School Wellness

About

The School Wellness work group is a network of researchers and school health practitioners who share ongoing work pertaining to school wellness policies, programs, and practices, and to foster partnerships for continuing this work. The work group aims to identify and address research and practice gaps and is focused on the implementation and evaluation of district policies, state laws, and federal policies and their impact on wellness practices in K-12 school settings.

Webinars

If you are interested in the recordings of any of these webinars, please email [email protected] to request it.

2025

Who benefits most from school meals?
Webinar Date: October 14, 2025

School Lunch Week: 2024-2025 FRAC CEP Report
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Piloting "Unbox," a Youth Food Policy Council Focused on Improving School Meals
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Iterative Steps for Leadership and Staff to Initiate, Implement, and Sustain Whole-of-School PA Programs
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025

USDA E-Star Evaluation
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Nurse-Involved Policy, Systems, and Environmental School-Based Interventions for Supporting Healthy Nutrition and Obesity Prevention among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Updated Food Education Standards and how this aligns to wellness initiatives in schools across the country (DeSorbo-Quinn & Meredith)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2025

2024

10th birthday party: A panel discussion on the future of school wellness research, policy, and practice
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Fellowship Research Project Presentations
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Spilling the Beans: How USDA updated School Nutrition Standards - and What Comes Next?
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Prevalence and Implementation of Weekend Food Assistance Programs Among a National Sample of US Public Schools (Poole)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Food Allergies in Schools (Dupuis)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2024

DiscoverU, a CDC-funded demonstration project for an afterschool program that integrates physical activity, nutrition, and social emotional learning (Arlinghaus)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Facilitating Safe and Active Transportation (LaJeunesse)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Active Schools (Kline)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024

2023

Walkabouts - uses movement to teach Math and ELA/Literacy standards for PreK-2nd students (Reed)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Impact of COVID and school meal waivers on nutrient quality of school meals (Cohen, Chapman, & Richardson)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2023

A Novel Policy Alignment and Enhancement Process to Improve Sustainment of School-Based Physical Activity Programming (Friday)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Behind the Carton: 2022 School Milk Report (Hahn)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2023

CDC Healthy Schools: Sneak Preview of New Cooperative Agreement (Sliwah & Merlo)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Head Start to Healthy Lifestyles: Promoting Physical Activity and Nutrition Education from a Social Ecological Perspective (Zhang)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Walking Classroom (Fenn)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Fellowship projects (Olarte & Tsai)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Lunch 4 Learning Campaign (Fernandez)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2023

2022

Improving active travel to school and its surveillance: an overlooked opportunity in health promotion and chronic disease prevention (George & Sliwa)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Exploring the implications of school food policy interpretations on public health outcomes of school-aged youth (Bode)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2022

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Presidential Youth Fitness Program: Listening session
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Play for Life: A Playbook to Develop Every Student Through Sports (Solomon)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2022

SFSP Programs in Children Hospital Settings (Plencner)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2022

School Meals for All Students: Lessons Learned from California and Maine (Wendi Gosliner and Juliana Cohen)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Youth Activity Profile Tool (Welk)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Physical Activity in Schools and Parent Attitudes (Webster, Bleich)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Healthier Generation's Wellness Policy Builder
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Parents experiences with grab-n-go meals in NYC (Jennifer Cadenhead and Thanh Thanh Nguyen)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022

 

2021

Systematic review of factors related to school meal participation (Juliana Cohen & Erin Hager)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The Best Food Forward (BFF) project
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Alignment Of US School Lunches With The EAT-Lancet Healthy Reference Diet’s Standards For Planetary Health
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Evaluation of longer lunch periods, recess, and movement opportunities for students during the school day
Webinar Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Screening for Social Determinants of Health in Schools
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Mis-implementation of National School Food Guidelines (Sarah Moreland-Russell)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Understanding Teacher Wellbeing and Social Support for Physical Activity in a School District during the COVID-19 Crisis (Anne Escaron)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2021

