Education Law

It takes a village?(and a state, and a school district) to keep students healthy

Board Buzz knows schools are often expected to deal with much more than the academic development of students, including addressing student health issues such as obesity.  We think that schools certainly do have a role to play in keeping students healthy and ready to learn, but we also believe it truly does take a village to raise a healthy child-and members of that village include other local and state policymakers.  But just how can education leaders work together with community policymakers to create environments that encourage healthy eating and physical activity for students?

A new online tool can help.  Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recently launched the new Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity.

The Toolkit outlines policy strategies for school, local and state leaders designed to reduce childhood obesity and create healthier communities and schools.  Many of these strategies emphasize the importance of collaboration between schools and cities, including implementing Safe Routes to School programs, creating joint-use agreements, addressing the food and physical activity environments in schools and communities, examining food and beverage marketing policies and practices, and others. 

More than 23 million children and adolescents nationwide are overweight or obese.  Research shows students who eat healthfully and stay active perform better academically, demonstrate improved classroom behavior and experience a host of other emotional and social benefits that extend beyond the classroom.  So BoardBuzz believes it’s in the interest of the entire village-including schools-to work together to improve the eating and physical activity environments in which students live, learn and play. 

NSBA is a Leadership for Healthy Communities grantee.  For information about NSBA’s work with Leadership for Healthy Communities, please contact schoolhealth@nsba.org.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 19, 2009 (boomark / email).