June 23, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Durham, NC) – The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, recognized seven DPS schools for transforming their campuses into healthier places for students and staff.
Schools are eligible for Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum National Recognition Awards based on their levels of achievement. The DPS winners include:
Southern High Silver
Hope Valley Elementary Bronze
Mangum Elementary Bronze
Morehead Montessori Elementary Bronze
Brogden Middle Bronze
Neal Middle Bronze
Riverside High Bronze
Nationally, 275 schools received this honor. Fifteen North Carolina schools were selected with seven of those being from Durham Public Schools.
“Wellness and Safety is a primary area of our strategic plan and a focus of our district,” said Durham Public Schools Superintendent Eric J. Becoats. “These seven schools are setting a wonderful example and I hope we can replicate their success throughout the entire school system.”
To earn this award, each school revamped its meals service and physical activity programs to meet or exceed stringent standards set by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program, which provides expert advice and free resources to more than 12,000 schools nationwide to help them reverse the national trend in childhood obesity.
Examples of healthy activities include the Hope Valley Elementary Marathon, Riverside High changing its school store to include all healthy foods and drinks, and Southern High’s nationally-acclaimed nutrition renovation which includes changing athletic concessions to promote healthy choices, teacher walking clubs and multiple gardens growing fresh food.
The goal in DPS is to have all schools participating in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation by the beginning of the new school year.
“We commend the dedication of our healthy schools for their efforts to offer students and staff nutritious meals and a variety of physical activity opportunities,” said Ginny Ehrlich, chief executive officer of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “Their success proves that despite academic pressures and budget constraints, schools can develop environments that foster healthy lifestyles to benefit young people now and into the future.”
In addition to the Healthy Schools Program, the Alliance brokers and implements voluntary agreements with industry leaders to provide young people better access to healthier foods, beverages, physical activity and healthcare. In January 2011, the Alliance announced new multi-industry voluntary agreements that brought together leading food manufacturers, group purchasing organizations and technology companies to help America’s schools serve healthier meals at more affordable prices. As a result of these agreements, more than 30 million students across the country will have access to healthier school meals – including at least 14 million students who currently participate in the free and reduced lunch program.
The Healthy Schools Program is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Any school in the U.S. can enroll and receive free assistance and support to become a healthier place for students to learn and staff to work. Find out more at HealthierGeneration.org.
About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The goal of the Alliance is to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015, and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation joined forces in May of 2005 to create a healthier generation by addressing one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. The Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, restaurants, doctor’s offices and communities. For more information please visit: HealthierGeneration.org.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
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Media Contacts:
Tahira Stalberte
Durham Public Schools
Chief Communications Officer
P. 919.560.9112
C. 919.358.8876
tahira.stalberte@dpsnc.net
Jeff Nash
Durham Public Schools
Communications Coordinator
P. 919.560.2602
C. 919.412.7947
jeff.nash@dpsnc.net
Abby Manishor
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
P. 646.775.9152
abby.manishor@healthiergeneration.org
