‘Building Healthy Communities’ applications available for school health program
Michigan schools can apply for “Building Healthy Communities," a school health program supporting physical and mental health of students and staff. Michigan K-12 schools are invited to apply for "Building Healthy Communities," a comprehensive school health program that aims to support physical and mental health of students and staff. The program, which was created in 2009, aims to create healthier school environments, reduce childhood obesity, prevent chronic disease, improve academic achievement, and address mental health and well-being. New resources available this year include InPACT (Interrupting Prolonged Sitting with ACTivity), a classroom-based physical activity program designed to incorporate 4-minute exercise snacks into daily routines. Better With Breakfast is designed to help schools provide school breakfast in varied ways to increase student participation and increase school attendance and graduation rates. All public, charter and private nonprofit schools in the state are encouraged to review the full program descriptions and eligibility information at. application.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Staff Reports in Lifestyle
DETROIT — Michigan K-12 schools are invited to apply for “Building Healthy Communities,” a comprehensive school health program focused on facilitating critical changes to the school environment to support physical and mental health of students and staff. This academic year, nearly 150 schools are participating, impacting more than 62,000 students in Michigan.
Created in 2009, the program focuses to create healthier school environments, reducing childhood obesity, preventing chronic disease, improving academic achievement and addressing mental health and well-being.
The program strives to support students of all abilities and learning types, designing the program to be inclusive in supporting their physical and mental health.
New resources available through the program this year include:
Physical Activity Breaks: InPACT (Interrupting Prolonged sitting with ACTivity) is a classroom-based physical activity program designed to incorporate 4-minute exercise snacks into daily routines. The resource provides teachers with the necessary tools and instruction to lead their classes in short activity breaks throughout the school day to help prime the brain for learning and regulate student emotions. Classroom activity breaks energize and motivate students to be physically active.
Better With Breakfast: Research shows eating school breakfast can transform a child’s life, leading to higher test scores, calmer classrooms, fewer trips to the nurse’s office, and higher attendance and graduation rates. The program offers resources to help schools provide breakfast in varied ways — outside the cafeteria, in hallways or classrooms, or between periods — to help boost student participation. Schools have unique needs, so the program encourages schools to explore different breakfast service models to identify what works best for students and staff.
“The Building Healthy Communities program impacts thousands of Michigan students year after year, encouraging them to live healthy lives,” Ken Hayward, vice president and special assistant to the president for community relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, said in a written statement. “Throughout the 15 years of the program, we’ve seen distinct improvements in academic achievement, nutrition, and physical activity behaviors of participating students, and we continue to seek innovative ways to enhance the resources we provide."
The program is supported by multiple statewide organizations, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association, Michigan Fitness Foundation, Michigan Recreation and Park Association, Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Virtual, OK2SAY, SHAPE Michigan, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Center for Health and Community Impact.
“We are proud to support Michigan schools in making the healthy choice the easy choice,” Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, said. “Empowering students and teachers to make healthy choices, including eating healthier and being more physically active every day, sets them up for lifelong healthy habits and academic success.”
According to Rebecca Hasson, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, less than half of Michigan students get the recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise, resulting in potential problems with being overweight, feeling anxious or sad, missing school and not doing as well in their classes.
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All public, charter and private nonprofit schools in the state are invited to review the full program descriptions and eligibility information at. Applications for all programs are due by June 30, 2024.
Step Up for School Wellness: Flexible to meet the diverse needs of school buildings across the state. This program provides a menu of healthy eating, physical activity and well-being resources that schools can choose one or more from to make their school environment healthier and create a culture of wellness. Apply at buildinghealthycommunities.arewehealthy.com.
Engaging Middle Schools through Project Healthy Schools: Creates a culture of wellness enabling middle school students to increase physical activity, eat more healthily, and improve and understand mental health through classroom lessons specifically targeting sixth graders. Applications can be found at projecthealthyschools.org/building-healthy-communities.
Reducing Health Disparities in Elementary Schools: Focused on addressing the social determinants of health that have contributed to wide disparities in many communities across Michigan and implements the program in all elementary school buildings within a school district simultaneously. Districts interested in receiving the program can visit bhcwsu.org/our-program/application-procedures/.
More information on Blue Cross’s ongoing efforts to help improve childhood health is available at AHealthierMichigan.org
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: ‘Building Healthy Communities’ applications available