The Steps School workgroup is facilitated by JoEllen Colson of the North Central Educational Service District. The school workgroup is comprised of parents, teachers, school staff and community organizations from Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties who share an interest in the health of the school environment.

The school workgroup brings diverse partners together to share knowledge, resources and success stories in the areas of good nutrition, physical activity and tobacco prevention. Through coming together as a team, we are able to utilize best-practice in our individual schools.

Meetings are generally loose in structure, with a featured speaker approximately every other month. Guest speakers address the Steps focus areas and have included local dietitians, physical fitness experts and foodservice directors.

What are some efforts in the schools?

         

Projects in each of our main focus areas are in various stages of development and implementation, including:

Nutrition/Obesity/Physical Activity:

  • Steps provided funding for school nutrition teams to attend the Annual Healthy Foods Expo.  The Expo is an opportunity to taste numerous examples of healthy foods for teams to consider for use in their school stores, food service and school vending.
  • Support for teachers to present at or attend the Healthy Schools Summit.  This statewide summit will focus on the crucial role health plays in academic performance.  A variety of workshops will be available, including how to integrate health into different content areas.
  • Continued technical assistance for the hard work of writing, adopting and implementing an effective Wellness Policy, as required by federal legislation.
  • Our North Central WA region has been the successful recipient of two highly competitive Carol M. White Physical Education Program grants.  Great things are happening with a variety of model physical education programs!
  • Support for Safe Routes to Schools - including local Walk to School Day programs.  A recent ‘mapping project’ of the Wenatchee schools identified, and prioritized, a variety of areas for improvement.  This successful project may soon be replicated in additional districts.
  • Support for school gardens, and community/school collaboration for fitness programs such as Girls on the Run and Youth Teen Extreme.

Asthma:

  • Continued collaboration with school nurses regarding state legislation impacting asthma and assistance with staff in-service education.
  • Networking opportunities within Okanogan County to link school nursing staff with healthcare providers.
  • "No-Idle" materials and signage available for schools interested in reducing the exhaust levels near their schools.

Tobacco:

  • Continued collaboration with Together! for Drug Free Youth and other area partners regarding best-practice for schools.

Diabetes:

  • Support for a variety of ventures improving nutrition and physical activity to lessen risk factors for diabetes.
  • Liaison with School Nurse Corps Supervisor regarding diabetes management within the school setting.