Healthy Schools Campaign

USDA Proposes National Standards for Competitive Foods in Schools

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture proposed national guidelines for competitive foods, or foods sold to students on school grounds that are not part of the National School Lunch Program or similar services. These include a la carte cafeteria items and items sold in vending machines and school stores. We are glad to see the USDA take this important step forward in creating healthier school environments.

Schools and students are changing, and as such, school food and school policy must evolve with them. The National School Lunch Program began in 1945 as a means of fighting malnourishment, with a focus on achieving a minimum of calories and nutrients. For decades, this was the standard.

Now, as childhood obesity and other chronic health problems reach staggering rates and prevent students from achieving, reevaluating school food to ensure access to nutritious meals and snacks is essential. Last year, the USDA updated its guidelines for school meals for the first time in 15 years and shifted the focus from nutrient and calorie requirements to a plan that involved more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and other common-sense adjustments. These changes were a crucial step in the right direction. However, even with more nutritious school meals, students are still met with less healthy options in the same cafeteria line, or in on-campus vending machines. Creating a national standard for competitive foods and creating an overall environment for healthier choices is the next logical step. We need to allow for the healthy choice to be the easy choice.

The USDA has a 60-day comment period and, rest assured, the snack and beverage industries will be making their perspectives heard during this time. We'll be calling on everyone who cares about healthy food and healthy kids to speak up in support of strong and health-promoting guidelines. Our commitment is to ensuring that all students have access to nutritious food and a healthy school environment that will contribute to healthy habits for life.

Limiting Children’s Exposure to Pesticides

Photo by @melisslissliss

By Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

Ashley Hofmann recently earned her Masters of Social Work from the University of Missouri. Her academic research focuses on disparities in access to health care and how policy can act as a catalyst for social justice.

Pesticides are one of those products that can work too well -- they are meant to control unwanted bugs and rodents that carry disease, but also have the ability to cause harm to humans if not used correctly.  Children in particular are very susceptible to the dangerous side effects of these toxic chemicals.  In a new report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, doctors looked at where children come into contact with pesticides along with the acute and chronic effects of exposure.  

Children can be exposed to pesticides in their backyards and at school, as well as through their diet: eating foods grown using pesticides, even when those pesticides are used within the regulatory limits, can result in higher exposure to pesticides, according to a 2006 study.

While pesticides can have an immediate impact on children if they come into contact with them (such as nausea and respiratory symptoms), the authors’ main concern is what the toxins will do to children over time.  Studies show that chronic exposure to pesticides can lead to pediatric cancers, low IQ, and ADHD.

To limit children’s exposure to pesticides in all their forms, the doctors in the study made several suggestions for pediatricians and governmental agencies, including:

• Promote the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at home and in schools.  IPM is a process of using the least toxic pesticide to maximize results without causing harm to humans or the environment.
• Set restrictions on the spray of pesticides around schools and use of certain pesticides inside schools.
• Require pesticide containers to include labels indicating whether the ingredients (both active and inactive) are known to have harmful acute or chronic side effects on children.  

Let us know:  Do you spray your lawn or apply pesticides to your pets to control fleas and ticks?  Do you have practical tips for using IPM in your home or at your children’s school?

What Does School Food Mean for National Security? Retired Military Leaders Speak Up for Healthy Schools

By Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

Ashley Hofmann is completing the final practicum to earn her Masters of Social Work from the University of Missouri. Her academic research focuses on disparities in access to health care and how policy can act as a catalyst for social justice.

We all know that excess body fat is a concern for our individual health, but did you also know that it’s a concern for national security?  A group of retired military leaders at the nonprofit Mission Readiness has released a report [pdf] urging schools to decrease junk food sold in vending machines, a la carte lines, and stores as a way to stop the rising rates of childhood obesity, which leave 1 in 4 young people ineligible for military service.  

The report, "Still Too Fat to Fight" (a quick read with stories and graphs), begins with a simple statement: “We cannot succeed in teaching our children to eat healthier foods while selling them 400 billion junk food calories in our schools every year.”  The report goes on to explain:

The problem of junk food sold in schools is not just a national health issue. It’s a national security issue.  Over the past 40 years, obesity rates have more than tripled for children and teens. . . .  Meanwhile, too many schools across America still have vending machines and other venues where children can routinely buy candy, potato chips, cakes, cookies and sugar-sweetened fruit juices or sports drinks.  The calories add up.

While limiting the sale of junk food is not a solution by itself for the childhood obesity epidemic, it is part of the solution.  When schools sell candy and sugary drinks in cafeterias and vending machines, it works against national efforts to serve healthier school meals and parents’ efforts to help their children develop healthier lifelong eating habits.

This is not the first time we’ve heard that schools need standards for food sold outside the lunch program.  A report released earlier this summer from the Institute of Medicine, along with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, focus on these “competitive foods” (snacks in school)  as a culprit in childhood obesity.  But the push from military leaders highlights a different consequence of the epidemic.  The national problem is not only affecting individual health, productivity at work, and medical expenses (though the military report does mention that the government spends over $1 billion each year on weight-related injuries and cardiovascular diseases for members of the military and their families), but also has an impact on our ability as a country to build a strong military.

A focus on this connection between school food and military readiness is not a recent development.  In fact, when the National School Lunch Program was created in 1945, it was in part “as a measure of national security.”  Military leaders, concerned about the number of young men who were too malnourished for military service, called upon the nation to make sure that students received proper nutrition.  This drive shaped many of the program’s details, such as the fact that school lunches were required to provide a minimum number of calories but had no upper limit on calories.  Today’s children, of course, are facing a different set of challenges.  In 2009, Mission Readiness released its original “Too Fat to Fight” report that called on the nation to provide healthier school food, reduce access to junk food in schools, and offer nutrition education lessons.  (For more about the history of school food and how our nation’s vision for this program  has evolved over the years, check out HSC President and CEO Rochelle Davis’ recent blog.)

