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Local
Wellness
Policy
Implementation
Strategies
and Successes Field Report Fall 2007
in Michigan
State Board of Education
Kathleen N. Straus, President
John C. Austin, Vice President
Carolyn L. Curtin, Secretary
Marianne Yared McGuire, Treasurer
Nancy Danhof, NASBE Delegate
Elizabeth W. Bauer
Reginald M. Turner
Casandra E. Ulbrich
Ex-Officio
Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor
Michael P. Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Education
The publishing of this report is funded, at least in part, with federal funds from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect
the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names,
commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Michigan Action for Healthy Kids Field Report Fall 2007
Local Wellness Policy
Implementation: Strategies
and Successes in Michigan
This field report spotlights the Michigan Action for Healthy
Kids Team’s development and implementation of Local
Wellness Policies by school districts across the state. These
activities were a result of the passage of the Child Nutrition
and Reauthorization Act of 2004, signed by President George
W. Bush on June 30 of that year, requiring every school dis-
trict in the U.S. to have developed and put in place a policy
by July 1, 2006. The Michigan Team’s efforts in this regard
were notably thorough and well-coordinated. Looked at in
retrospect, they make Michigan an ideal case-study example
of how states and regions might go about tackling the ABOUT MICHIGAN ACTION
numerous and sometimes daunting tasks involved in assisting, FOR HEALTHY KIDS
measuring, and effecting statewide implementation of, Michigan Action for Healthy
adherence to, and compliance with Local Wellness Policies. Kids began in December of
2002, and now has more than
2,000 members including
Michigan educators, health
A FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH advocates, and leading health
organizations. It was formed
The Michigan Action for Healthy Kids Team, the Michigan Department of
as part of Action for Healthy
Education (MDE) and the Michigan Department of Community Health Kids, a national nonprofit
(MDCH) approached the challenge of Local Wellness Policy implementation organization that is dedicated
in the state from four strategic perspectives. It is perhaps this clearly defined to improving children’s nutrition
four-pronged approach that most contributed a sense of up-front organization and physical activity in school.
to the Team’s efforts to be of genuine help to schools and districts in comply- Action for Healthy Kids was
established to further the goals
ing with the federal mandate. The four areas of focus were:
of the 2002 Healthy Schools
Creating a coherent data-collection system by which to assemble accurate Summit by engaging schools
information at the outset on which districts did, and did not, have a in positive dietary and lifestyle
Local Wellness Policy in place, as well as compiling information on what behaviors and practices
the various hurdles to development and/or implementation of policies (www.ActionForHealthyKids.org).
might have been; The efforts of Michigan Action
for Healthy Kids support the U.S.
Providing technical assistance to districts still struggling to put
Surgeon General’s “Call to
Local Wellness Policies in place; Action to Prevent and Decrease
Creating incentives, encouragement, and training with which to engage Overweight and Obesity” and
the crucial constituency represented by parents, and getting them the Michigan Surgeon General’s
involved in Local Wellness Policy creation and implementation; and “Michigan Steps Up” campaign.
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KEY ELEMENTS OF MICHIGAN’S Encouraging students themselves to become involved in the overall
HEALTHY SCHOOL TOOLKIT Local Wellness Policy process.
• Special introduction for school The value of the “big picture” comprehensiveness of this approach to the
personnel at a variety of levels. issue — and its pivotal role in the success of the Michigan Team’s efforts to
date — cannot be overemphasized.
• Background information on
Action for Healthy Kids.
• “Making the Case for School RIGHT UP-FRONT: JUMP-STARTING POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
Wellness” DVD. WITH A MODEL POLICY AND HELPFUL TOOLKIT
• “Getting Started” guidance In response to the federal Local Wellness Policy requirement, on October 11,
on developing, adopting, and 2005, the Michigan State Board of Education adopted its own “Model Local
implementing healthy school
Wellness Policy.” The model policy was developed by MDE — in consultation
environment policies.
and collaboration with other state and local agencies, organizations, educators,
• Model, Michigan-specific and concerned citizens — to assist districts in Michigan with the development
Local Wellness Policy template.
of their own policies.
