Slide 1

SHIP 3: School Strategies An Introduction to School Setting StrategiesJune 25, 2013

This quick tutorial presentation was made to provide an overview of the school setting strategies for SHIP 3. The information presented in this overview is current as of June 25th, 2013; however, it is recommended to check the SHIP website for questions and answers related to the SHIP 3 Request for Proposal for the most accurate, current information. 1ObjectivesProvide information on descriptions and goals of school strategy work, including:Active School DayHealthy School Food

Define priority populations and how prospective grantees can access relevant data

Review SHIP 3 school setting requirements

Three objectives that will be covered include:-descriptions and goals of the school setting strategies; Active School Day and Healthy School Food-a data source that will assist grantees in identifying priority populations within their communities-and finally, a recap of SHIP 3 requirements for school settings2Active School Day: DescriptionImplementing policies and practices that create active schools by increasing opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day, including:Safe Routes to SchoolQuality Physical EducationActive ClassroomsActive RecessBefore/After School Day

Lets start off with more information on Active School Day. In the Active School Day Guide to Implementation, this strategy entails implementing policy and practices that create active schools by increasing opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day. Possible evidence-based initiatives include:-Active transportation, otherwise known as Safe Routes to School. The impact would be an increase in kids and staff walking or bicycling to and from school.-Quality physical education is a promising strategy that may perhaps give the most powerful results in reaching MN youth and increasing physical activity. Increases in physical education class offerings, policy changes to the local requirements of physical education, and enhancements to the professional development and curriculum delivery are examples of quality physical education that could be initiatives that SHIP helps support.-Active classrooms is providing intentional bouts of physical activity that are embedded into mainstream classes, and can extend to even class transition times.-Active recess is providing further engagement of youth to be active during recess time, which could include shifting current practices to reflect recess before lunch, an increase in time devoted to recess, enhancements of opportunities for all youth to be physically active during recess, changes in policy to allow ALL kids to participate in recess, and even a shifting of practice to allow additional opportunities for recess time for both elementary and secondary students.-Finally, this strategy includes before and after school as a part of the active school day strategy. Reaching kids that currently participate, or intentionally seeking kids to provide additional opportunities outside of the normal school hours or calendar year to be physically active is an evidence based practice that this strategy can support.3Active School Day: GoalsIncrease physical activity for youth through policy, system, and environmental changesPlease refer to page 4-5 in Active Schools: Guide for Implementation for more details

The goals of active school day include supporting the PSE model for sustainable change which ultimately increase the targeted behavioral goals of increasing minutes of physical activity for youth. Please refer to pages 4-5 for some further examples of short term, mid term, and long range outcomes as referred to in Figure 1 on behavioral changes that are identified.

It is recommended that local public health supports schools in the selection of the active school day sub-strategies that would lead to the greatest success, taking into account various school priorities, areas of weakness, and staff/student/community buy-in. It is the hope of this active school day strategy that local public health can partner with schools and work can expand into several different supporting components; however, there is not a defined requirement beyond working on a minimum of ONE active school day strategy at each school site.

4Healthy School Food: DescriptionImplementing policy, systems, and environmental change by increasing access to healthier options and decreasing access to unhealthy options.Increasing health literacy (education) to school decision makers, which could include professional development which could lead to practice change.

Moving onto the healthy school food strategy. Healthy school food entails implementing policy, systems, and environmental changes by increasing access to healthier options and also by decreasing access to unhealthy options. In addition to focusing on access, this strategy also includes pairing access with increasing health literacy, educational components, to key stakeholders and decision makers. Keeping in mind this can include administration, school staff, including food service staff, students, and community partners, including highlighting parent engagement. Some tangible examples in addition to education, professional development and skill building workshops can assist with ease of making practice changes within the school food environment. It is encouraged that local public health become familiar with the Healthy School Food Guide to Implementation which will provide more details of current federal legislation that guides schools participating in federal school nutrition programs. 5Healthy School Food: GoalsIncrease the consumption of fruits and vegetables Decrease the amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugarPlease refer to pages 5-7 in Healthy School Foods: Guide for Implementation

***Please note: This strategy needs to address ALL of these goals, not one or the other.

The long term goals of Healthy School Food include changing behaviors through the increased consumption of healthier options and a reduction in foods/beverages that are considered unhealthy. Through increasing access to fruits and vegetables while decreasing the amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar in food/beverage options is an important mid term outcome to reach the long term goals. This strategy needs to include all of these overarching goals in the efforts to make a substantial impact. 6Priority PopulationsTargeting schools that have 50% or greater percentage of free / reduced meal eligibility-To access Public School List with Percentage of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Students Used for Eligibility Determinations on a school by school site basis visit: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/SchSup/FNS/SFSP/Elig/index.html

Through SHIP 3 communities should be targeting potential school partners and have a focus on schools that have a 50% free/reduced meal plan eligibility. To access a data base that includes individual school site eligibility please refer to the document titled, Public School List with Percentage of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Students Used for Eligibility Determinations. This report can be accessed on the Minnesota Department of Education website at the following highlighted URL. The document isnt all inclusive as private and some charter schools arent represented in this report. However, in trying to reach out to school partners this is a good first step in helping to assess current data on student populations. This is one indicator of reaching priority populations; however, communities can determine other targeted populations and may choose to reference the Health Equity Guide to Implementation for assistance with other data sets that may be helpful in establishing partnerships with local schools and districts. 7SHIP 3 School Setting RequirementsPartner with schools that serve priority populations and those that are willing to work on both Healthy School Food and Active School Day strategies.

Selected schools need to have an active school health council or wellness committee, if not convening of a school health council is an essential first step.

Some other requirements to consider when responding to the SHIP 3 RFP include thoughtful engagement of schools that WANT to work on Active School Day and Healthy School Food environments. This doesnt mean schools should be excluded if they are in the beginning stages of building trust and partnership but consideration of stakeholder buy in should be addressed.As was the case in SHIP 2.0, all schools should have an active school health council (wellness council) that is a primary internal player into implementation of any SHIP 3 strategies. Local public health could be a convening partner, but for best practice tips on functioning school health councils a wide variety of committee members should be represented when determining areas of focus on Active School Day and Healthy School Food initiatives. For more information on School Health Councils, please see Appendix C in either the Active School Day or Healthy School Food Guide to Implementation. 8SHIP 3 Guiding DocumentsPlease refer to the Guides for Implementation on both Active Schools and Healthy School Food for more information

If questions, please direct to: Health.MakingitBetter@state.mn.us

In closing, the Guides to Implementation are a great resource to reference when responding to the SHIP 3 RFP. Please utilize this resource and check the website for any current information that could assist with the SHIP 3 RFP application. If you do have any questions or concerns, please submit them to the following email address and they will be published for all to see the response. Due to the competitive nature of this RFP, individual questions cant be addressed by content specialists.Thanks for tuning into this quick SHIP 3 School Setting overview.9