Schools play an important role in reversing the obesity rates because of the amount of time children spend at school and the calories they consume there.  A 2005 study by the USDA found that approximately 400 billion calories from junk food are consumed at school each year.  Districts that have put regulations in place to limit these low-nutrient, calorie-dense foods, along with providing health education and increasing physical activity, have seen a decrease in obesity rates in their students.  Efforts to remove unhealthy snacks from schools, along with healthier lunch standards and support from the community, will help to ensure a brighter, longer future for our children.

As adults, we hold responsibility for the health of our nation’s children.  And more than responsibility, we have the power of our voice and vote to protect our children’s health and future.  You can write to your members of Congress and tell them you support healthy food in schools; call your school district superintendent to talk about the district’s wellness policies; and meet with your school principal and teachers to ask how you can work together to make sure the school supports kids’ health.  You’ll make a difference not only for individual children but for our nation as a whole.  What could be more patriotic than that?

'It’s Not Rude to Ask about Food!': Film Urges Consumers to Drive Changes With Their Choices

By Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

Ashley Hofmann is completing the final practicum to earn her Masters of Social Work from the University of Missouri. Her academic research focuses on disparities in access to health care and how policy can act as a catalyst for social justice.

What if you changed just ten percent of your food habits? Would you eat more organics, buy food with less packaging, get eggs from a local grower or cook at home more often?  If 10 cents of every dollar you spent on food was shifted to healthier, more sustainable choices, what kind of impact would that make – on your health, the economy, the environment?

These are the questions behind a new documentary called Food Patriots, which I first heard about at an institute on food access around the world presented by the University of Chicago's Center for International Studies, followed by a dialogue with filmmaker Jeff Spitz.

The goal behind the film is to spark a conversation about our individual purchasing power as consumers of food.  

The choices we make in (and out) of the supermarket drive the food industry and determine what is available, both physically on the shelf and financially at an affordable price. The idea is that growers, manufacturers, and retailers respond to market demands. Consider the example of something as simple as ketchup: if today we all stopped buying ketchup with high-fructose corn syrup in it, for example, not only would the ketchup recipe change, but companies would also purchase less corn from large agribusinesses, which in turn could open up markets for farmers who grow produce for human consumption. The list of examples goes on and on: increased consumer demand could increase our access to chicken raised without antibiotics, recycled packaging, food with fewer additives and fillers and much more. Where would you start?

The film urges consumers to find out where their food comes from and how healthy it is, using the mantra, "It's not rude to ask about food!"

As individuals, each of us can make a small 10-percent change.  As a whole, we can drive changes in industry, the economy, and the health of our planet, our children, and ourselves. 

Not sure how to get started changing your food habits?  The film’s website has 10 great  suggestions that are easy and practical first steps.  Here are a few other resources to get you thinking about the power of your dollar:

• Save money shopping organic: An article in the Los Angeles Times with tips
• Good Food on a Tight Budget, an interactive resource guide by Environmental Working Group and Share Our Strength

Also, take a moment and head over to the Food Patriots web site to see the film trailer, join the effort, and watch member videos showing changes they are making in their communities.  And be on the lookout for the documentary’s release in January!

Re-envisioning School Food for Today’s Generation of Students

by Rochelle Davis, HSC President and CEO

This month, we’re seeing our nation’s school nutrition community take an important step in the process of re-envisioning school food. With the start of the new school year, schools across the country are implementing new USDA nutrition standards that reflect a movement to transform our nation’s school lunch program from one that supplies calories to a generation of under-nourished children to one that focuses on providing nutrient-rich meals for a generation of children facing high rates of obesity and related illnesses.

This is an important step in a larger movement that has been underway for more than a decade. It’s not perfect and not without challenges, but it’s an incredibly valuable step forward for kids’ health.

When the national school lunch program was created in 1945, it was seen in part as a measure of national security. Military leaders, concerned about the number of young men who were too malnourished for military service, called upon the nation to make sure that students received proper nutrition. This drive shaped many of the program’s details, such as the fact that school lunches were required to provide a minimum number of calories but had no upper limit on calories. The program was designed with the primary goal of making absolutely sure that students got enough to eat.

Today, we are facing a different set of challenges. Sixty-plus years after the school lunch program began, military leaders again urged schools to make changes to their food program out of concern for the number of young men and women who were facing serious health problems, this time as a result of overweight and obesity. The military leaders joined parents, educators, medical experts and others in calling for school meals to focus not on increasing children’s calorie intake but instead on providing healthy, nutrient-dense food that is lacking in many kids’ diets, foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

For the past decade, we’ve seen a shift in the way our country thinks about school food and we’ve seen an effort to answer the call for healthy changes. The USDA, the primary funder of school food, has been working to re-engineer its program from one that focuses on delivering calories to one that focuses on the type of nutrition that today’s generation of children needs.

This effort has been surrounded by activity from across sectors -- we’ve seen the growth of the farm to school movement, a requirement for schools to develop wellness policies, even money for school kitchen facilities in the federal stimulus funding. More recently, we’ve seen programs like Food Corps, which engages recent college graduates in helping kids learn about healthy food with school gardens and nutrition education. First Lady Michelle Obama has brought great energy and attention to the issue with her Let’s Move initiative. And of course, schools across the country began making changes to transform their programs and focus on healthier school meals.

The 2010 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the bill that provides funding and sets policy for school food, brought federal changes that reflect the direction of this movement -- including the new nutrition standards going into effect this month.

The bill required the USDA to update its nutrition standards for school food for the first time in fifteen years and tied an increase in funding (about six cents per meal) to these improvements. These updates are based in current nutrition science and in an understanding of the health needs of today’s generation of children. These are the standards that we’re seeing in action in schools this month.

What do the new standards look like? They bring a whole set of sensible healthy changes -- providing more fruits and vegetables, making sure that more of the vegetables are the nutrient-rich dark green and orange type, serving more whole grains, adjusting portion sizes and, for the first time, setting a limit on the number of calories schools may include in one lunch. These new standards aren’t perfect, but they are an important and valuable step forward. The standards are part of our nation’s journey to re-envision school food that began more than a decade ago and will surely continue for years to come.