• Up-front assessment device, In addition, the Michigan Team and MDE promoted the adoption of the
the “Healthy School Action Model Local Wellness Policy by developing the Healthy School Toolkit: Your
Tool.” Guide to Action. The toolkit provided the information, resources, and tools
• Complete action plan for needed to assist schools in providing an environment that supports the healthy
implementing healthy eating eating and physical activity habits of students, their families, school staff, and
policies. community.
• Detailed instructions for Larry Merx, co-chair of the Michigan Team and senior program coordina-
implementing a physical tor at the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, says, “The toolkit was
education and physical activity meant to be an all-in-one-place reference and solution for putting a Wellness
action plan. Policy in place — it contained files, spiral-bound booklets, single sheets of
• Guidance on how to “get advice and instruction, and multimedia CD-ROMs and DVDs.” (The kit can
the message out” and be downloaded at no cost — see sidebar — and the toolkit initiative is detailed
“communicate your success.” in the Action for Healthy Kids field report released in Spring 2007, “Ideas,
• Resource list for further Commitment, Action, Results: Model Projects Advancing the Cause of School
information. Wellness,” available at www.ActionForHealthyKids.org.)
The complete Michigan The Healthy School Toolkit was rolled out in December 2005, and the
Healthy School Toolkit may Team estimates that the kit has so far directly affected almost 427,000 students,
be accessed online at from the Upper Peninsula to urban Detroit. In the words of Michigan Team
www.tn.fcs.msue.msu.edu/ co-chair and MDE consultant, Nick Drzal, Larry Merx’s colleague, “The tool-
HealthySchoolToolkit.html. kit really set the stage for us, in that it provided our districts with the guidance
they needed right out of the gate. Before we even started collecting data on
whether or not districts were complying, or reaching out to parents and stu-
dents to get them involved in implementation, we had this kit we could point
to and say, ‘Okay, here’s step one — this is really all you need to get started.’”
1. GETTING A HANDLE ON THE NUMBERS:
DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS
MDE employed an existing online data-collection system to collect district
Local Wellness Policy information. Since this tool was integrated into MDE’s
school meals data collection system, it provided a seamless means of collect-
ing policy data. The online “survey” asked the following questions:
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Has your district established a Local Wellness Policy?
Who is the person designated to measure implementation of your policy?
What is your plan for measuring implementation?
What are the barriers your district is experiencing, if any, in implementing
your Local Wellness Policy throughout the district?
What positive changes can you report since implementing your policy
district-wide?
If technical assistance could be provided to your district to assist with
policy implementation, what type of assistance would you request?
(This sixth question was asked to those contacted by telephone.)
The goal of the online data collection survey was simply to get an accurate
picture of what was happening across the state in the wake of (1) the federal
mandate; (2) the subsequent circulation of Michigan’s model policy for dis-
tricts to use as an example; and (3) the wide availability of the Healthy School
Toolkit, with which districts could, in Team co-chair Nick Drzal’s words,
“get started.”
Most important, though, the survey revealed that, of a total of 1,022
Michigan educational agencies legally required to create a Local Wellness
Policy, 677 of them, or 66%, already had policies in place as of December
2006. The remaining 345 districts, or 34%, were without policies.
Meanwhile, in order to bring all Michigan educational agencies in compli-
ance with the federal mandate to have a policy on the books, Michigan,
through a grant from the USDA, hired a consultant to contact, by telephone,
every single educational agency without a policy in place. This involved
contacting public school districts, public academies, private schools, and
residential child-care institutions (RCCIs).
