Healthy Students Initiative
The mission of Sonoma County Healthy Students Initiative (HSI) is to transform early care and school cultures to increase physical activity and healthy eating to promote optimal health and well being. Learn more about Healthy Students by reading our Fact Sheet.
What's New?
Is there something that you think school communities should know about related to healthy eating and/or physical activity? Send it to Sarah Underwood at sarah.underwood@sonoma-county.org.
Tell Us About Your Healthy School!
The students at Oak Grove Elementary School had to be admonished NOT to eat the broccoli they were preparing for the school lunch! Click here for a description of their Healthy School.
Click on the link below and share your story! In 125 words or less, tell us what your local Sonoma County school is doing to help students keep their bodies running strong with healthier eating habits and regular exercise. Look for your school on our website in the coming months as we highlight schools that are doing terrific work!
Sponsor a Healthy School
Healthy Students is recruiting sponsors working to support the evidence-based, Healthy for Life program at local schools. The program has been successfully implemented at two schools in Sonoma County and beginning in four more.
Healthy School Resources
Many local organizations are working to support healthy students and school environments. Download our Local Wellness Resources list for contact information to help you network and tap into local resources.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation provides a Healthy Schools Builder tool. This section of their website outlines specific steps that schools can take to create healthier school environments.
Healthy Students has researched evidenced-based practices for schools. Click on the areas of interest below to access resources.
For Educators
- Wellness Policy
- Early Care/Child Care
- Healthy School Food and Gardens
- Nutrition Education
- Physical Activity
- After School Programs
Parents
Training
Healthy for Life: For a boost to your schools wellness, consider the Healthy for Life Program that addresses school wellness and improves student fitness. This program is implemented with assistance from staff at Saint Joseph’s Health System of Sonoma County. Healthy Students is recruiting sponsors to support the evidence-based, Healthy for Life program at local schools. The program has been successfully implemented at two schools in Sonoma County and beginning in four more.
Model Policies: Model Local School Wellness Policies on Physical Activity and Nutrition may be found at Model School Wellness Policies or call (202) 332-9110 at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
School Health Index: Useful self-assessment and planning tools to help with wellness policy development and implementation may be found in modules 1-4 of the School Health Index at: School Health Index
School Wellness Policy Implementation Guide: This user-friendly guide is designed to serve as a roadmap for implementing school nutrition and physical activity policies, including local wellness policies. It includes helpful hand-outs to develop your plan of action for implementing your policy.
Healthy School Fundraisers: Increase the visibility of your school’s commitment to healthy students and school environments as well as fund these initiatives through healthy fundraisers using this list of alternatives to unhealthy fundraisers. Instructions on holding an easy walk-a-thon that has raised $11,000 locally are available here.
Parent Engagement: Many school administrators feel parents need to be equal partners in providing healthy food and physical activity options at schools. Read more on parent engagement locally below:
- Speakers: Physician advocates and Promotores de Salud (lay health workers trained in nutrition) will come to your school and speak with parents, students, or English Learner Advisory Committees to promote healthy eating and physical activity. See Parent Training Resources below.
- Handouts that promote healthy eating and physical activity for families.
Keeping Children Healthy: This guide includes recommendations to improve nutrition and increase physical activity in California’s child care environments.
Early Childhood Nutrition Education Tool Kit: This kit contains a menu of Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) education options for the early childhood education learning environment.
Choose My Plate: A website with interactive tools to get a personalized eating plan for any age, or to plan and assess food and physical activity choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Healthy
School Food and Gardens
Healthy Kids: A handout to help parents understand reading labels, healthy snacks, portion size, and contains tips for healthy eating. It is in Spanish and English.
Healthier Classroom Parties: A letter to parents from the teacher asking for help to have healthier foods in the classroom with examples of good snacks and unhealthy snacks to avoid sending to school. Available in Spanish and English along with a sign-up sheet for Healthy Party Foods.
Healthier Classroom Incentives: Teachers can unknowingly contribute to overweight in students by providing unhealthy food incentives. This is a list of non-food incentives for students and classrooms.
ReThink Your Drink: The Network for a Healthy California offers tools for promoting improved access to fresh, clean drinking water in schools and decreasing soda consumption. The resources also include lessons explaining how to read nutrition labels and presentations for schools and community groups. Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 204
Harvest of the Month: A program to interest students in consuming fruits and vegetables that is comprised of four key monthly elements: Educator Newsletters, Family Newsletters, Menu Slicks and Press Release Templates, and Harvest of the Month posters. Network staff can provide training and materials to local school food service managers. Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 204.
The Lunch Box: A downloadable PDF that provides ideas and strategies for changing your school meal programs, promoting health, and increasing ecological understanding.
School Garden Network of Sonoma County: An organization that supports and promotes sustainable garden and nutrition-based learning programs in Sonoma County schools, connects school communities with fresh, locally grown foods, and provides a forum for exchanging information and resources. Call their staff support at (707) 874-1557 ext. 223.
Early Childhood Nutrition Education Tool Kit: This kit contains a menu of Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) education options for the early childhood education learning environment.
Choose My Plate: A website with interactive tools to get a personalized eating plan for any age, or to plan and assess food and physical activity choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Santa Rosa City Schools Nutrition Services Website: Provides nutrition education and information resources to students and parents as well as lesson plans for teachers.
The Children's Power Play! Campaign: A promotional campaign to encourage 9-11 year-old children and their families to eat more fruits and vegetables and get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The program provides information through schools, community youth organizations, supermarkets, food services, and the media. The Children's Power Play! Campaign is funded by USDA and provides free resources, materials, and training to schools and after school programs where 50% or more of the students are enrolled in Free and Reduced-price meal programs. Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x204.