We’ve heard from school nutrition directors that the standards bring new challenges for reporting and that many are still working through implementation. Others report that the changes they have made over the last few years have positioned them well to put the new standards in action. Tight funding has for many years been a real problem for school food programs, and that continues to be the case.

Successfully changing a food program at the school level often means providing nutrition education so that students have a positive reaction to the changes. All of us -- advocates, parents, school nutrition leaders -- have a role to play in working through these challenges and helping make this new vision for school food a healthy reality for our nation’s children.

What Do the New Nutrition Standards Mean for School Lunch?

As kids across the country head back to school this month, they’re finding something new in the cafeteria: healthier school meals shaped by updated nutrition standards. This year, the USDA updated the nutrition standards it sets for school meals for the first time in more than 15 years. (For more on how these standards came about, check out HSC’s blog.)

What do the new standards mean for the lunches kids see on their trays? The highlights: more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and age-appropriate portion sizes.

We’ve created a new infographic that shows the new standards in a simple format. Take a look and let us know what you think! Click the image below to check out the new infographic.



In addition to the changes we’re seeing in the cafeteria this year, the new nutrition standards include changes that schools can phase in over the next several years.  The years ahead will bring even more whole grains (by 2014, all grains served in school lunch will be rich in whole grains) and less sodium.

For more information about the updated standards and what they mean for school lunch, visit the USDA’s Healthier School Day site or check out this detailed comparison chart [pdf].

Throughout this week, we’ll be featuring more perspectives and insight on the new nutrition standards. Stay posted for more!

Plus: Share your tray! The graphic HSC created represents one way the new nutrition standards could be put in action. What do the new standards look like in your school? Show us a picture of your school lunch! Tweet your photos to @healthyschools or tag Healthy Schools Campaign on Facebook.

How Do Snack Policies Shape Student Health?

by Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

Ashley Hofmann is completing the final practicum to earn her Masters of Social Work from the University of Missouri. Her academic research focuses on disparities in access to health care and how policy can act as a catalyst for social justice.

My food philosophy is “out of sight, out of mind” – if I don’t have cookies in my kitchen, I’m less likely to eat them.  A new study shows that the same principle applies to schools as well.  The study found that students in states with strong nutrition standards for snacks gained less weight than their counterparts residing in states with weak standards or no standards at all. 

States were placed into two categories based on laws regulating snack and a la carte items sold in schools, also known as competitive foods.  (Click here for a recent blog on the USDA’s proposed rules regulating snacks in schools.)  The researchers monitored the BMI of 6,300 students in 40 states between 2004 and 2007, as they progressed from fifth to eighth grade.  The results showed that over the four years, students living in states with strong nutrition laws gained 0.44 fewer BMI units, which is about 2.25 pounds for a 5-foot, 100-lb child.  While this may seem like a small number, it’s actually quite significant -- imagine the effect of gaining or not gaining an extra two pounds every year!

While this is new and important information, the study is not saying that the laws are directly responsible for the decreased weight gain, only that there is a correlation.  Many child health experts believe that these types of school nutrition polices are a key step in the right direction when it comes to creating environments that support health.  These policies also reinforce healthy messages students get through nutrition education and help students develop good eating habits. As Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, pointed out, “What are the downsides of improving the food environment for children today?" 

Something we see consistently at HSC is that policies, such as the state laws in this study, really do make a difference in student health.  Without them, progress is limited to situations where a parent or teacher not only is passionate about healthy food, but also has the motivation, time, and resources to actually make it a priority.  Strong school nutrition laws, along with the assistance and incentives that can come with them, provide schools with a foundation on which to build health-promoting environments.

The good news is that we’re starting to see more strong policies that support student health.  Proposed recommendations in a recent Institute of Medicine report, along with higher nutrition standards in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, are putting more emphasis on the role of government, both federal and local, in creating environments where health is a priority and making the healthy choice the easy choice.

Dr. Daniel Taber, an author of the study and fellow at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said that nutrition standards are most effective when they “are specific, required and consistent.”  Strong language is an important factor for school food laws to be implemented and have a meaningful impact, but so is the support of parents, teachers, and school administrators.  Here is a handy guide from the CDC that discusses ways for parents, teachers, and staff to support healthier school food options. 

Does your state or school district have polices for snack foods sold in schools?  If so, how do they shape the wellness environment? 

Plus: Take a look at this infographic, designed for the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative, which shows snack options in school vending machines across the country.

Finding Fresh Food in the Farm Bill

By Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

What’s the Farm Bill have to do with school food? A lot, actually. And it has the potential to do a lot more if Congress votes to promote healthy food by making it physically and financially accessible through updates to the Farm Bill.

As it relates to school food, the Farm Bill acts mostly as a funding mechanism through the purchase of farm commodities, support of fresh produce programs, grants aimed at developing local supply chains, and provisions to encourage schools to source locally-grown food. The problem arises in funding levels for different types of crops. In 2010, for example, corn and soybean growers received $5.5 billion in subsidies. But most of this isn’t the kind of corn-on-the-cob you grill or the edamame you add to your salad; it ends up as silage, ethanol, and high-fructose corn syrup. This type of spending policy is currently prioritizing fuel and feed over fresh food.

The 2008 Farm Bill took steps to support healthy eating by requiring the USDA to spend more of its budget on fresh food -- $200 million per year. (In case you don’t have a calculator handy, this means corn and soybeans received 28 times more funding than fresh apples, oranges, and broccoli.) Last week the Senate passed their version of the bill, named the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, which increases funding for community food projects and farmers markets, and introduces a farm-to-school pilot program in five states.

At HSC, we commend Congress on their steps to increase support for fresh, healthy food through the Farm Bill and urge our elected officials to continue making changes that will support student health and wellness. HSC makes the following recommendations for the Farm Bill:

• Increase the required amount USDA spends on fresh fruits and vegetables to support the nutrition guidelines set forth in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
• Provide commodity support for the School Breakfast Program at a value of 10 cents per meal served to help schools meet new nutrition standards and rising numbers of participants
• Allow school districts to apply for Community Food Projects Competitive Grants to encourage their participation in building local food networks, supporting local growers, and bringing fresh produce to children

Now that the Senate has taken positive steps toward these recommendations, we look to the House to ensure the Farm Bill continues to promote healthy food options by providing adequate funding for school meals and grants to local farm-to-school networks. Representatives need to hear that fresh, local food for students is a priority. We encourage you to send your representative a letter urging support of fresh, local food in the Farm Bill. 

