Amory school among America’s healthiest

Here’s a news release the DJ received today from Health magazine:

HEALTH MAGAZINE NAMES AMERICA’S HEALTHIEST SCHOOLS
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Top 10 Public Schools Chosen Across the Country;
Amory Middle School in Amory, Mississippi Ties for Second Place
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Health.com Expands List to Name Healthiest School in Each State

New York, NY – Amory Middle School in Amory, MS is named one of the healthiest schools in America, according to Healthmagazine. Ranking the 10 best public schools across the country for building healthy bodies and minds, the school was recognized for its battle against it’s state’s obesity problem by encouraging kids to keep moving with an on site fitness center, enforcing a healthy snack policy and more. Health’s list of the 10 healthiest public schools will appear in the September issue (on newsstands August 26th). Health.com expands the list to name the healthiest school in each state: http://living.health.com/2008/08/20/americas-healthiest-schools-state-by-state/

The average American child spends nearly 12,000 hours in school from kindergarten through 12th grade—a big chunk of time where he or she can develop good or bad habits. As childhood obesity in our country is on the rise, and children are becoming less active as they grow older, schools are recognizing the benefits of instilling healthy habits early on. To help inspire others, Health ranked the top 10 healthiest public schools across the country that are doing an A+ job.

To find the best schools that help build healthy bodies and minds, Health asked state education officials in every state for their school nominations based on: food and nutrition, fitness and activity, health education, and healthy building materials and practices. Those schools were then scored using rigorous criteria from the state of Wisconsin and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program framework. Finally, the top 10 schools were reviewed by an expert panel of judges to yield the final rankings.

1. West Babylon Senior High – West Babylon, New York
West Babylon Senior High (1,510 students in grades 9 through 12) scored high across the board in every category from nutrition to employee wellness. The Long Island school was recognized for removing soda vending machines in favor of water, milk and fruit juice, revamping cafeteria menus to emphasize healthy choices, ditching fryers and installing state-of-the-art ovens, and encouraging after-school participants to stay on campus for healthy snacks and light meals. A district-wide commitment to fitness is paying off as the student obesity rate decreased 2 percent in just one school year. Plus, the assistant Principal strolls the cafeteria with a basket of fruit, and students who drive the School Wellness Council now throw only healthy fundraisers –ditching candy in favor of baby carrots, sugar-free Jell-O, raisins, and nuts.

2. (Tie for second place) Amory Middle – Amory, Mississippi
A community-wide battle against its state’s obesity problem combined with admirable creativity make this middle school (479 students in grades 6 though not only Mississippi’s shining star, but a national model. The fitness push at Amory includes a collaboration with Lowe’s to build a climbing wall, a school fitness center with a twice-weekly “Click-N-Fit” session for families, and a school-wide mission to get and keep kids moving. A healthy snack policy, great nutritional education on its healthful lunch menus and the school’s faculty-driven push to incorporate health ed throughout the curriculum also helped land this school in the second spot.

2. (Tie for second place) Rawhide Elementary – Gillette, Wyoming
This small rural school (170 students in grades K through 6) collaborates with parents and community stakeholders to help promote healthy living to ensure healthy lifestyles aren’t just talked about while in school, but are practiced at home and in the community. With district financial support, Rawhide employs a Building Fitness Coordinator in addition to its PE instructor to ensure each student gets an additional 20 minutes of wellness time. Strong health programming that begins in kindergarten covers nutrition, personal safety, drug-abuse prevention, and lifetime fitness. Rawhide staff are also encouraged to stay healthy with yoga classes, discounted fitness club and rec center memberships and more.

3. Anthony Elementary – Leavenworth, Kansas
An Eat Exercise Excel program created at this urban elementary school (300 students in grades K through 5) turned itself from a school struggling with low academics to achieving excellence rankings and a 95-percent reduction in office referrals. All in one year and largely by emphasizing nutrition and fitness.

4. Richmond Elementary – Appleton, Wisconsin
Instilling health and wellness values is a team effort at Richmond Elementary (277 students in grades pre-k through 6). Everyone—PE and classroom teachers, counselors, administrators, food-service workers—demonstrates and reinforces healthy lifestyle choices for the students. A strong commitment to health-and-nutrition education is also yielding lifestyle changes for the students beyond the healthy cafeteria and into their homes.

5. Mountain Valley Middle – Mexico, Maine
Mornings at Mountain Valley Middle (320 students in grades 6 through begin with kids and teachers eating nutritious breakfasts in their classrooms which allows students to start their days more attentively and learn conversation skills and table manners from their role models. This rural school also takes advantage of its outdoor ethos to get kids moving, and addresses a growing problem among adolescents—suicide.

6. Miami Springs Middle – Miami Springs, Florida
Healthy reform at this large, urban middle school (1,818 students in grades 6 through started in the cafeteria, which eliminated all white-flour products, desserts, fried foods and sugary cereals and now offers a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables. Health education that’s blended into the science curriculum helps instill healthy habits in the kids. Plus, the teachers have set up a gym in their lounge and attend on-site Weight Watchers classes and participate in a walking club.

7. Lakewood Elementary – Cecilia, Kentucky
At Lakewood (631 students in grades pre-K through 5) students learn that each person is responsible for his or her own health through all facets of the school’s Nutrition, Fitness, and Health curriculum. Each student sets an individual fitness goal in PE and the cafeteria grants students choices and backs this up with extensive nutritional education.

8. (Tie for eighth place) W.C. Britt Elementary – Snellville, Georgia
The integration of innovative health initiatives is what put this large (900 students in grades K through 5) elementary school in the top 10. The school keeps its students engaged with taste-tests, farm visits, school gardening, community-health-related plays, annual visits from local dentists, and more.

8. (Tie for eighth place) South Elementary – Pinson Tennessee
Facing childhood obesity straight on has enabled South Elementary (269 students in grades pre-K through 4) to emerge as a state leader. The school has established a Lifetime Fitness and Wellness center, an on-site facility that’s open to students, faculty and families. South also instituted a breakfast-in-the-classroom program which has a 98 percent participation level.

PLUS: Health.com lists places you can visit on the web to help make your own school healthier.

Health (www.Health.com) is America’s most-trusted health-and-wellness magazine, giving women credible, useful, and up-to-date information and inspiration on how to live healthier, happier lives. Health covers well-being, fitness, nutrition, and beauty with intelligence and flair, showing that healthy living isn’t just important — it’s fun, too. The magazine is published 10 times a year, reaching nearly 8 million readers with each issue.

A leader in lifestyle information, Birmingham, Ala.-based Southern Progress Corporation (www.southernprogress.com) publishes Southern Living, Cooking Light, Health,Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Cottage Living, and Sunset magazines, and books through Oxmoor House. It also operates a direct-selling division, Southern Living At HOME, and has a strong Web presence through branded portals, including MyRecipes.com and MyHomeIdeas.com, as well as 10 individual Web sites. Southern Progress is a subsidiary of Time Inc.