To Create a Wellness Team