Take action by sending a letter here.

Over the next few weeks we’ll hear from several guest bloggers about the bill’s impact on the future of school food, obesity rates, and community food initiatives. In the meantime, check out this infographic examining the disconnect between the government’s nutritional recommendations and funding levels for fuel and feed.

Stay posted for updates!

Plus: Interested in learning more about the Farm Bill? Check out HSC's Farm Bill fact sheet!

Students Bring Healthy School Lunch to Congress: Invite Legislators and Staff to Try the Lunch!

Last week, the student chefs of Chicago Vocational Career Academy presented a healthy school meal they created for Cooking up Change Chicago at a special briefing on Capitol Hill! The lunch featured oven-fried chicken drumsticks from chicken raised without the use of antibiotics, just like much of the chicken on the menu at schools here in Chicago.

At the briefing, which was hosted by The Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming and School Food FOCUS along with HSC, school food leaders discussed the move by CPS to purchase 1.2 million pounds of these drumsticks from Amish farms in nearby Indiana to be scratch-cooked for lunch in the city’s schools.

The culinary students prepared for the briefing with a trip to Miller Poultry in Indiana, where they learned about farming practices and about how the chicken featured in their lunch is raised without the use of antibiotics. Student chef Diamonte B. said, “I think this trip really gave us a better understanding of what we are cooking and what happens to the food.”

With their knowledge of healthy school food -- and expert perspective on student preferences in the cafeteria -- the culinary students were stars at the Congressional briefing. Kudos to Ciara L., Sheanice D., Kaliah H., Diamonte B., Tatiana R. and Jerome S. for sharing their point of view and bringing their tasty, healthy school lunch to Congress.

Next week, the team will return to Capitol Hill to join five other teams from across the nation in speaking up for healthy school food! On Monday, they will compete in the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest. On Tuesday, they will again share their meal and speak at a Congressional briefing on healthy school food. That day, samples of school lunches designed by each of the six teams will be served in the Longworth cafeteria, which serves Congressional leaders and their staff.

Lend your support to the students’ efforts by inviting your legislators and their staff to attend the briefing and enjoy the student-designed lunches in the cafeteria!



Stay posted for updates this week as the student teams get ready for the Cooking up Change national finals in D.C.!

Plus:  The CVCA team’s healthy lunch was in the spotlight in The Washington Post! Check out this great story, The chicken that flew from Chicago to Capitol Hill.

Advocates, National Leaders Gather for Presentation of Recommendations to Secretary Sebelius and Secretary Duncan

L-R: Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Rochelle Davis, President and CEO of Healthy Schools Campaign; Gail Christopher, Vice President of Program Strategy for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education; Jeff Levi, Executive Director, Trust for America’s Health

Yesterday, HSC hosted a special event with Trust for America’s Health at the National Press Club to release our recommendations for improving education through wellness to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

We were thrilled that such a remarkable group of national leaders came together for an event focused on the idea that healthy students are better prepared to learn. In addition to HSC’s Rochelle Davis and Jeff Levi of Trust for America’s Health, speakers included:

• Gail Christopher, Vice President for Programs, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Helayne Jones, President and CEO, Colorado Legacy Foundation
• Melinda Landau, Manager of Health and Family Support Programs, San Jose School District
• Allison Slade, Founder and Principal, Namaste Charter School
• Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association
• Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
• Stephanie Whyte, Chief Health Officer, Chicago Public Schools

The Health in Mind recommendations reflect a new approach to making health and wellness part of the school experience. We invite you to check out the executive summary and recommendations online. In the days ahead, we will share case studies illustrating these ideas in action.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Many thanks to the remarkable advocates and leaders who made the Health in Mind launch a success!

Plus: Check out press coverage of Health in Mind! Reuters, Education Week, NEA Today and AFT News published coverage and analysis of the recommendations and event.

Physical activity break at the Health in Mind recommendations release event

HSC and Trust for America's Health Present Recommendations to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

HSC and Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) today released policy recommendations focused on supporting schools in addressing health and wellness in order to improve student learning and achievement. The recommendations were presented to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

“Healthy students are better prepared to learn and succeed in school,” said Rochelle Davis, HSC President and CEO. “An increasing body of research backs up this common-sense notion. This is especially critical in light of the vast health disparities that exist in our nation. Unless we address health and wellness in schools, our nation’s efforts to close the achievement gap will be compromised.”

The recommendations, Health in Mind, note that incorporating health and wellness into school culture and environment, student services and curricula can support student health, help close the achievement gap and ensure this generation does not become the first in American history to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.

Two years ago, the Affordable Care Act created the National Prevention and Health Promotion Council (NPC), which brought together 17 federal cabinet agencies and offices from across the government to address prevention.  The NPC released the National Prevention Strategy, which commits the entire federal government, not just the health agencies, to integrating health into their work.

“The Strategy and these recommendations represent a major culture shift in how the nation views health – health will no longer be separated from education, transportation, housing and other clearly connected policies,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of TFAH and Chair of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. “Health in Mind’s focus on students and schools promises to have a long-term payoff by improving education and the quality of life for today’s kids as they grow up – they will do better in school and be healthier.”

Health in Mind focuses on several federal initiatives and policies that can broadly benefit the health, well-being and education of the nation’s students. Some of the recommendations include:

• Prepare principals and teachers to promote student health and wellness through professional development programs and in-service training that equips them to identify and address student health issues while creating classroom and school environments that support all students’ wellness.
• Provide schools with strategies to partner with parents as agents of change for integrating health and wellness into education.
• Incorporate health and wellness into school metrics and accountability systems to allow schools to make data-driven decisions about how health and wellness impact student learning.
• Incorporate health and wellness into recognition programs to motivate schools to adopt policies and practices that promote student health and wellness.
• Increase the Department of Education’s capacity to provide leadership and guidance on integrating health and wellness into schools as a way to improve academic performance.
• Reduce barriers that schools face when seeking reimbursement for health services delivered to Medicaid-eligible students, providing a level of funding that can increase access to health and prevention services, particularly through school nursing.
• Re-think the role schools can play in our nation’s prevention efforts and the ways that the Department of Health and Human Services can support schools in creating the conditions for health.

