Enthusiastic teenagers are the latest group tackling the obesity epidemic. On Friday (Oct. 1), concerned high school students from throughout the Commonwealth will gather on the WKU campus for the Students Taking Charge Teen Health Summit to gain knowledge about resources available to assist in their efforts to improve the health of their school community. The one-day summit is organized by Kentucky Action for Healthy Kids and hosted by the WKU’s College of Health & Human Services.
The student-led school health movement is spreading rapidly throughout the nation. Gaining momentum is “Students Taking Charge” (STC), a national youth program that has enabled and given a youth voice to more than 60,000 teens to eat healthier and be more active at school during the 2009-2010 school year. STC is expanding to reach more teens in 2010-2011 as schools take advantage of the free materials available at www.StudentsTakingCharge.org.
In 2009, 19 Kentucky high schools were selected and awarded mini-grants for the Students Taking Charge program through a collaborative effort between Kentucky Coordinated School Health, Kentucky River District Health Department and Kentucky Action for Healthy Kids (KY-AFHK). Student teams at the selected schools used STC surveys and materials to assess their school’s nutritional and physical activity environment, develop an action plan to improve it, implement the action plan using the provided grant funding and learn how to be advocates for healthier school environments and policies.
After implementing their plans last spring, student teams were invited to participate in the Summit. With support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Summit enables students from schools that launched the Students Taking Charge program in 2009-2010 to showcase their experiences and offer support to students wanting to kick-off the program in their schools in 2010-2011. During the summit, students will hear presentations from a variety of community partners on topics such as farm to school initiatives, drinking water instead of carbonated soft drinks, and participate in fun activities such as yoga, dancing and creating healthy snacks.
The 19 high schools awarded mini-grants in 2009-2010 follows:
- Buckhorn High School in Perry County
- Carlisle County High School
- Christian County High School
- Covington Holmes High School in Kenton County
- Dixie Heights High School in Kenton County
- Fairview Independent High School in Boyd County
- Fulton County Area Technology Center/High School
- Harrodsburg Area Technology Center/Mercer County Senior High School
- Knott County Central High School
- The Learning Center in Fayette County
- Lee County High School
- Letcher County Central High School
- McCreary County Central High School
- Northside Baptist Christian School in Graves County
- Owsley County High School
- Perry County Central High School
- Todd County Central High School
- Wayne County High School
Students Taking Charge will expand in Kentucky through partnerships with local county health departments and funding from the state’s Preventive Health Services Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
John Cain, Kentucky Action for Healthy Kids Co-Chair, noted: “We’re excited about the positive responses from several community partners to participate in the Summit. The student response is especially heart-warming with more than 60 students attending a first time event.”
The Summit is a collaborative effort between the KY-AFHK, WKU’s College of Health and Human Services and the Office of Academic Affairs/Enrollment Management, the Coordinated School Health Initiative through the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department for Public Health, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Pennyrile Allied Community Services – Nutrition Outreach & Wholeness Program (PACS-NOW), and the Barren River District Health Department.
How Students Taking Charge Works: Students Taking Charge provides a framework for students to help their schools become healthier places. There are free, online surveys to evaluate current health practices; action plans; project templates; and best practices that work. Schools can customize the program to meet their unique needs with easy-to-use templates for projects such as a walk or bike to school program, local food initiative, or a non-competitive physical activity program that includes hiking, yoga, martial arts and dance. Students can share their stories and photos online, through a Flickr feed and interactive map.
About Action for Healthy Kids: Action for Healthy Kids® is the nation’s leading nonprofit and volunteer network fighting childhood obesity and undernourishment by helping schools become healthier places and our kids learn to eat right, be active everyday and be ready to learn. A collaboration of more than 65 national organizations and associations, corporations and government agencies and a network of 8000 volunteers representing leaders in health, education, nutrition, fitness and other organizations that serve and care about youth. Action for Healthy Kids continues to develop and refine a portfolio of programs and services ranging from nutrition and physical activity programs for before, during and after school to expert coaching on how to develop, implement and evaluate a school wellness policy or action plan.
Contact: Claire Arnold, (502) 254-2950 or Darnold98@aol.com
