In This Issue

• HSC News: HSC Expands Successful School Nurse Programs
• Program Updates: Principals for Healthy Schools Project
• Recent Blog Entries: Junk Food Islands; Heart-Healthy Valentine's Parties; Happy Birthday, HSC!

HSC News

HSC Expands Successful School Nurse Programs

Graduates of HSC’s School Nurse Leadership Program

Healthy Schools Campaign, together with our School Nurse Advisory Committee, works to improve student and staff health by providing professional development, advocacy and resource sharing opportunities for school nurses. We’re pleased to share exciting announcements on our work with school nurses:

School Nurse Advocacy Day: HSC and the Illinois Association of School Nurses invite you to join us in Springfield on Thurs. April 17 as an advocate to improve school health for students and staff throughout the state. We are looking to school nurse leaders to come out with us to Springfield – and feel free to bring a friend! Learn more »

School Nurse Leadership Program: Our school nurse leadership training programs in Springfield and Elgin are in full swing, with nurses analyzing their school environments and designing plans for change. Learn more »

New Program in Chicago: The Chicago Community Trust has given HSC a generous grant to adapt our successful School Nurse Leadership Program for the unique needs of a large urban school system and provide training to leaders in Chicago’s school nurse community.

School Nurses in the News: Several graduates of HSC’s School Nurse Leadership Program have recently been featured in the news! Check out the articles »

School Nurse Resource Center: HSC recently launched a new information portal for school nurses interested in wellness and environmental health issues. Check out this new resource »

HSC Welcomes New Staff

HSC is pleased to welcome a new staff member!

Jovita Flores is a well known and widely respected community organizer in Chicago’s Latino communities. She has successfully brought school health into focus as a social justice issue to motivate parents and community leaders to take action supporting wellness at school. At HSC, Jovita is continuing to work with parents in forming school wellness teams and organizing change for healthy schools.

We’re thrilled to welcome Jovita to our staff!

Plus: HSC is seeking Interns and a Charity Athletics Coordinator »

Program Updates

HSC Launches Principals for Healthy Schools Project

HSC is pleased to announce the launch of our new Principals for Healthy Schools Project, acknowledging the important role that school administrators and principals play in creating healthy schools. With the Principals for Healthy Schools Project, HSC will help principals put programs in place that promote healthy eating and active lifestyles.

To head up the project, HSC has hired the recently-retired principal of Nettlehorst Elementary School, Dr. Susan Kurland. Under Dr. Kurland’s leadership, Nettlehorst became a shining example of how schools can incorporate wellness into the school experience.

We hope the project will mark the beginning of a movement supporting principals as they make changes to improve wellness and environmental health.

Parents United for Healthy Schools Leaders Present at National Environmental Justice Conference

Guillermo Gomez and Idida Perez with Samuel Wilson, M.D., acting director of NIEHS

HSC’s Guillermo Gomez and Idida Perez of West Town Leadership United, a key partners in HSC’s Parents United for Healthy Schools and the Partnership to Reduce Disparities in Asthma and Obesity in Latino Schools, connected with environmental justice leaders from around the country at a national meeting of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which provided funding for the program.

HSC presented a poster on the Partnership and Parents United for Healthy Schools, and Perez spoke as part of a panel on trends in community-based participatory research and environmental justice.

HSC’s work with parents in Chicago’s Latino communities has been recognized nationally for its unique model and success in creating healthy changes at school.

Recent Blog Entries

HSC's staff experts discuss news stories and new developments every week at the HSC Blog. Stop by and leave a question or comment. And while you're there, enter your email address for automatic delivery on days when a new blog entry has been posted. Here's a look at some of our recent posts:

Junk Food Islands: Transforming Communities to Combat Childhood Obesity | by Guillermo Gomez
A recent article published in the Robert Wood Johnson Childhood Obesity Digest suggests that one-third of schools in the nation have at least one fast food restaurant or convenience store within walking distance. The researchers found that schools in low-income neighborhoods had more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than those in higher income neighborhoods. Just as we have food deserts in lower socio-economic neighborhoods, we also have junk food islands with high concentrations of fast food restaurants and convenience stores. Clearly, this has an impact on health and wellness efforts in school .... Read more

Happy Birthday, Healthy Schools Campaign! | by Rochelle Davis
This week marks the sixth anniversary of a Healthy Schools Summit that was organized by Generation Green (the organization that I was working for six years ago), Safer Pest Control Project, and Citizen Action/Illinois. Two hundred people from 75 organizations plus a group of high school students attended the summit. This event was followed by a similar event in Springfield and eventually gave birth to the Healthy Schools Campaign. It’s interesting to reflect on the ways that our organization continues to be shaped by this powerful event six years ago .... Read more

Common-Sense Green Cleaning Guidelines Need Final Stamp of Approval | by Mark Bishop
Last year HSC brought together a broad, diverse coalition to successfully advocate for a law requiring green cleaning in Illinois schools. The result of this broad public input is a set of guidelines that are comprehensive, health-based and cost-effective for schools to implement. Now, these guidelines are going through the legislature for a final review.... Read more

Heart-Healthy Valentine’s Parties: What a Difference a Year Makes! | by Jean Saunders
Happy Valentine’s Day! Thinking about the spoils from my son’s Valentine’s Day party last year (candy, candy, candy), I have to admit that I was dreading the sugar-induced aftermath that so often goes along with this annual celebration of friendship and love. Last year, I wrote about the conflicting messages we send kids when we encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles while hosting parties loaded with candy and heart-shaped frosted cookies. But what a difference a year makes! .... Read more

"I catch myself -- instead of thinking about my work, I'm thinking, 'When am I going to get out of this class and eat?'"
- High school freshman Yanira Gomez on the result of eating lunch at 9 a.m., her school’s first lunch period of the day, as quoted in the Chicago Tribune

Charity Athletics Coordinator
HSC is seeking a part-time Project Manager to oversee and grow our charity athletics program | More

Make a donation
You have the power to help make healthy schools a reality through a gift to HSC or a donation in honor of a friend, family member or a child in your life! | More

Nurse leads South Central into new wave of healthy behavior
1.25.2008 | Salem Times-Commoner
This article profiles the accomplishments of School Nurse Michelle Blomberg, including the healthy changes she’s made throughout her school since her involvement in HSC’s School Nurse Leadership Program.

View media archive »

Turn the Lights Off and Help Education
Free book with practical and climate-specific tools to help schools cut energy use (and expenses) by at least 30 percent | More

Educational Resources: Recycling and More
EPA resources assist in teaching about the waste we generate and what we can all do to make a difference | More