“Together, we can create the conditions for health and well-being in our nation’s schools,” said Gail Christopher, vice president – program strategy for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner and funder of this work. “Implementing these recommendations can build on existing momentum and accomplish meaningful change that shapes children’s health and learning for a lifetime.”

At the presentation of recommendations, union leaders representing the nation’s teachers voiced support for prioritizing health in schools.

“The link between student health and student achievement is not theoretical—it is a fact.” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Yes, there are many educational and academic issues that we need to address. But making schools better also means that we must create environments that provide steady support for health and good nutrition.”

“Our members work with students every day whose health and school conditions impede their ability to learn," said National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. "That’s why NEA members are taking the lead to advocate for school and learning conditions that result in a higher level of student engagement and fewer absences."

More than 70 organizations signed on to the Health in Mind vision statement also presented at the briefing.

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We invite you to learn more! Check out the executive summary and full recommendations online.

Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness

This week, we’re excited to share more about our newest initiative, Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness. Tomorrow, May 9, we will release policy recommendations from Health in Mind to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at a special event in Washington, D.C.  Stay posted for updates!

Educators know that healthy students are better prepared to learn and succeed in school. Yet current health and education policy misses several simple, vital opportunities to boost academic success through health promotion and school wellness. The nation’s children are struggling academically and could become the first generation to live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents. At the same time, our nation faces a growing achievement gap that research increasingly connects to health disparities.

It is for this reason that HSC is partnering with Trust for America’s Health on this exciting new initiative. This effort focuses on policy recommendations for immediate, practical changes at the federal level to help close the achievement gap and create a healthy future for all children.

The Challenge

The link between health and learning is clear. Healthy, active and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, be engaged, and be ready to learn. Often, however, the school setting does not support health. In today’s school environments, all too many students spend their days in buildings with unhealthy air, do not have the opportunity to be active, and do not have access to fresh water, nutritious food or a school nurse. Many students come to school with one or more health problems that compromise their ability to learn. The prevalence of chronic diseases — including asthma, obesity and diabetes — has doubled among children over the past several decades. This has implications not only for children’s long-term health but also for their opportunities to learn and succeed at school.

This challenge is especially critical in light of the vast health disparities that exist in our nation. Low-income minority students are at increased risk of health problems that hinder learning. These same students are more likely to attend schools that do not provide health-promoting environments; for example, they often attend school in buildings with unhealthy indoor air and lack opportunities such as recess to be physically active during the day. Research continues to link health disparities to the minority achievement gap and suggest that unless we address these health disparities, efforts to close the education achievement gap will be compromised.

The Obama administration has made addressing the achievement gap a top priority. In the past two years, the federal government has also demonstrated a strong commitment to disease prevention and health promotion with initiatives including the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign and the release of the National Prevention Strategy.

The purpose of Health in Mind is to delineate strategies that federal agencies can deploy to create the conditions for health and learning in our nation’s schools. These immediate, practical strategies can serve as a starting point for broader change in the health and education sectors.

Creating the Conditions for Health and Learning

To truly support learning, schools must create the conditions for health. Given the strong connection between health and learning, this is central to schools’ core mission of student learning.

What does it mean for schools to support student health? A healthier school environment is one which supports students’ well-being and in which student health builds a foundation for learning. In this environment, good nutrition, physical activity, basic safety, clean air and water, access to care, and education about how to make healthy choices allow students to thrive. In a healthy school, students learn—through lessons and through example—to value their own health and wellness.

These recommendations reflect a new approach to making health and wellness part of the school experience. This means that wellness is not relegated to an occasional health lesson or physical education class—it is part of math, science, lunch and everything in between. It means providing teachers with professional development related to children’s physical and emotional development, and integrating health into every subject, reward system and classroom management strategy.

Achieving this ultimate vision will require leadership and commitment at many levels, from classrooms to Washington, D.C. The goal and challenge of Health in Mind is to make concrete recommendations that fall within the federal government’s role and can have a significant and sustainable impact on two national priorities: reducing the achievement gap and transforming our health care system.

Tomorrow, we will present these recommendations to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Stay posted for updates and the full recommendations!

Milestones and New Initiatives in the Weeks Ahead!

This week, HSC is kicking off one of our busiest and most exciting months yet! The weeks ahead are filled with dynamic events and new opportunities built on work for healthy food and fitness in schools. We are excited to share these milestones and new initiatives!

Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness · May 9
We believe that healthy students are better prepared to learn and that schools must address health and wellness in order for all kids to achieve. On May 9, we will bring this message to national leaders as we present policy recommendations to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at a special event in Washington, D.C. Our nation is facing a dual crisis: a growing achievement gap and children who for the first time in history may live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.These recommendations focus on simple, common-sense steps initiated at the federal level that can help schools leverage the power of health and wellness to boost student achievement. Learn more about Health in Mind here.
* If you are interested in learning more about the event, please contact Alex Schaible by email or at 312-419-1810.

Congressional Briefing on Serving Food Raised without Antibiotics in School Lunch · May 10
The high school culinary students who placed first in HSC’s Cooking up Change Chicago healthy cooking contest wowed judges with a lunch featuring freshly-baked chicken drumsticks. That chicken was raised without antibiotics on Amish farms in nearby Indiana, like much of the chicken now on the menu in Chicago Public Schools. On May 10, the students will take part in a Congressional briefing on serving food raised without antibiotics in school lunch. That day, the lunch they created will be served for lunch in the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria! Learn more here.
* Send a letter inviting your senators and representative to attend the briefing and try the students’  award-winning school lunch!

