Healthy Kids Press Contact
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].

The School District of Palm Beach County has earned the title of “Florida Healthy School District,” given by Florida’s Coordinated School Health Partnership, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, Florida Action for Healthy Kids and the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation.

Wendy Link, Chair of the Board of Directors for Florida Healthy Kids, Joe Davis, Chief Marketing Officer of Florida Healthy Kids and Eric Stern, Florida Coordinated School Health Partnership member, presented the award during Wednesday’s School Board meeting.

The distinction for the 2016-2018 school years recognizes school districts for their efforts in areas of student health, including sustainable infrastructure, policy, programs and practices identified from national and state guidelines, best practices and Florida statutes. Palm Beach County, which received a Gold level award, is one of 43 total districts in the state to be recognized this year.

Through implementation of the Coordinated School Health approach (CSH), the Palm Beach County Public Schools district demonstrated a high level of commitment toward meeting the health needs of students and staff by maximizing district resources and supporting academic achievement.

“We are honored to have earned this distinction for our efforts supporting healthy lifestyles,” said Superintendent Robert Avossa. “We continue to encourage students, families, teachers, administrators and staff to be a part of this ongoing effort so that we can show the rest of the state what can happen when a community comes together with a common goal.”

The award is based on criteria from the Florida Healthy School District Self-Assessment tool, which was developed by the Florida Coordinated School Health Partnership to recognize and celebrate the hard work and success of school districts related to physical, mental and social health of students and staff. Palm Beach County scored commendably in many areas, including District Infrastructure, Health Education, Nutrition Services and Education, Healthy School Environment and Employee Wellness.

“I congratulate Superintendent Avossa and the Palm Beach County team for their hard work building a healthy district for our state’s future leaders,” Wendy Link said. “Research continues to support that healthy students are more engaged and ready to learn.”

The Florida Coordinated School Health Partnership, Florida Action for Healthy Kids, Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation together award these designations for a two-year period. Districts are encouraged to complete the comprehensive assessment as a key continuous improvement strategy and align these wellness measures to their strategic plan as well as school improvement goals. The application period opens each January and closes in April.

For more information, visit www.healthydistrict.com.