Happy Anniversary HSC!

February 08, 2007 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Five years ago this week, 200 individuals representing 75 different organizations came together to learn about the important connection between learning, health and the school environment. Based on this and subsequent forums, the organizers adopted an ambitious agenda for improving the school environment as it relates to two of the major health threats facing children, asthma and obesity. Healthy Schools Campaign was born.

In the past five years, HSC has grown into a vibrant organization that advocates for a range of policies to make schools a healthy and safe place to learn work. Our initiatives include : green cleaning; support for recess and physical activity; energy-efficient school construction that promotes healthy indoor air quality; improving school breakfasts and lunches, as well as updating nutritional standards for foods sold outside the cafeteria on school grounds; and fair and equitable school funding.

We work for change in the marketplace and advocate for policy changes at the federal and state levels. We also work with school districts, with a focus on the Chicago area. We provide school stakeholders, including nurses and parents, with the knowledge and skills that they need to become effective agents of change in their school environment, and we are particularly concerned with the health disparities in Latino and African-American communities, including the high rate of asthma and obesity.

Our goals and programs for 2007 are very exciting, with a major focus on expanding opportunities for you to become involved. We’ll announce some new programs in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please visit our website and sign up for monthly newsletter and magazine. And let us know what issues and programs are of interest to you. We look forward to working together to make the school environment a healthy place for all.