HEAL - Healthy Eating & Active Living Committee
The Healthy Eating, Active Living Committee (HEAL) Committee successfully completed a 2010-2011 pilot project to create a sustainable and scalable program to help MNPS schools implement the eight modules of the state-mandated Coordinated School Health initiative:
1) Health Education, 2) Physical Education, 3) Health Services, 4) Nutrition Services, 5) Counseling and Psychological Services, 6) Healthy School Environment, 7) Health Promotion for Staff, and 8) Family/Community Involvement.
After deciding to use a “community schools” approach, the committee chose six pilot sites – Glencliff and Tusculum elementary schools; Croft and Wright middle schools; and Glencliff and Overton high schools – and set three goals:
- The School Health Index will show progress in creating opportunities for nutrition and physical activity.
- Pilot schools will build a healthy school environment.
- Community partners will optimize resources at each pilot school.
An environmental scan of existing resources at the pilot sites showed that the YMCA Fun Companies and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt were already serving those schools, so they became Lead Agencies with staff assuming the roles of Coordinated School Health Liaison within each school. The liaisons worked with each school’s Healthy School Team to implement the School Health Index, an assessment tool designed by the Centers for Disease Control, to determine each school’s greatest need and decide what resources and/or projects would address each issue.
The committee also built a temporary resource guide to be used only in the chosen pilot schools and by their respective Healthy School Teams and Liaisons. Each school determined their needs and then selected resources and projects from the resource guide that would best assist them in reaching their respective goals.
Independent evaluation of the HEAL Pilot Program was possible through a grant from Project Diabetes, a statewide initiative focusing on innovative education, prevention, and treatment programs for diabetes and obesity. The project showed a marked success in each of the pilot schools compared to MNPS sites implementing Coordinated School Health without a community school focus. One Healthy School Team leader felt the garden project at Glencliff had been a “huge success on its own, especially because it was integrated into science classes.” Community engagement with a multicultural twist was also a success. For example, one school coordinated with the custodial staff from the Kurdish community to maintain the gardens during the summer months in exchange for harvesting vegetables, fruits, and herbs for their families and communities.
Next
Project activities and evaluation are serving as benchmarks and lessons-learned for the Community Achieves TaskForce as they work on the development of a community schools framework. The Coordinated School Health Pilot is included in documentation of the new framework, which also includes Healthy School Teams.
In addition, the staff of Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are now building a set of videos filmed during the project. These videos document the process of Healthy School Teams and their chosen projects for their school, and can be used as training tools for other schools and community organizations that want to build stronger Healthy School Teams and support Coordinated School Health.
Results
The HEAL Pilot Project for Coordinated School Health showed positive impact on student knowledge and behavior. In comparison surveys of high school students in pilot and non-pilot schools, a sample of results shows:
- 75% of surveyed students in pilot high schools agreed or strongly agreed that the students from their schools are well prepared in the area of health and wellness awareness upon graduation – compared to 68% in non-pilot schools.
- 42% of students in the pilot schools reported that they had eaten breakfast every day for the previous week – compared to 34% of other students.
- 32% of pilot students reported at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day for the previous week – compared to 27% of other students.
- 30% of pilot students reported less than one hour per day watching TV or playing video/computer games – compared to 24% of other students.
For more information, please contact: Glen L. Biggs, Associate Director.
