Groups That Help

Here’s how select organizations are supporting health and wellness in Colorado schools:

Alliance for a Healthier Generation–Healthy Schools Program
Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity • Workplace Wellness

Offers free access to a wealth of resources and tools that will help schools become a healthier place for students to learn and staff to work. Easy-to-use online tools guide schools through the process of identifying their status as healthy schools and develop a customized action plan to make positive and healthy changes. Offers schools, parents and community members tips and tools that address before- and after-school activities, competitive foods and beverages, employee wellness, health education, physical education, physical activity, policy and school meals.

Most helpful for: community members, parents, school wellness councils and teachers

Colorado Association for School-based Health Care
School Health Services

Advocates for public and private funding to develop new health centers in schools and expand existing programs. Provides technical assistance to put in place a school-based health care model. Evaluates school health centers to improve the delivery of high-quality health services for students.

Most helpful for: Colorado education leaders; policymakers; and school-based health center administrators, partners and clinicians

Colorado Association of School Executives
Coordinated School Health

Provides grant writing assistance to school districts. Conducts a member survey about the current practices and attitudes regarding healthy schools. Conducts a series of in-depth member focus groups around the state regarding beliefs, challenges, current practices and desired levels of support related to making schools healthier. Integrates a health and wellness component into its two main CASE professional development events (including breakout session topics, speakers and event offerings). Builds awareness and knowledge among CASE members through communication, including “A CASE for Healthy Schools” e-newsletter and website. Upcoming: formation of CASE Health and Wellness Steering Committee, workshops for CASE members and possible grant writing assistance for districts.

Most helpful for: principals and superintendents

Colorado Children’s Campaign
Coordinated School Health • Health Insurance • Nutrition • Physical Activity

Conducts advocacy and policy work on two healthy schools issues. The first: ensuring that public schools are a venue for supporting children’s health and wellness through state and federal policies that increase access to nutritious food at schools; facilitating the adoption and implementation of effective school health and wellness policies and practices; and expanding coordinated school health services and opportunities for physical activity at schools. The second: expanding schools’ involvement in signing up Colorado children who are eligible for public health insurance programs. The Colorado Children’s Campaign also supports school- and community-based enrollment sites for Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+).

Most helpful for: community members and policymakers

Colorado Department of Education–Nutrition Unit
Nutrition

Administers child nutrition programs, supports the School Food Authorities in providing safe and healthy meals and serves as an innovative resource for nutrition education and student wellness. Implements the following programs statewide: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Special Milk Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Afterschool Care Snack Program, HealthierUS Challenge and Summer Food Service Program. Provides nutrition education to professionals involved with the Federal Nutrition Assistance Program. Offers regional trainings and a statewide summer workshop.

Most helpful for: school food service directors and nutrition services staff

Colorado Department of Education–Prevention Initiatives
Colorado Connections for Healthy Schools
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Physical Activity • School Health Services

Supports coordinated school health programs statewide in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Promotes Colorado’s Roadmap to Healthy Schools, a blueprint for coordinated school health. Distributes funding to schools and school districts for coordinated school health efforts. Provides workshops and technical assistance about state physical education and health standards; evidence-based curriculum; fitness assessments; care for students with chronic conditions, obesity or at risk of being overweight; parent engagement; and school-level policy reform.

Most helpful for: physical education teachers, school nurses, school staff and school district leaders

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment–Prevention Services Division–Child, Adolescent and School Health Unit
Coordinated School Health • School Health Services

Partners with schools and local communities to promote healthy school-age children and youth. Supports the coordinated school health model, access to health care through school-based health centers and school health services, and a positive youth development approach by providing technical assistance, training and resources.

Most helpful for: school-age children, adolescents and their families

Colorado Health Foundation
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity • School Health Services

Provides funding to expand the number of public schools and preschools that offer health and nutrition education, physical education, healthy foods, physical activity, school-based health centers, new health centers, and mental or dental health services. Lobbies for policies that support healthier students. Builds leadership in support of healthy schools. Produces The Colorado Health Report Card.

Most helpful for: nonprofit leaders, parents, policymakers, principals and superintendents

Colorado League of Charter Schools–CharterCHOICE Food Service Collaborative
Nutrition

Works on behalf of Charter School Food Authorities to provide schools with access to nutritious breakfasts, lunches and snacks as well as federal and state reimbursements to subsidize them. Provides participating schools with services and technical assistance to help them meet the requirements of the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs as well as a venue to share ideas and increase awareness of the importance of building healthy schools.

Most helpful for: charter school leaders, charter school parents and legislators

Colorado Legacy Foundation
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity • School Health Services • Workplace Wellness

Helps school districts and schools put health and wellness policies into action. Offers an online health and wellness best practices guide with strategies, resources and action steps. Hosts events and workshops to raise awareness and share best practices. Provides grants to school districts to support healthy schools policy. Coordinates the Commissioner’s Choice Awards to recognize school districts and schools that apply best practices and get results.

Most helpful for: community leaders, district and school administrators, parents and school board members

Donnell-Kay Foundation
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity

Restructures the education system – and its financial system – to enable schools to incorporate health and wellness. Focuses on policy that supports individual efforts, which in turn serve as models for efforts across Colorado. For example, supporting the expansion of Revolution Foods into Denver.

Most helpful for: advocates for healthy schools, parents, policymakers and school leaders

EdNews Parent Colorado
Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity

Offers news, tip sheets and background information on the most talked about issues affecting students, including healthy schools.

Most helpful for: parents

Get Smart Schools
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity • School Health Services

Helps new schools adopt comprehensive healthy schools policies and practices. Establishes comprehensive and measurable health standards for participating schools. Assists schools with healthy school assessments, planning and implementation. Provides regular updates and information about available resources and methods for accessing resources.

Most helpful for: school leaders, staff and parents of new, high-performing Colorado schools along the Front Range that serve low-income students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. At least 40 percent of a school’s student population is eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

Hunger Free Colorado
Nutrition

Advocates increasing participation in and improving programs that help ensure all Coloradans at risk for hunger get nutritious meals daily. Identifies gaps in service, streamlines the sharing of information and expertise, and expands successful programs. Leads the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger in Colorado to increase participation in school breakfast and summer meal programs. Will publish a comprehensive five-year strategic plan in July 2010. Provides resources to the Colorado Department of Education, schools and nongovernmental organizations about federal nutrition programs and the emergency food distribution system.

Most helpful for: community members, faith community, principals, PTAs and PTOs, nonprofit leaders, school board members, service clubs, superintendents and teachers

LiveWell Colorado
Coordinated School Health • Health Education • Nutrition • Physical Activity

Supports the work of LiveWell communities in schools and school districts to promote coordinated school health efforts. Examples include Safe Routes, school gardens, physical activity programs and healthy food policies. Convenes stakeholders to discuss school food procurement. Hosts culinary boot camps for food service workers to refine their skills and experience cooked-from-scratch meal preparation techniques. Implements Go, Slow, Whoa at Laredo Elementary School in Aurora Public Schools to teach students how to make healthier food choices by identifying foods as belonging to one of three categories: Go foods, Slow foods and Whoa foods.

Most helpful for: community members, policymakers and school administrators

Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education–Healthy Schools Colorado Project
Coordinated School Health

Partners with the Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to put in place coordinated school health statewide. Provides technical assistance and training to school district coordinated school health coordinators and school-level coordinated school health teams.

Most helpful for: school district and regional wellness coordinators; principals; and school wellness team members such as community partners, school food service directors, health teachers, parents, physical education teachers and school nurses