Did you know that physically healthy students are better learners?  Implementing strategies that help students eat healthy and be active can result in decreased rates of student absenteeism, fewer behavioral problems, and higher school-wide test scores and grades. In order to promote the health and wellness of our students, the School District’s Wellness Policy states that each school should have a School Wellness Council made up of school health professionals, faculty, administration, a student (if it’s a secondary school), a parent representative, and community representatives.

The School Wellness Council is supposed to exist in each school in order to identify a school’s needs and implement simple changes that can help students make healthy choices. Wondering how to get your school’s Wellness Council up and running? The good news is that you can use an existing parent body at your school (such as the School Advisory Council) and merge your Wellness Council as a part of that parent group.

If you need assistance kick starting your School Wellness Council or need help identifying your school’s health and wellness needs, Eat Right Philly can help! The School District’s Eat Right Philly Nutrition Education Program (ERP) is a program that provides community-based nutrition education to students in grades K-12. Eat Right Philly’s mission is to educate, support, and inspire improved school wellness and culture so that School District of Philadelphia students and their families can live healthy lifestyles and achieve their fullest potential.

To read more about School Wellness Councils and how Eat Right Philly can help, check out this brochure! For more resources visit www.philasd.org/nutrition/resources.

If you or your school community members have further questions, contact Danielle Raucheisen, Assistant Director of Nutrition Education and Eat Right Philly/SNAP-Ed at draucheisen@philasd.org or call (215) 400-5356.