School Wellness

Video Workshops
Advocacy Guides
Fact Sheets
California School Food and Beverage Standards
Research and Policy Briefs
Case Studies
California's Blueprint for Coordinated School Health
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ADVOCACY GUIDES 

Policy in Action: A Guide to Implementing Your Local School Wellness Policy (Download the Entire Guide)
This user-friendly guide is designed to serve as a roadmap for implementing school nutrition and physical activity policies, including local wellness policies. Includes helpful hand-outs to develop your plan of action for implementing your policy.

Download Policy in Action! Worksheets Only:

• Worksheet A:    Key Elements of Your Policy
• Worksheet B1: Making it Work! Quality, Accessible, Appealing Meals
• Worksheet B2: Making it Work! Identifying and Promoting Compliant Foods and Beverages
• Worksheet B3: Making it Work! Getting Non Food Service School-Based Groups On Board
• Worksheet B4: Making it Work! Tracking School Group Food and Beverage Sales
• Worksheet C:   Developing Your Implementation Plan
• Worksheet D:   Communicating the Policy
• Worksheet E1: Monitoring and Evaluating the Policy
• Worksheet E2: Food and Beverage Standards Monitoring Report

Parents in Action!: A Guide to Engaging Parents in Local School Wellness Policy (English/Spanish)

This toolkit provides resources and tools that will help school stakeholders engage parents in Local School Wellness Policy (LSWP) implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.  Parents in Action! provides stakeholders with a process for engaging parents in advocating for the improvement of the school environment and increased healthy food and physical activity opportunities through the LSWP.  The toolkit provides strategies for reaching parents, resources for assessing the school environment, fact sheets on relevant school nutrition and physical activity topics, parent education resources, and resources that will assist with the advocacy process. 

PARENT/PROMOTORA SCHOOL WELLNESS POLICY LESSON PLANS

Parent Lesson Plans: Advocating for Healthier School Environments (English/Spanish)

The Parent Lesson Plans are a companion piece to Parents in Action!: A Guide to Engaging Parents in Local School Wellness Policy.  These lesson plans are for use by stakeholders working with parents and should be used in coordination with Parents in Action!  These lesson plans will assist stakeholders to educate parents about local school wellness policy and empower them to become advocates for improved nutrition and physical activity environments in their child's school.

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FACT SHEETS

The school food and physical activity environment plays a large role in the foods students eat and the amount of physical activity they engage in.  An important step to help youth eat better and increase their physical activity is to improve the food and physical activity environment in their schools.  These fact sheets will provide you with and overview of school food and physical activity policy challenges and opportunities.  

• Health and Academics (English/Spanish)
• What is Policy? (English/Spanish)
• The School Environment (English/Spanish)
• Classroom Messages (English/Spanish)
• Marketing in Schools (English/Spanish)
• California Nutrition Standards (English/Spanish)
• Physical Activity (English/Spanish)
• Physical Education (English/Spanish)
• School Lunch Program (English/Spanish)
• School Breakfast Program (English/Spanish)
• Fundraising in School (English/Spanish)
• Ideas for Healthy Fundraising
• Working with Schools (English/Spanish)
• Let's Move California, After School nutrition and physical activity tips sheets for program directors and site coordinators.

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CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FOOD AND BEVERAGE STANDARDS 

Slide Guide: Does Your Snack Measure Up?

This pocket slide-guide helps identify snack foods that meet California guidelines for foods sold in elementary and middle/high schools.  It’s a handy tool with a slide-guide to determine if your product meets the standards for calories, fat, saturated fat, and sugar.  You can bring it with you to the store when selecting foods for your school.  Contact [email protected] to order or fill out our Materials Order Form to fax an order.

Food Standards Snack Calculator

The Food Standards Calculator will help you determine if an individual food item would meet the food standards for calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and sugar established in 2007 by California’s legislation (SB 12 and 965).  Link to our calculator.

California School Food/Beverage Standards Fact Sheets:

• Elementary School Food and Beverage Standards (English/Spanish)
• Middle and High School Standards (English/Spanish)

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RESEARCH AND POLICY BRIEFS

These research and policy briefs provide a quick, easy-to-use reference for high profile subjects in the school nutrition/physical activity environment.  These resources identify the perceptions, barriers, and opportunities among School Board Members, State School Boards Associations, School Wellness Advocates, State Public Health Nutrition Directors, and Superintendents. 

Research Briefs

• Physical Activity and Physical Education in California Schools:  A Survey of District/County Office of Education Perceptions and Practices (2009)
• School Wellness Policy Development, Implementation and Evaluation: Research Implications for State Public Health Nutrition Directors and School Wellness Advocates (2008)
• School Wellness Policy Development, Implementation and Evaluation: Research Implications for School Board Members (2008)
• School Wellness Policy Development, Implementation and Evaluation: Research Implications for State School Boards Association Leaders (2008)

Policy Briefs

• Maximizing Opportunities for Physical Activity through Joint Use of Facilities (2009)
• Safe Routes to School: Program and Policy Strategies (2009)

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CASE STUDIES  

Eliminating Electrolyte Replacement Beverages

Eliminating Electrolyte Replacement Beverages in California Public Schools (Highlights Oakland Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District, and Lemon Grove School District)

Reducing Competitive Foods and Beverages in Schools

Anderson Union High School District
El Monte High School District
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Sant Ana Unified School District

California's Blueprint: Building Infrastructure for Coordinated School Health (Download)

California Blueprint for Coordinated School Health is the result of a year-long process to identify goals and prioritize action steps that can be initiated by California Department of Education, Department of Public Health, county offices of education, local health departments, school districts, schools and community partners. The purpose of the Blueprint is to:

• Create a joint effort of public and private agencies, individuals, and communities;
• Strengthen the four infrastructure supports (authorization and funding; personnel and organizational placement; communications and linkages; and resources); and,
• Improve implementation of coordinated school health.

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