What We Did

The Partnership was designed to empower parents and community members to bring about changes in school environmental health and wellness so that children will have the opportunity to live healthy, successful lives. The four-year project developed through a number of phases and grew

to effect change in schools and communities throughout Chicago.

The timeline below highlights some of the project’s milestones, and the narrative outlines the Partnership’s development over four years. Click on each of the chapter headings for more detail. To learn more, download the full report or contact Guillermo Gomez.

1. Introduction: The Partnership to Reduce Disparities in Asthma and Obesity in Latino Schools (Partnership) brought together parents from two Latino communities in Chicago – West Town in the north and Little Village in the south – to create change in schools and the community supporting healthy eating and active lifestyles. . . More »

2. Building the Coalition: The community-based organizations involved in the project are known for their organizing skills rather than for a pre-existing focus on health issues. . . More »

3. Broad Social Change through Individual Transformation: Through involvement in the project, parents experienced what has been described as a self-transformation, realizing the power of an individual to shape her own health and her family’s health, and the power of a group to create changes that shape the health of all children in the community. . . More »

4. Foucs on Social Justice: Rather than focusing messages solely on health concepts, project organizers decided to focus on an issue that spoke to parents’ life experiences: the need for social justice. . . More »

5. Shared Language and Shared Knowledge: To make the most of the group’s diverse strengths, it became essential to develop a common language, as each organization came to the table with different perspectives on – and different ways of talking about – the salient issues. . . More »

6. Engaging Parents: Organizers found that the most effective way to engage parents was to give them the opportunity to experience the benefits of healthy lifestyles firsthand. . . More »

7. Collective action and city-wide policy change: The federal wellness policy requirement represented a shift from focusing on personal transformation to city-wide action. . . More »

8. Creating meaningful, sustainable change: As parent leaders make meaningful change at a school level, Parents United for Healthy Schools brings together the voices of parents around the city to organize, develop strategy, and advocate for city-level district-wide change. . . More »

Programs

Step by Step

Learn about the project stages and timeline

Meet the Parents

Read the personal stories of individual parents and families.

Research Findings

Check out research and public health findings related to the project.