The results of this data are published in the MDE publication “Status of
Local Wellness Policy Adoption and Implementation among Michigan Local
Education Agencies,” available at www.michigan.gov/cshsp. That report
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan’s comprehensive survey of districts statewide revealed a wealth of statistical and qualitative data regarding
state awareness and adoption of Local Wellness Policies. Sample findings:
• Public school districts were more aware of the policy, • Of the 872 districts with policies in place, 23% (201districts)
the federal law, and its requirements than the public indicated that their district is not experiencing any
school academies, private school districts, and residen- barriers related to the implementation of their policy.
tial child care institutions.
• Of the 872 districts with policies in place, 86% (753 districts)
• Many private school districts and residential child care reported that it was too early to know if any positive
institutions were under the impression that the policy changes have resulted from the implementation of their
did not apply to them or they were covered under the policy or that there are no positive changes yet.
public school district’s policy.
• Telephone contacts resulted in 66 districts requesting
• The majority of agencies without a policy are working on the State Board of Education’s Model Local Wellness
one and plan to have it in place before December 31, 2007. Policy template, or other technical assistance, to help
them in completing their policy.
• Of the 872 districts with Local Wellness Policies in place,
58% (505 districts) have a strategy in place to measure The report entitled “Status of Local Wellness Policy Adoption and
the implementation of their policy. Implementation among Michigan Local Education Agencies” is available
from the Michigan Department of Education at www.michigan.gov/cshsp.
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SUCCESS ON MANY LEVELS summarizes, in some statistical detail, answers to the survey’s questions and
In the data-collection phase of provides revealing breakdowns in terms of public versus private schools,
Michigan’s Local Wellness as well as numerous encouraging and inspiring “success story” narratives.
Policy implementation project, Findings from the telephone calls and online data collection system
it was revealed that a variety included the discovery that the staff person designated to measure policy
of specific action steps had implementation varied greatly among districts — ranging from superintend-
been or were being taken,
ents and assistant superintendents to food service directors, principals, teach-
representing successes on a
variety of levels. ers, and school nurses. The survey also revealed that barriers to policy imple-
mentation included such things as a dearth of funding to implement changes; a
• The most likely healthy eating shortage of staff time; the lack of a system in place by which to track imple-
and/or nutrition successes
mentation; and the frank and not altogether surprising admission that, to some
were: providing healthier food
and snacks including, switch- districts, health and wellness were simply not priorities.
ing from white to whole Deb Grischke, MDE’s consultant who followed up with districts, reported
wheat products, serving more that, “more than anything else, the survey gave us a very good workable
fresh fruits and vegetables, snapshot of what we were dealing with in terms of compliance. To some of us,
offering a made-to-order fresh the 66% figure — the fact that fully two-thirds of our districts had taken the
sandwich line, offering healthy
bull by the horns and developed and implemented a Local Wellness Policy —
choices in vending machines
or removing vending machines, was great news. And frankly, it was higher than I thought it would be at this
healthy fundraisers, and work- time. But to others, the fact that one-third of our districts were still technically
ing with parents to encourage in violation of a federal mandate was troubling. At least we knew exactly the
them to send healthy snacks challenges we were facing, and, after all, that was the whole point of the
to school for their children survey. In all modesty, I would venture to say that there are few states at that
and provide healthy food
juncture that had as firm a handle on those numbers — compliance vs.
choices at classroom parties.
non-compliance — as we did in Michigan.”
• The most likely physical Grischke is most likely correct on that. It was as the survey was being
activity and/or physical
conducted, however, that the project began to evolve into its second phase.
education success was
improving or implementing a “When the Michigan Team originally asked me to work on this project,”
physical education program. remembers Grischke, “I thought it was simply to gather information about who
This was followed by imple- was, and wasn’t, complying; I’d summarize the findings, and that would be it.
mentation of a variety of other In my mind, the districts that were not in compliance and that needed assistance
programs including Jump would be provided with a Healthy School Toolkit or other instructional tool.”
Rope for Heart, Mileage Club,
But that wasn’t quite what happened.
ACES (All Children Exercising
Simultaneously), and Recess
Before Lunch.