The FIT Study: A Cluster Randomized-Controlled Trial of Body Mass Index Screening & Reporting in Schools
Webinar Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Elementary Schools' Response to Student Wellness Needs during the COVID-19 Shutdown: A Qualitative Exploration of Innovation and Readiness (Lane, Calvert)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Evaluation of COVID-19 School Meals Response in Maryland: Spring 2020 (Hager)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021

2020

School Reentry for K-12 Physical Education, Health Education and Physical Activity (SHAPE America)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2020

School Closures During COVID-19: Opportunities for Innovation in Meal Service (Kinsey)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2020

A Systems Approach Helps Explain Significant Improvements in LWPs Among SNAP-Ed-Supported School Districts (LeGros, Orzech)
Webinar Date: Sunday, July 12, 2020

State and Federal Legislators' Perspectives on Child Obesity Prevention and Policy (CSPI)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Is It Program Error or User Error? Using Implementation Indices to Measure School Health Program Outcomes (Hoelscher)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020

2019

Physically Active Lessons & Their Effects on Physical Activity, Education, Health and Cognition: A Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis (Norris)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Healthy Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Overview
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Weight, Diet, and Academic Effects of a Breakfast in the Classroom Initiative (Bauer)
Webinar Date: Friday, October 18, 2019

Engaging State-Level and Local School Wellness Councils/Representatives: Insights from Researchers and Practitioners
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2019

WellSAT: Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT 3.0) (Rudd Center)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019

 

2018

The Healthy Schoolhouse 2.0: Findings from a Comprehensive School Wellness Intervention (Snelling)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2018

From Process to Practice: Better Understanding the Components of High-Quality Recess and the Implications for Schools (Massey, Claassen)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Physically Active Classrooms Energize: Teacher Perceptions and Student Outcomes (Calvert, Turner)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Updating School Wellness Policy Measurement: WellSAT 3.0 and WellSAT-Interview (Rudd Center)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2018

School Wellness Programming through SWITCH (School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health) (Welk, Lee)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Empowered Eaters: A Road Map for Stronger Nutrition Education Policies and Programs (Koch, Uno)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2018

 

2017

Structuring Urban Districts to Support Strong Wellness Policies (Action for Healthy Kids)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Increasing Student Participation in Meal Programs (Turner)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

School-Based Nutrition Interventions in Baltimore: Nutrition Education and Direct Intervention in High Schools (D'Adamo, Hager)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

School-Based Lunch and Recess: The Impact of Recess Schedule on Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavior
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

School Wellness Committees are Associated with Lower BMI z-scores and Improved Dietary Outcomes in U.S. School Children (Au, Gross)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2017

WellnessWins: Campaign Report
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Building Healthy Communities: Elementary School Program (Centeio) and FoodCorps: Creating Healthy School Environments (Koch, Ringstrom)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Do Food and Beverage Marketing and Promotion Policies and Practices Differ by District Characteristics? (Merlo)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2017

WellnessWins: Campaign Preview
Webinar Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

 

2016

Perspectives on Every Student Succeeds Act (Alliance for a Healthier Generation)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A Review of the First Nine Years of District Wellness Policies: Progress and Opportunities (Chriqui)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2016

High School Students' Insights on the Revised USDA School Meal Standards and School Food Environment (Chriqui, Schwartz)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Healthy Path to Student Success: Findings and Recommendations from a School Nutrition and Physical Activity Study
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Associations between School Demographic Characteristics and Physical Activity Practices in Nevada (Lounsberry Monnat)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Maryland Wellness Policies and Practices Project: Research to Practice Strategies (Hager)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Developing a Reliable, Valid Measure of School Wellness Policy Implementation: The WellSAT-1 (Rudd Center)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 12, 2016

 

2015

Creating Intersections for Policy, Practice, Research, and Community Collaboration: A State Based Example (Kay)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

What's New with School Meals?: Select Results from the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), 2014
Webinar Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2015

New Skills for New School Meals (Eidel)
Webinar Date: Thursday, October 8, 2015

Increasing High School Breakfast Participation - What Works? (Nanney)
Webinar Date: Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Maryland Wellness Policies and Practices Project
Webinar Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2015

School Physical Activity Policy Assessment (Lounsberry, Monnat)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Wellness School Assessment Tool 2.0 (Rudd Center)
Webinar Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2015