About the Schools and After-School Domain:

Next meeting:

Meetings are the third Tuesday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Community Health Improvement Partners
(9370 Chesapeake Drive, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123)

Visit the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative Calendar for a complete schedule of upcoming meetings.

Domain Champions:

Naomi Butler, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
Deirdre Kleske, California Project LEAN
Paige Metz, San Diego County Office of Education

COI Staff Contact:

Cheryl Moder, Director, 858.609.7961, email
JuliAnna Arnett, Food Policy Manager, 858.609.7962, email
Melanie Briones, Senior Project Manager, 858.609.7976, email
Melanie Cohn, Manager, 858.609.7963, email
Erica Salcuni, Coordinator, 858.609.7964, email

Meeting Minutes:

2012

Domain Summary:

The Schools and After-School Domain is comprised of school staff, nurses, and food service directors; before- and after-school program specialists; physical activity experts; public health professionals and others committed to the prevention and reduction of childhood obesity. This domain workgroup assists school staff, teachers and administrators; after-school program specialists and concerned residents in the promotion of healthy food environments and physical activity opportunities in schools, after-school program, and neighborhoods. For a complete overview of this domain's objectives and activities, click here.

Schools and After-School Domain Strategies:

The following is a partial list of strategies that aim to engage schools and after-school program providers to prevent childhood obesity. A complete list of strategies can be located in Call to Action: Childhood Obesity Prevention Action Plan.

• Strategies for Schools:
  • Adopt and implement the four goals of the California Department of Education and The Superintendent's Task Force on Childhood Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease:
    • Support high-quality instructional programs in health education and physical education that provide students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to develop and maintain active, healthy lifestyles
    • Implement nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold on campus
    • Increase participation in school meal programs so that no child goes hungry
    • Create a school environment that supports the health of students
  • Make a broad, sustained committment to wellness by implementing nutrition education, physical education and physical activity programs on an ongoing, year-round basis to offer student opportunities to learn and practice healthy behaviors.
• After-School Programs:
  • Programs on school sites should, at minimum, follow districts' and/or school site wellness policies.
  • Programs not on school sites should develop wellness policies that include physical activity and nutrition standards and promote a healthy environment for all participants and staff.
  • All programs should serve foods and beverages that meet or exceed California School Nutrition Standards.

For a complete list of Schools and Out-of-School Programs Domain strategies, please see the Call to Action: Childhood Obesity Action Plan.

Domain partners are working with schools and after-school programs to implement these strategies through the following activities:

• Providing training, on-going communication and resources to school district wellness policy leads, wellness committees, parents, students, on-site preschools, charter schools, out-of-school providers and other community-based organizations.
• Providing school district representatives to serve as liaisons between the domain and school districts to provide technical assistance and resources to further wellness policy implementation.
• Advocating for school policy and environmental change with school boards and other decision-makers.
• Supporting projects in other Initiative domains related to school wellness.

Workplans:

The following documents are project outlines for this domain's current activities:

• Farm to School
• Let's Go Local Policy Recommendations
• Local School Wellness Policy Analysis Accessibility and Tracking
• Parent Engagement Trainings

Accomplishments:

To date, these common ambitions and commitment to school-age children have provided domain partners with the right tools for success. Recent accomplishments include:

• Developing county-wide wellness policy best practices and recommendations for school gardens, joint use agreements, and farm-to-school projects for dissemination to District Wellness Councils and other stakeholders.
• Creating and posting on the COI website a comprehensive policy clearinghouse with model policy language identified for 23 school wellness areas.
• Co-facilitating the Farm to School Taskforce, a network of school food service staff, farmers, chefs, public health professionals, and community members that collaborate to increase food literacy and access to local, healthful foods in the school environment.

Obesity Prevention Activities for Children Age 0-5:

The following activities provide support to San Diego County children age 0-5:

• Providing training, assistance with wellness policy development, ongoing communication and resources to schools with on-site preschools.
• Supporting adoption of district wellness policies and/or development of nutrition and physical activity policies at school-based preschools in collaboration with the Initiative's Early Childhood Domain.

After-School Resources

School Resources