• “Other” successes shared
2. LENDING A HELPING HAND: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
were increased awareness Deb Grischke explains, “It was when I was questioning districts over the
among students, staff, and phone that the conversations with districts without policies in place turned
parents (including students
immediately into help sessions. There was an urgency, a need, that came
asking more health related
questions), better communica- through in those phone calls. So many of the districts that weren’t in compli-
tion with parents, and positive ance were grateful that someone — anyone — was calling them who could
partnerships. conceivably give them some assistance, some more detailed information,
some support. Occasionally, there were audible sighs of relief.”
Michigan Team’s Nick Drzal points out that, even among districts that had
developed good policies, there were requests for advice about the actual
implementation part of the puzzle, on which they were frequently stuck. It was
obvious to the Team that “technical assistance” hadn’t ended with the produc-
tion and distribution of the Healthy School Toolkit — and that there were
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schools and districts that wanted and needed more one-on-one help.
Drzal reports that technical assistance to districts at this stage — six
months past the federal policy’s mandate deadline — in many cases added
up merely to being supportive.
“It’s really all about hand-holding,” Drzal says in the matter-of-fact tone
of one accustomed to doing just that. “Of the districts that hadn’t dealt with
the Local Wellness Policy issue yet, most of them simply didn’t know where
to begin. In some cases, it was a matter of talking to them on the phone and
just reviewing the requirements one by one — explaining the fine points of the
policy mandate and reviewing with districts what their responsibility was.
In other cases, it was a matter of emailing district staff the language in the
federal law so they could get a better handle on it — many of them had never
even read the legislation. In still other cases, the best technical assistance we
could provide was to get them MDE’s Local Wellness Policy template —
or overnight them the entire Healthy School Toolkit, if they hadn’t seen it
yet — which for many districts was, and remains, the best place to start.”
Was there any commonality among the districts that hadn’t complied?
“Not really,” answers Drzal, “other than the fact that they were all variously
confused, intimidated, or overwhelmed by what they had to do.”
So there was hand-holding — but not too much. In fact, Drzal points out
that many school districts declined technical assistance, insisting that they
knew what had to be done policy-wise even though they hadn’t gotten around
to it yet. Of the initial 345 districts in the survey that had not developed and
LESSONS LEARNED IN PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO DISTRICTS IN DEVELOPING LOCAL WELLNESS POLICIES
SIMPLE SUPPORT. Hand-holding, while staff familiarize TEMPLATES ARE CRUCIAL. Michigan’s “model” Wellness
themselves with Local Wellness Policy requirements, is con- Policy served as an easy template upon which districts
structive and occasionally necessary when districts are con- could construct their policies, saving time and effort by
fused, uncertain of their responsibilities, or overwhelmed. streamlining the policy process and allowing them to
work “by example.”
PROVIDING BASIC INFORMATION. Just reviewing policy
requirements on the phone with districts can go a long DON’T WAIT FOR DISTRICTS TO ASK. Many districts in
way to getting them “over the hump,” and lessening the need of technical assistance in Local Wellness Policy
intimidation factor. implementation don’t know help is available. Reaching
out to districts on the part of Action for Healthy Kids
GETTING TO KNOW THE FEDERAL LAW. Many district Teams and regional/ state departments of education is
staff haven’t actually read, or even seen, the wording of almost always welcomed by districts.
the federal mandate. Getting the legislation in front of
them is step one. DON’T MISTAKE INERTIA FOR LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING. Districts that are slow in implementing
TOOLS, TOOLS, TOOLS. Michigan’s Healthy School Toolkit policies aren’t necessarily in need of technical assistance
is an all-in-one-place Michigan-specific resource for — they may simply not have gotten around to dealing
tackling development and implementation of a Local with Local Wellness Policy requirements yet.
Wellness Policy. Other states, regions, and locales should
consider similar “tailored” toolkits. THE DISTRICTS ARE NOT DONE. Many districts have
made great strides but there is still a lot of work that
COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH TEAMS AND
needs to be done to improve the lifestyles of students.
