Healthy School Environment
Healthy Schools in the Mid-Atlantic
A healthy school environment is an environment where students receive clear and consistent messages that explain and reinforce healthy eating and physical activity habits. Students are provided with opportunities to practice healthy habits in the classroom and the cafeteria and at class parties, sports events and other school functions.
Research shows that when children's basic nutritional and fitness needs are met, they have the cognitive energy to learn and achieve. Get the facts.
Get involved with state and local efforts to improve the school environment in your state by joining fellow educators, school foodservice professionals, state agencies, national organizations and members of the community in support of the Action for Healthy Kids Initiative. To find out more information and to become a member of your state Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) team, visit www.actionforhealthykids.org.
What's happening with AFHK in the Mid-Atlantic region?
Click on your state to find out.
Maryland Washington, D.C. New Jersey Delaware Pennsylvania Virginia
- Why is a healthy school environment so important?
- Keys to promoting healthy eating in schools: how does your school measure up?
- What is the current state of school wellness in America?
- Improving school wellness involves more than limiting nutrient-poor foods
- Additional information on a healthy school environment
Progress or Promises? What’s Working For and Against Healthy Schools
“Progress or Promises?” is an important overview of the current state of school wellness in America. This Action for Healthy Kids’ report states that schools still need improvements to the quality of the foods they serve and the amount of physical activity opportunities they offer American children.
The report also outlines a significant obstacle: Most school administrators feel that their schools already do provide quality foods and adequate physical activity for students.
Although most schools have adopted policies and made some changes for the better, the report underscores the need for broader, systemic changes made difficult by competing priorities, major budget shortfalls and logistical obstacles.