Parents United for Healthy Schools Annual Summit · May 17
The parent leaders of HSC’s Parents United for Healthy Schools/Padres Unidos para Escuelas Saludables will have much to celebrate and much work ahead as they gather for the sixth annual Parent Summit for Healthy Schools. This coalition, which brings together parents from Chicago’s Latino and African-American communities to speak up for school wellness as a way to address health disparities, has achieved new victories for children’s health. Parent-led wellness teams have initiated school-level changes across the city and successfully advocated for important district policies, including bringing recess and Breakfast in the Classroom to the city’s elementary schools. Parents are now looking ahead to supporting schools in making wellness a priority as the city transitions to a longer school day. Learn more about Parents United here.
* For live updates from the parent summit, follow HSC on Twitter and keep an eye out for #ParentsUnited on May 17.

Fit to Learn Graduation · May 18
Teachers who have completed HSC’s year-long Fit to Learn professional development program will celebrate their graduation at a special event bringing together principals and district leaders to share ideas and strategies for boosting wellness in schools. Fit to Learn focuses on practical approaches to making health and wellness a regular part of the classroom experience. Teachers gain the skills to fit healthy habits into daily learning—integrating nutrition education and fitness into classroom lessons that meet learning standards in math, reading, science, social studies, art and music. Learn more here.
* Bring healthy new ideas to your classroom! Check out activities and stories from Fit to Learn teachers on HSC’s blog.

Cooking up Change National Finals · May 21
Across the country, student chefs are cooking up change! These teams of high school culinary students have impressed judges and guests at local competitions and are now getting ready to compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C. Teams are challenged to create a healthy school meal that meets high nutrition standards on a tight budget and with limited ingredients. Teams from Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, Santa Ana, St. Louis and Winston-Salem have secured their spots in the national finals. Which team will take home the trophy? Learn more here.
* Send your compliments to the chefs! Cheer on the teams with a tweet using #CookingupChange or a message on HSC’s Facebook page.

Cooking up Change Congressional Briefing · May 22
The day after the cooking contest, the student chefs will bring their healthy school meals to Congress! A student-designed lunch will be served in the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria and at a Congressional briefing on the future of school food. At this briefing, the student chefs will share their experience and speak about why healthy school food matters. Learn more here.
* Send a letter inviting your senators and representative to attend the briefing and try the students’  award-winning school lunches!

Go for the Gold in Food and Fitness Celebration · May 30
At this celebration, we’ll recognize the second cadre of schools to meet the rigorous standards of the HealthierUS School Challenge through Go for the Gold, HSC’s partnership with Chicago Public Schools to support schools in meeting the high challenge’s high standards for healthy school food, physical activity and nutrition education. Through Go for the Gold, Chicago is answering First Lady Michelle Obama’s call to action! To date, 45 CPS schools have been recognized as HealthierUS Schools, an additional 30+ schools have submitted their applications, and dozens more are making changes. Learn more here.
* Check out the practical resources and tip sheets focused on physical activity, nutrition education and more from Go for the Gold!

We’re thrilled to share these exciting events! For updates throughout the month, check out HSC’s blog, Twitter and Facebook page!

Students Tour Farm, Prepare to Share Lessons with Congress about Chicken Raised without Antibiotics

By Brittany Wright, HSC media and outreach specialist

CVCA students at Miller Poultry

Last week, I accompanied a group of Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA) culinary students, including the winning team from the Cooking up Change Chicago healthy cooking contest, to Miller Amish Poultry Farm.

The CVCA team won top honors at Cooking up Change Chicago with a lunch featuring freshly-baked chicken drumsticks; that chicken was raised without antibiotics on Miller Farms. Students in Cooking up Change are limited to ingredients that school dining managers are able to order for school lunch and this year for the first time, that list includes fresh chicken raised without antibiotics. Chicago Public Schools recently began serving this chicken as part of its lunch program.  You can learn more about the freshly-baked chicken in Chicago schools here.

On the tour, the students had the chance to meet Amish farmers and learn how Miller raises chickens without antibiotics in a cage-free, humane environment. Mark Tilbury and Kerri McClimen of The Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming  explained the importance of antibiotic-free food production. To learn more about the use of antibiotics in food production and its connection to health, check out this excellent overview from Pew. (For another great overview of the issue that also discusses the decision by CPS to begin serving chicken raised without the use of antibiotics, check out this article in Wired science blog.)

CVCA student Kaliah explained, “This field trip has given me a chance to understand how chicken is produced.” Classmate Jerome Sims said he’d learned, “when the animal is healthier, the meat will be better.”

After the students’ hands-on experience with chickens, we headed over to the processing plant and learned about the different measures to ensure food is safe for consumption as it is prepped for distribution throughout the Midwest to customers including Whole Foods, Chipotle, a variety of regional grocery stores, and recently Chicago Public Schools.

After the trip, Cooking up Change teammate Ciara Lawson explained, “It has given me more background information on how healthy [antibiotic-free chicken] really is. It can change a person’s perspective.” Her teammate Jerome Sims added “I feel great because we used natural and healthy chicken” in the winning Cooking up Change lunch. Student chef Diamonte said, “I think this trip really gave us a better understanding on what we are cooking and on what happens to the food.”

Now, the CVCA students will bring these lessons to Congress! On May 10, the students will take part in a Congressional briefing on serving food raised without antibiotics in school lunch. That day, the lunch they created will be served for lunch the House of Representatives cafeteria! Take a moment to send a letter inviting your senators and representative to attend the briefing and try the students’ award-winning school lunch!



Later in May, the students will be back in Washington, D.C. to compete against teams from across the country in the Cooking up Change national finals. Stay posted for updates!

 

EPA Releases Draft School Environmental Health Guidelines for States

by Mark Bishop, vice president of policy and communications

In 2007 Congress charged the U.S. EPA with the task of issuing voluntary guidelines for states on how to develop and implement environmental health programs for schools. Now, we are excited to report that the draft guidelines [pdf] are out and available for public comment.

