Move Health Forward in Louisiana Schools
Be a Leader for Healthy Schools
Schools are the right place for a healthy start. As a school professional, you play an important role in helping students establish lifelong healthy behaviors.
John Stewart, Athletics manager and teacher at Louisiana Key Academy, is one of the many school professionals in Louisiana who has taken the lead in moving the health of his community forward. Learn about how John worked to implement healthy changes at his school to become a WellSpot!
By connecting with Well-Ahead, schools can learn how to support employee health, geaux tobacco-free and model healthy behaviors for their students. They can also get connected to training and resources to learn how promote healthy eating, get students moving, and champion oral health—during, before and after school. All of these changes can make a positive impact in your community.
Change begins with you—take the lead in your community today!
Health Data for Louisiana Schools
We’re pretty proud of our way of life in Louisiana and our lifestyle has a big impact on our overall health. These numbers affect every aspect of life in our communities, including academic success.
14%
of children 12-17 years old have tooth decay or cavities¹
180000+
of Louisiana high school students currently use tobacco²
13.2%
Louisiana high school students are overweight or obese³
1 in 4
overweight or obese students are at risk for poor academic achievement compared to 1 in 5 non-overweight or obese students³
Healthy Changes in Louisiana Schools
If we want to set our next generation up for success, we must move Louisiana’s health forward. Students with unhealthy behaviors or chronic conditions may miss more school, which reduces their opportunities for learning. They also may face lower academic achievement. Research shows that healthy school environments can improve students’ academic performance and overall health. When schools make the healthy choice the easy choice, students can grow to be healthy and successful adults. Making healthy changes in schools can connect our communities to a healthier future.
Healthy Behaviors In Louisiana Schools
Schools can, and should, promote healthy behaviors. Ensure your students have a healthy start to a healthy future. Change the conversation around health at your school and implement changes that can help your students learn, succeed and thrive. All students deserve the opportunity to be healthy and successful. Each small change can influence health, one step at a time. We are here to help! When you commit to becoming a WellSpot, we will walk alongside you to implement these healthy changes. Learn how you can be a leader at your school.
Model Healthy Behaviors for Louisiana Students
Promoting employee health is key in creating a healthy campus environment. Healthy employees are happier, more productive and absent less. They are also powerful role models for students, which can support students’ health and academic success. Invest in the health of your employees by making these key changes on your campus.
Geaux Tobacco-Free in Louisiana Schools
Schools are in a uniquely powerful position to play a major role in reducing tobacco use among youth. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and youth are particularly vulnerable to its effects. Geaux tobacco-free in your school by putting in place these key changes. These changes can also help your staff geaux tobacco-free!
Promote Healthy Eating in Louisiana Schools
A healthy school nutrition environment helps students practice healthy eating before, during and after school. You can improve your school’s nutrition environment in the cafeteria, in the classroom and at school events. You can implement these programs in your school to help your students eat healthy.
Get Louisiana Students Moving
Physical activity can help boost academic performance, improve classroom behavior and strengthen cognitive skills and attitudes. Opportunities for physical activity occur before and after school, during the school day and in physical education classes. By prioritizing different types of physical activity, you can help your students get active.
Prioritize School Staff Training and Learning
Encourage Healthy Habits Outside of Schools
Many students regularly attend before- or after-school programs. These can be academic, athletic, enrichment or community programs. These settings are great opportunities to teach or reinforce healthy habits. Making healthy changes in these programs can make a big impact on student’s health and learning.
Citations
1 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2018-2019. National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data query.
2 Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, 2019. https://wellaheadla.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2019_LYTS_FINAL.pdf
3 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019.
We are here to help! We’ve developed a set of wellness benchmarks just for schools that want to implement healthy changes like these. From implementing a tobacco-free policy, to supporting breastfeeding mothers, to increasing access to healthy food choices, these benchmarks provide evidence based strategies to move the health of our communities forward.
We will walk alongside you as you work to meet these benchmarks. Once enough benchmarks are met, we will officially designate you as a Level 3, Level 2 or Level 1 WellSpot—our highest designation.
Being designated as a WellSpot is a big accomplishment—so your community needs to know all about it! Upon designation, you will receive a recognition certificate from the Louisiana Department of Health. You will also receive an official WellSpot decal to display on the entrance of your school. In addition, your organization will be added to our interactive WellSpot map. You will also receive a promotional toolkit to help you promote your designation on social media, to the press and more!