Category: School Health Promotion
In October 2020, Well-Ahead Louisiana and the Louisiana Department of Education hosted the Healthy Schools Academy, a virtual professional development opportunity dedicated to improving student health and academic achievement. The event featured expert speakers from Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), and the Healthy Schools Training Krewe.
The Healthy Schools Academy was attended by 157 educators, paraprofessionals, school nurses, counselors, administrators, coaches, physical education and health teachers, district leaders and others looking for ways to support a healthy school environment across the 40 school systems they represent.
Session recordings from the Academy are now available to watch on-demand:
- Welcome to the Healthy Schools Academy: Well-Ahead Louisiana Director Melissa Martin kicked off the Healthy Schools Academy by providing an overview of Well-Ahead’s work in schools and how all school professionals can take the lead in promoting better health in their communities. Stephanie Jodeir, Well-Ahead’s School Health manager, introduced Louisiana Healthy Schools, the partnership between Well-Ahead and the Louisiana Department of Education, that works to improve student health and academic achievement.
- Your Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Journey: From Implementation to Sustainability: This presentation explains how schools can embed health and well-being into their school improvement and community alignment processes through using the ASCD & CDC Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model (WSCC) framework.
- School Wellness Committees 101: This session details the roles and functions of school wellness committees and provides a step-by-step process for building an effective team using the free resources available from Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
- Chronic Care Management for Students: Strategies for Schoolwide Support: This session highlights strategies to support care for students with chronic health conditions while promoting healthy behaviors, so students stay healthy and ready to learn. This session also outlines the student health resources available through Children’s Hospital New Orleans.
- Supporting Student Nutrition Beyond the Cafeteria: A healthy school nutrition environment provides students with consistent and accurate messages about good nutrition and ways to learn about and practice healthy eating throughout the school day. This session outlines how to implement practices that reinforce healthy eating behaviors.
- Moving Right Along: How to Boost Physical Activity for Students: Schools are in a unique position to help students get the nationally recommended 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity during recess, in the classroom, and before and after school. This presentation details how school staff can implement the strategies to create environments that invite students to get moving throughout the school day.
Looking to provide professional development opportunities for your staff? Visit our Training for School Staff page to learn more!
