Five Best Practices

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These five best practices are a roadmap to improving student and staff health, nutrition and wellness in every district across Colorado. Healthy schools provide nutritious meals, snacks and beverages, and require that students are physically active every day. They teach students what it means to be healthy, offer access to health care services and have effective bullying prevention and workplace wellness programs. These best practices can help districts develop a comprehensive and coordinated approach to healthy schools.

• Policies. School board members adopt policies that foster healthy schools and that are consistent with best practices identified by state and federal agencies as well as professional education and health organizations. View all policies referenced in this guide.
• Staff qualifications. District leaders ensure that all staff who are focused on nutrition, school health services, health education and physical education are properly credentialed and well-qualified.
• Assessment. The district provides tools for schools to inventory their policies, activities and programs such as the Healthy School Champion Scorecard, School Health Index, Wellness School Assessment Tool, Barometers of School Safety climate survey or a similar self-assessment tool.
• District leadership. District leaders provide strategic direction and opportunities for enhanced nutrition, physical activity, health education, school health services, workplace wellness and bullying prevention.
• Getting it done. The district promotes parent, community and student engagement, advocacy and partnerships in its schools (including through district wellness committees) to achieve high-quality nutrition, physical activity, health education, school health services, safe school climates and workplace wellness.

Interested in knowing more about different approaches to coordinated school health? Click here and here!

The Colorado Legacy Foundation believes that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaged students who come to school ready to learn.