Dairy Council Curriculum: This organization provides free nutrition education curriculum that is research-based and aligns with California state standards in Language Arts, Math, Science and the newly adopted Health Education standards.
California Healthy Kids Resource Center: A free resource library offering nutrition and health education curriculum and resources to California schools.
Physical Activity Guides: Fitness guides that provide information on the many ways families can be active.
Sonoma County Safe Routes to School: This organization provides online resources and customized support while working together with schools, parents, and the local community to give children an active, healthy start and end to the school day, reduce traffic congestion, and improve the health of the community and the environment. For more information about starting a SRTS program in your school, or to find out about funding opportunities. Call their staff at (707) 545-0153.
Let's Move! A national initiative to give parents the support they need to provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available.
CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child Health has activity boxes that provide teachers guidelines, class management techniques, and instructions to give students P.E. activities that meet national standards, positive reinforcement of the CATCH classroom message, and over 50% of their time spent with you engaged in heart-healthy moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 202.
SPARK: SPARK is a research-based, public health organization dedicated to creating, implementing, and evaluating programs that promote lifelong wellness. SPARK strives to improve the health of children, adolescents, and adults by disseminating evidence-based Physical Education, After School, Early Childhood, and Coordinated School Health programs to teachers and recreation leaders serving Pre-K through 12th grade students. Telephone contact: 1-800-SPARK PE.
99 Ways to Make Your After School Program Even Healthier: An interactive booklet that provides everything from nutrition and fitness lesson plans to shopping menu tips to strategies to involve parents and community members.
Healthy After School Snack Guide: This guide has menus using foods that can be easily obtained at convenience stores and that fall within the federal reimbursement rate budget.
Parent Resources - Physical Activity
- Physical Activity Guides: Fitness guides that provide information on the many ways families can be active.
- Sonoma County Safe Routes to School: This organization provides online resources and customized support while working together with schools, parents, and the local community to give children an active, healthy start and end to the school day, reduce traffic congestion, and improve the health of the community and the environment. For more information about starting a SRTS program in your school, or to find out about funding opportunities. Call their staff at (707) 545-0153.
- Let's Move: A national initiative to give parents the support they need to provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available.
Parent Resources - Healthy Eating
- Healthy Kids: Tips to help your children eat well at home (English/Spanish).
- Healthier Classroom Parties: Ideas for healthier snacks for classroom parties (English/Spanish).
- Choose My Plate: A website with interactive tools to get a personalized eating plan for any age, or to plan and assess food and physical activity choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- Healthy food outlets, restaurants nutrition/cooking classes, food assistance in south Santa Rosa; Healthy Eating Active Living Resource Guide to healthy eating in south Santa Rosa in English and Spanish.
The Children's Power Play! Campaign:A promotional campaign to encourage 9-11 year-old children and their families to eat more fruits and vegetables and get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The program provides information through schools, community youth organizations, supermarkets, food services, and the media. The Children's Power Play! Campaign is funded by USDA and provides free resources, materials, and training to schools and after school programs where 50% or more of the students are enrolled in Free and Reduced-price meal programs. Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 204
Harvest of the Month: A program to interest students in consuming fruits and vegetables comprised of four key monthly elements: Educator Newsletters, Family Newsletters, Menu Slicks and Press Release Templates, and Harvest of the Month posters. Network staff can provide training and materials to local school food service managers. Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 204.
CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child Health has activity boxes that provide teachers guidelines, class management techniques, and instructions to give students P.E. activities that meet national standards, positive reinforcement of the CATCH classroom message, and over 50% of their time spent with you engaged in heart-healthy Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA). Contact the Northcoast Regional office for the Network for a Healthy California at (707) 543-5810 x 202.
North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC): The NBCC has translated a Culture of Health, including a Healthy Eating and Active Livestyle (HEAL), into a child development curriculum that spans diverse age groups. NBCC trains staff to link its USDA approved curriculum with existing educational assessment tools. NBCC also mentors and coaches educators in implementing a Culture of Health and has developed strategies to fully integrate nutrition education throughout the entire curriculum.
Northern California Center for Well-Being: North Bay’s premier health education and wellness center provides resources for healthy eating and physical activity in English and Spanish. Certified Promotores de Salud (Spanish speaking lay health workers) are trained in basic nutrition with a focus in childhood obesity prevention; iron-rich foods; physical activity promotion; and indoor air quality/asthma prevention. Hands-on learning tools include cooking classes; harvest of the month; Rethink Your Drink; and Breast Feeding Bingo. Contact (707) 575-6043
St. Joseph’s Promotores Program: Provides resource connections and social support to the community, to help both individuals and groups develop preventive strategies that address issues of primary concern to them. The Promotores also help families to enroll in Children's Health Insurance Programs, food stamps and other public benefits. Contact (707) 547-4602.
Benefits of Healthy Eating & Fitness on Academic Performance: Physician Speakers will come speak to your parent group or school administrators or students to discuss the benefits of healthy eating and fitness on academic performance. Contact: Chris Bekins at (707) 565-6680.
Bauman College: Offers “Eating for Healthy Kids” that inspires kids to dig into Eating for Health™ through fun, interactive nutrition education, food demos and games. The program presents nutrition education and snack demos to school-age children in public and private schools, after-school programs, and community education settings. Contact (707) 794-8710 or www.baumancollege.org
Petaluma Health Center: Offers PLAY (Petaluma Love Active Youth), a childhood obesity program for children and parents. Contact (707) 559-750 or www.phealthcenter.org
Nuestra Voz: This organization offers gardening and healthy cooking classes; Karate Do; Zumba, Aerobics; Yoga and soccer. Contact: 707.939.9369
For More Information
For More Information contact:
Sarah Underwood
Sonoma County Department of Health Services
sarah.underwood@sonoma-county.org or (707) 565-6628