COMMUNICATION. Staff at all levels need to be educated
The districts and leading state agencies and organiza-
and involved to implement the policy from the before/after
tions must continue to work together diligently.
school programs to the classrooms to the cafeterias to
the open houses to the district level.
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PARENTS TAKING ACTION implemented a Local Wellness Policy, a total of 66, or 19%, were provided
There’s so much for parents direct technical assistance — a function that clearly needs to be ramped up
to do when they assume a role by the Michigan Team.
in Local Wellness Policy
development and implementation.
They can:
3. BRINGING PARENTS INTO THE EQUATION
• Get up to speed on the federal
legislation. The involvement of parents was a crucial component in Michigan’s commit-
• Join their school’s wellness ment to successful implementation of Local Wellness Policies — and was
committee. the basis of the Team’s “Parent Champions for School Wellness Initiative.”
• Approach administrators with Underwritten by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Wellness State
ideas about everything from Agency Grant funds, the goal of this “parent intervention” component
improved snack-vending to
was to provide Local Wellness Policy training and technical assistance to
increasing the time allotted
for lunch and breaks. parents, in an effort not only to inform them of the policy legislation, but
• Prepare and make presenta- also to enlist their support and help for campus-wide implementation.
tions to superintendents and Specifically, this goal was to be accomplished by increasing parental
school boards. awareness regarding the policy requirement; by organizing parent-friendly
• Get together with other workshops; by providing follow-up help and guidance to parents once they
parents and brainstorm
got involved; and then by collecting and circulating parents’ Local Wellness
approaches to sometimes
resistant school and district Policy implementation success stories.
“upper management.” Details of Michigan’s parent initiative are provided in MDE’s publication
• Spend time on websites “Parent Champions for School Wellness Initiative/Local Wellness Policy
educating themselves about Implementation Grant, 2006-2007,” available at www.michigan.gov/cshsp. But
what other schools, districts, briefly, a total of 18 parent workshops were held across the state. More than 340
and states are doing about
attendees were reached through these workshops, of which 213 were parents.
wellness.
• Organize walkathons and “I’m a huge parent advocate,” says Michigan Action for Healthy Kids
wellness-themed fundraisers. Team member and MDE Parent Consultant Barb Flis who designed the parent
• Advocate healthier lunch intervention component. “I often observe that there’s a disconnect between
options, and/or improved parents and schools in our society, and nowhere is this disconnect more
playground facilities. dangerous than in the nutrition and wellness arena. So everything I do is
• Familiarize themselves with
aimed at bridging that gap — but doing it in a non-blaming, non-threatening,
the wellness/academic
achievement link. non-burdening way. That was how our parent outreach, and especially our
• Reinforce the wellness workshops, was designed.”
message by getting kids Workshop sessions were 90 minutes in length, reports Flis, and the
more active at home. cohesive messages throughout the workshops were (1) “No Blame” and (2)
“When We Know Better, We Do Better.” By providing a historic perspective
on how, as a society, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity have evolved,
participants were reminded that there is no one person or institution at fault
for the childhood obesity crisis. Parents were taught that, in order to improve
nutrition and physical activity, we must all work collaboratively.
In addition to parents, workshop participants included principals, health
teachers, food service staff, health department and hospital personnel, and
school district health coordinators. The workshops were promoted through the
creation and publication of a parent-friendly Local Wellness Policy newspaper
article distributed through existing listservs for parent organizations; in the
widely circulated, state-based EduGuide magazine; and via Michigan state
partner organizations with large audiences of parents.
At the end of each workshop, parent participants were asked to complete
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an eight-point questionnaire. Overall, evaluation results were highly positive,
reflecting that the workshops were well received: 87% of participating parents
indicated that the workshop presentations met their informational needs; 86%
indicated that the presentation enhanced their knowledge in some way about
using Local Wellness Policies to improve school wellness. Overall, 97% said
they would recommend the workshop to other parents, and 96% of participants
said the workshop motivated them, personally, to take at least one action step.
