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Alliance for a healthier generation with the yellow Toolkit Strategy banner

Part of the SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions Toolkit.*

Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program (HSP) supports school and district leaders in creating and sustaining healthy schools where students – especially those from underserved communities – can thrive. HSP is a PSE intervention designed to create healthier school environments for students and staff. It is among the nation’s largest school-based childhood obesity prevention and health promotion programs, addressing multiple factors that lead to inadequate health and life outcomes — from physical activity and nutrition to social-emotional health and sleep.

Developer
Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
Year
2006
Funding Source
American Heart Association
Free Material
Yes
Cost ($)
$0.00
SNAP-Ed Toolkit Classification
Research-tested
Evaluation Information
  • ST5b: 76 (70%) case study schools accessed the assessment between 2014 and 2019.
  • ST7a-b: Between 2014 and 2019, 49 (45%) case study schools have reported having a representative school health committee or team that meets at least 4 times a year and oversees school health and safety policies and programs.
  • MT5a,f: Between 2014 and 2019, 70 (64%) case study schools made at least one change to a nutrition item on the HSP assessment. Total enrollment at these schools: 21,950 students. 70 case study schools documented at least one change in writing or practice to expand access or improve appeal for healthy eating. Based on enrollment, an estimated 21,950 students could have encountered these improved environments.
  • MT6a: 52 (48%) case study schools have made at least one change to a physical activity/physical education item on the HSP assessment between 2014 and 2019. Through their engagement with HSP, 52 case study schools documented at least one change in writing or practice to expand access or improve appeal for PA.
  • LT5a: 70 (64%) case study schools have made at least one change to a nutrition item on the HSP assessment AND staff have received at least one training in nutrition between 2014 and 2019. 70 case study schools documented at least one change in writing or practice to expand access or improve appeal for healthy eating. In these 70 schools, this change was implemented together with staff training on continuous program improvement and policy implementation related to healthy eating and nutrition.
  • LT6a: 52 (48%) case study schools have made one change in PA/physical education items AND received at least one training in PA between 2014 and 2019. 52 case study schools documented at least one change in writing or practice to expand access or improve appeal for PA. In these 52 schools, this change was implemented together with staff training on continuous program improvement and policy implementation related to PA.
  • LT7a: Between 2014 and 2019, 15 (14%) case study schools received 20 Healthier Generation’s National Healthy Schools Awards.
Evaluation Framework Indicators
SNAP-Ed Connection Comments

*SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for States is a compilation of interventions. The toolkit was developed by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, The Association of SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT), and the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the USDA. It is designed and updated to help state SNAP-Ed administrative and implementing agencies identify evidence-based obesity prevention programs and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies and interventions to include in their SNAP-Ed plans.

Review date
Reviewer Initials
MR