Four schools in the Normandy Schools Collaborative were named to the 2018 list of America’s Healthiest Schools by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for their commitment to students’ health and well-being.
The national achievement celebrates schools that meet or exceed expert-recommended standards set by Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program for serving healthy meals and snacks, getting students moving more throughout the day, offering high-quality health and physical education, and empowering school leaders to be healthy role models.
The collaborative, as part of the Healthy Schools Healthy Communities (HSHC) initiative, has worked to create a healthier future for Normandy’s children with grant funding support from the Missouri Foundation for Health and the hard work of students, school leadership, and staff.
The four bronze-award winning schools (and the school wellness champions) from the Collaborative are: Normandy Kindergarten Center (Doretha Pearson), Jefferson Elementary (Arlene Williams), Lucas Crossing Elementary (LaRose Priest), and Barack Obama Elementary (Rosemary Ursin).
“Our entire community — parents, teachers, students, and staff — has united around the importance of creating a healthy school,” said Benetta Ward, school wellness coordinator for the collaborative.
Nineteen Missouri schools received this recognition, out of a total of 461 schools nationwide. All of America’s Healthiest Schools have earned National Healthy Schools Awards. They were selected based on a rigorous set of criteria — from availability of nutritious foods to access to quality physical education opportunities.
“To see that all 19 schools named America’s Healthiest Schools are part of the Healthy Schools Healthy Communities initiative really demonstrates the power of school districts and community leaders working together to build a healthier future,” said Deidre Griffith, program director, Missouri Foundation for Health.
Brian Weaver, chief program officer at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, said the Healthy Schools Programs have served over 42,000 schools. “Each one recognizes the academic, social and behavioral benefits of prioritizing student health,” Weaver said.
Any school can join Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program at no-cost to access trainings, resources and technical assistance by visiting schools.healthiergeneration.org.
