SAN BENITO – They’re healthier, slimmer and happier.
Ever since the administrators at Rangerville Elementary instituted a new wellness program, the school’s children – and staff – are eating better and exercising more.
The program has been so effective, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has just named the school a recipient of the Gold Award through its National Healthy Schools initiative. This after submitting paperwork outlining policies which are helping the school’s 365 students be more health conscious.
Parents and staff are also joining in the cause of fitness, and The Gold Award affirms their efforts are working.
“We are really grateful we got it,” said Principal Diana Atkinson. “We have seen students’ bodies change.”
Those changes have resulted from Atkinson and her staff developing new policies which meet the criteria of National Healthy Schools.
Those policies include requiring healthy foods at classroom birthday parties and other activities. Specifics about healthy foods were created by a committee of parents, teachers and two fifth graders.
“A lot of birthdays are celebrated, people want to bring in pizza, they want to bring cupcakes,” Atkinson said. “They started bringing healthy snacks, edible arrangements (fresh fruit), yogurt parfait, fruit cups.”
The new guidelines even affected how the PTA does fundraisers.
“The PTA has always sold chocolate,” she said. “This year we had to do away with that. We sold tumblers and we raffled off a picnic table.”
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The National Healthy Schools Award is a prestigious achievement that celebrates the hard work in creating a healthier school.
Schools that receive this award meet best practice criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and outlined in the Healthy Schools Program Framework of Best Practice Criteria. Awards are granted at the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels
To earn the Alliance’s National Healthy Schools Gold Award, schools must demonstrate implementation of specific practices in each of the following criteria:
• School Health and Safety Policies and Environment
• Health Education
• Physical Education and Other Physical Activity Programs
• Nutrition Services
• Health Promotion for Staff
• Family and Community Involvement
Source: Alliance for a Healthier Generation