We’re thrilled that the EPA is releasing this document and emphasizing the importance of school environmental health. Providing a resource that helps states promote environmental health and support schools in addressing health issues is incredibly important and can have significant benefits for the nation’s children for years to come. Thank you to the EPA for your efforts on this work.

To really make these guidelines effective and helpful, however, we believe the EPA needs to address several key issues with the current draft. Our specific concerns are described in more detail in our comments to the EPA (available here in .doc format), but my most significant concern with the current draft is the need to connect environmental health programs with state policy.

It’s clear through our experience and research that the states with effective environmental health programming are the same states that have policies supporting the development of such programs. If the EPA wants to support states in promoting health in schools, it needs to identify best practices and recommendations for successful policy development.

In fact, in January 2011, HSC convened a meeting of stakeholders to discuss and develop recommendations to EPA on this topic. These recommendations [pdf] addressed ways to develop effective state policies that could support healthy school environments. Key findings included:

• Policies that are developed with the engagement of school stakeholders are more likely to be successfully implemented than those that are developed without input from these important constituencies.

• Mandates, even those that are unenforced or include opt-out options, can lead to more effective policy implementation than can voluntary guidelines alone. Policies that include opt out clauses with public disclosure are politically acceptable to policymakers.

• Interagency cooperation is key to the successful design and implementation of environmental health policy. Promoting collaboration and creating opportunities for NGO engagement would support more comprehensive program development and improved communication with schools.

• Policies that build on existing school policies are more likely to be adopted and implemented. (Examples include school improvement plans, school report cards, inspection protocol, etc.)

• Understanding current trends in education policy is an important step in identifying additional policy handles.
• Recognition programs can be important tools for changing school policy and practice, and there are good examples of other federal agencies that have successfully implemented these types of programs.

We are glad the EPA has released this draft, and now urge the EPA to revise the draft guidelines to include a focus on connecting school programs to effective state policies.

We encourage you to share your feedback with the EPA as well! Click here to submit your comments. Comments must be submitted by this Friday, April 20 at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Webinar this Thursday: Improving Education through Wellness

We're thrilled to announce an exciting webinar that HSC is hosting this Thursday with Dr. Charles Basch, author of Healthier Students are Better Learners. You can check out the description below and register here.  Please join us for this thoughtful and dynamic discussion.

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Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness

March 29, 2012 · 12:00-1:00 PM central · Webinar

Research documents what parents and educators know: healthy students are better prepared to learn. How can we put this simple fact into action to boost achievement in our nation’s schools? This webinar will provide an overview of Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness, a new initiative from Healthy Schools Campaign and the Trust for America’s Health. Health in Mind encompasses specific, practical policy recommendations the nation can implement to make immediate improvements without significant expense. Speakers, including Dr. Charles Basch from Columbia Teachers College, will highlight the important role schools can play in disease prevention and health promotion and will discuss the connection between health and learning.

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HSC is hosting a series of webinars throughout the spring on issues related to school food and health in schools. Check out the links below to learn more and register.

A School Nurse in Every School: Addressing Barriers to Adequate Funding for School Nursing
April 9, 2012 · 11 AM - 12 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

Quiet Innovation for Healthy School Food
April 16, 2012 · 1-2 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

The Small Business Side of Improving School Food
May 1, 2012 · 1-2 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

We hope you'll join us!

A Look at Toxic Schools with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta

CNN’s “CNN Presents” recently shed light on school indoor air quality during their Toxic Schools segment.

The presentation spotlights different stakeholders including parents, students, and teachers who were adversely affected by mold, dust, carcinogens, and chemicals. Parents discussed how their children experienced headaches and breathing problems as a result of their school facilities. Most alarming, the special revealed that an estimated one-third of public schools have air quality that causes respiratory problems for children.

Protection from Filth by Clark from Afton, VA

Aside from causing persistent health issues, exposure to these conditions also caused students to miss school, inhibiting their ability to learn and succeed. For instance, nine-year-old Matthew Asselin missed 53 days of school as a result of frequent hospitals visits and recovery.

Toxic Schools also highlights that while schools serve as academic institutions for students, they are work environments for faculty and staff. The segment references a 2010 National Association of School Nurse survey that estimates that health of 40 percent of students and staff are adversely affected by school environments. Joellen Lawson, a former Connecticut special education teacher spotlighted in this presentation, was diagnosed with a debilitating respiratory disease as a result of constant exposure to mold. Again, unhealthy school facilities adversely affect student learning when an educator’s ability to teach is inhibited.

Through Your Lens, a photography contest and exhibition that HSC presents in partnership with Critical Exposure and the 21st Century School Fund, creates opportunities to spotlight school facilities and the impact they have on learning. The photo submissions showcase a wide spectrum of school environments both good and bad, but the message is clear: students and teachers deserve a healthy school environment in which they can learn, work and succeed.

Broken Window by Ian from Baltimore, MD

We encourage you to raise your voice on school indoor air quality. Tell Congress to fix schools in need of repair as part of its jobs-creation effort. Learn more about the Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Billand send a letter to your Senators and Representative at www.fixamericasschoolstoday.org.

View Toxic Schools Part 1 and Part 2 online at CNN. 

These stories and those investigated by CNN remind us that every child deserves a healthy school environment.

Thank you to CNN for taking an in-depth look at this issue. 

Did you watch the special presentation? What are your thoughts?

 

USDA Releases New Nutrition Standards for School Food for First Time in Fifteen Years

Today, for the first time in 15 years, the USDA released updated nutrition standards for school food. We applaud the USDA for taking this important step and applaud the many advocates who, by speaking up for a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act in 2010, set the wheels in motion for the USDA to make these critical changes.

The new guidelines draw on the latest nutrition science and take into account the health risks facing children today, including the childhood obesity epidemic and related illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. Updates include:

• Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables.
• Reducing sodium in meals over the next 10 years.
• Setting calorie maximums for the first time.
• Serving only unflavored 1% milk or fat-free flavored or unflavored milk.
• Increasing whole grains substantially.
• Minimizing/eliminating trans fat.

