Healthy Schools
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nebraska Healthy Schools Recognition and Education Conference
Join us for the Nebraska Healthy Schools Recognition and Education conference on March 25th, in Lincoln. This event will bring schools together from across the state to recognize exemplary wellness efforts being implemented within the school environment to support staff wellbeing and student academic success during the awards luncheon.
The conference education sessions are designed to grow participants’ knowledge about the connection between health, wellbeing and academic success utilizing the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model. School staff, students, community members, public health professionals and health advocates are invited to join their peers to learn about best practices in promoting the wellbeing of staff and students from national speakers as well as local experts on key areas of school health, including the staff wellness, nutrition promotion, health services, mental health and physical activity.
Please direct any questions about this conference to Jessie Coffey at Jessie.coffey@nebraska.gov
Overview
Research shows a significant connection between healthy lifestyle behaviors and student academic achievement. Healthy students learn better and positive school and community connections throughout the K-12 educational period provides a lifetime of health benefits. Schools are an idea setting to provide student with the resources and opportunities to not only learn skills to support a healthy lifestyle but to also practice healthy behaviors.1
The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Healthy Schools program works collaboratively with Nebraska schools to support the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, a program that includes resources and support for the individual, family, school and the community.
This model is an expansion of the Coordinated School Health approach to school wellness efforts supported by the Nebraska Department of Education. It emphasizes the relationship between educational attainment and health, by putting the child at the center of a systems designed to support a unified and collaborative approach that recognizes that healthy children learn better.
Current work of the Healthy Schools program focuses on the following key areas: Chronic Disease Management, Nutrition Education, Out of School Tim and Physical Education and Physical Activity. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of the WSCC model, which is strategically aligned with school health programs and services to assist educators in closing the achievement gap.1
1 Lewallen, T.C., Hunt, Holly, H., Potts ‐ Datema, W., Zaza, S., Giles, W. The whole school, whole community, whole child model: A new approach for improving educational attainment and healthy development for students. Journal of School Health. 2015; 85 (11): 729-739. DOI: 10.1111/josh.123
Comprehensive Framework for Addressing the School Nutrition Environment and Services
Performance Plate
School Wellness Policy
Coming Soon
- Summary of the Final Rule – July 2016
- Local School Wellness Guidelines Overview: Elements of Implementation
- Nebraska Local School Wellness Policy Training Resources
- Public Notification Tip Sheet
- Ten Essentials
- USDA FNS Website – Team Nutrition Local School Wellness Policy
- USDA School Meals Website
- USDA Local School Wellness Policy
- Local School Wellness Policy Progress Reporting Tool: This tool is intended to help schools and district wellness councils track progress and compliance of wellness policies and practices.
- Local School Wellness Policy Public Update Guide: This document provides support for meeting the public update requirements of the final rule. Districts can utilize this resource to guide the development of a webpage to report and inform the public about the LWP and annual updates.
- Healthier Generation’s 10 essential components of the local school wellness policy check-list to ensure all 10 USDA required components are included.
Summary of Local School Wellness Policy Video
Part 1: Overview of the USDA Local Wellness Policy Rules webinar
Part 2: Public Involvement – Final rule and resources webinar
Part 3: Nutrition Guidelines – All foods available on school campus webinar
Part 4: Nutrition Education – Set goals and share curriculum webinar
Part 5: Nutrition Promotion – Ways and resources to promote healthy messages webinar
Part 6: Physical Activity – Set goals for PA and PE webinar
Part 7: Public Notification – Tips and examples webinar
Part 8: Monitoring & Evaluation – Tools and resources webinar
Please complete the School Wellness Policy Survey by June 30, 2020, to fulfill the triennial assessment requirement.
Resources
A Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) model consists of eight interactive components. Schools by themselves cannot, and should not be expected to address the nation’s most serious health and social problems. Families, health care workers, the media, religious organizations, community organizations that serve youth and young people themselves also must be systematically involved. However, schools could provide a critical facility in which many agencies might work together to maintain the well-being of young people.
Team Nutrition offers Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and High School Curriculum.