You may remember a media storm late last year about a move by Congress to intervene in the USDA’s process and insist that a small amount of pizza sauce count as a vegetable in a school lunch, or a smaller buzz over the summer when potato lobbyists urged the USDA to remove limits on starchy vegetables.

What happened with those efforts? Simply put, the frozen pizza lobby got its way. The potato lobby got its way, too. As a result, the standards that the USDA released today are not as strong as the ones it initially proposed. That said, these standards are tremendously important and a significant step forward for school food. We are glad to see this important progress and are committed to supporting schools in putting the new standards in practice.

We see much work to be done and urge everyone who cares about healthy school food to stay involved. Here’s what you can do:

Talk with your school food service director. Find out how the school food leaders in your district are responding to the new guidelines. How do they approach putting the standards into practice? What challenges do they anticipate? Knowing that the school community is following the issue and is supportive of the health-promoting changes can make a big difference in implementation.

Take the next step: consider the HealthierUS School Challenge. These new standards set the minimum requirements for school nutrition; many school districts (both large and small) do and will continue to exceed the standards. If your school community doesn’t want to count pizza as a vegetable or serve french fries four days a week, think about ways that you can use voluntary standards to go beyond these requirements. The HealthierUS School Challenge, a voluntary USDA program, is a great place to start. At HSC, we worked with Chicago Public Schools to develop a school food program that meets the gold standard of the HealthierUS School Challenge. Learn more about the HealthierUS School Challenge here.

Stay engaged as the USDA develops standards for snacks and vending. Just as the Child Nutrition Act authorized the USDA to update school food standards, it also called for the agency to update standards for “competitive foods” -- that is, foods sold outside the school meal program in vending machines, fundraisers or school stores. The USDA will take on this task next and needs advocates who care about healthy food in schools to stay engaged and lend support for health-promoting standards in this area.

Kudos to the USDA for taking this important step and to the advocates and school food service directors who will work to turn these guidelines into healthier meals for our nation’s students.

School Indoor Air Quality in the Spotlight this Weekend with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta

One of the most basic promises of a school building is that it will provide a safe environment where students and teachers can focus on learning. Very simply, the school environment should not put students’ health at risk. But what happens when schools fall into disrepair and no longer fulfill that promise?

This weekend, CNN will bring much-needed attention to the issue of indoor air quality in schools, exploring the ways this widespread and often overlooked problem affects kids’ health and their long-term academic success. In this segment, CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will visit schools across the country to examine the impact of poor indoor air quality.

Check out this behind-the-scenes preview:

For the past several years, HSC has partnered with Critical Exposure and the 21st Century School Fund to present Through Your Lens, a photo contest and exhibit in which students and teachers share photos of their school buildings. One of the most striking impressions from the photos is that so many schools need so many basic repairs to address issues -- from leaky roofs to moldy walls -- that affect the quality of the air students and staff breathe every day.

While this is a massive issue, it’s one that is often overlooked -- especially at budget time. The national backlog for this type of school repair is estimated to be in the range of $200 billion, a number that’s expected to grow as states and school districts face shrinking budgets and postpone facility repairs rather than cut classroom budgets.

What can you do? We encourage you to join us in leveraging this opportunity to make a difference in the air children breathe in our nation’s schools:

• Watch CNN’s segment this weekend and join the conversation online. It will air this Saturday, January 14 at 8 p.m., 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. EST, and again this Sunday, January 15 at  8 p.m., 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. EST.  Then raise your voice to tell CNN and the online community how important this issue is. You can share your reactions via Twitter (to @cnnpresents or @sanjayguptacnn) or online at www.CNN.com. 

• Tell Congress to fix schools in need of repair as part of its jobs-creation effort. The Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Bill would provide funding for much-needed school repairs while creating jobs in sectors especially hard-hit by the economy. Learn more and send a letter to your Senators and Representative at www.fixamericasschoolstoday.org.

• Check out student and teacher photos in Through Your Lens. This striking collection of images shows the reality of schools in need of repair; it also shows the potential of safe, healthy schools that support learning, including many older buildings that have simply been well-maintained over the years. See the photos at www.throughyourlens.org.

Safe, healthy indoor air is a simple and fundamental part of a good learning environment. We’re looking forward to the segment this weekend and applaud CNN and advocates across the nation who are working to bring attention to this critical issue.

School Siting Guidelines Mark Significant Step in Protecting Children's Health

By Rochelle Davis, President and CEO

Earlier this month, the EPA released its voluntary School Siting Guidelines [pdf] which are intended to help communities make the best possible decisions when it comes to determining where a school should be built. I applaud the EPA for developing these guidelines and providing a tool that will help ensure the safety of children and staff. 

As a member of the EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) School Siting Task Group, which was assembled by the EPA to provide input on the school siting guidelines, I was happy to see that the final guidelines address many of the concerns originally expressed by our task group and take into consideration the comments that were submitted from people around the country during the open comment period. 

The release of the new guidelines is the first time the federal government has taken steps toward preventing schools from being built on contaminated land.

The document provides detailed guidance on a number of topics including how to assess potential sites for schools and how to identify environmental issues that might pose a threat to student and staff health. We were especially excited to see that the guidelines also recognize the importance of engaging the entire school community in school siting decisions and call for “meaningful public participation” from school stakeholder groups such as parents, teachers, school personnel and nearby residents. 

The EPA has identified four underlying principles that serve as the foundation for these guidelines and demonstrate the EPA’s commitment to supporting educational outcomes and protecting the health of the entire school community. The four principles are: 

1. Safe and healthy school environments are integral components of the education process;
2. The environmental review process should be rigorous, thorough, well documented and include substantive and ongoing, meaningful public involvement;
3. Schools should be located in environments that contribute to the livability, sustainability and public health of neighborhoods and communities; and
4. The school siting process should consider the environmental health and safety of the entire community, including disadvantaged and underserved populations.

These guidelines provide a great foundation for helping communities make school siting decisions that protect the health of students, staff and the school community. I commend the EPA for their hard work and look forward to sharing this resource with HSC’s stakeholders.

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Plus! The National Trust for Historic Preservation also applauded the EPA's new guidelines. Check out their great guest post.