“Our ultimate goal for the workshops,” says Flis, “was to make parents
see their own role — to make them see a place for themselves — in the school
wellness discussion. I have a series of principles I follow when working with
parents. I always try to view them as a blessing. I keep in mind that building
relationships with parents, soliciting their thoughts, is key — and that the rela-
tionships take time. And I also bear in mind that parents, for the most part, are
genuinely hungry for information. Most are passionate about their kids’ well-
being, and for the most part they want to be informed, and to help.”
LESSONS LEARNED IN WORKING WITH PARENTS
The following are ten important lessons learned in Michigan about working with parents to empower them to implement
Local Wellness Policies.
Lesson #1: View parents as a blessing. realized. It was important to have success stories ready to
Administrators and others can become defensive or tell about schools that had highly profitable fundraisers that
annoyed at well-meaning parents’ interest and input, involved physical activity and less time and volunteer effort.
feeling their authority is being challenged and their
workload increased. However, positive outcomes almost Lesson #7: Approach school board members as parents.
always result from parental involvement. Many Michigan parent workshop participants were also
school board members, and vice versa. Many had approved
Lesson #2: Build bridges between parents a Local Wellness Policy but were not aware of its potential
and school personnel. to improve health and academic success for students.
Nearly every Michigan parent workshop had at least one
Lesson #8: It’s important to have the right resources.
person from the school district present. Often it was the
Designing a parents’ workshop and reaching and
principal or school nutrition director.
motivating parents would have been a bigger challenge
Lesson #3: Less is more. had Michigan not had the right tools for the job. Without
It is better to have fewer parents at a workshop than a doubt the Healthy School Toolkit was invaluable for
more. The chances of motivating parents into action are providing parents with on the spot information, helping
greater when you are working with a small group. them to think differently about how schools operate,
and giving them ideas to take back and implement.
Lesson #4: Ask parents for what you need.
The first thing a salesman learns is to “ask for the order.” Lesson #9: Parents are thirsty for information.
Asking for a commitment by participants, no matter how Many parents have lots of nutrition-related questions.
small, gives credibility and value to the initiative. Most of these questions were answered at the work-
shops, especially when a school nutrition director was
Lesson #5: Building relationships with parents takes time. in attendance. Questions ranged from what to do with
Parents, like administrators, have busy schedules, and not a “picky” eater to help on planning a balanced meal
all parents are regularly on the school campus. Follow up and reading labels.
to the action plans and providing coaching/mentoring is
critically important, but a slow process. Lesson #10: Have something for parents to do!
It is counterproductive to excite parents’ enthusiasm
Lesson #6: Know how changes will impact the bottom line. about their involvement in policy implementation if
In a few Michigan parent workshops it became apparent districts haven’t thought through exactly what those
that there was a concern among administrators of changing parents’ role will be. Don’t waste parents’ time.
to healthy fundraising for fear that less profit would be
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MOVING PARENTS TO So what did the 96% of participants who claimed the workshops motivat-
ACTION: THE PARENTS’ ed them to take action… actually do?
MINI ACTION PLAN They got up to speed on policy legislation. They joined their school’s well-
• To encourage Michigan ness committee and the Michigan Team. They approached administrators with
parents to take action, partici- ideas about everything from improving snack-vending to increasing the time
pants in Michigan’s parent- allotted for lunch and breaks. They prepared and made presentations to superin-
outreach workshops were tendents. They got together with other parents and brainstormed approaches to
asked to fill out a Mini Action
sometimes resistant school and district “upper management.” They spent time
Plan stating one to three small
action steps they might take reading websites to educate themselves about what other schools, districts, and
as a result of the workshop. states were doing about wellness. They organized walkathons and wellness-
themed fundraisers. They advocated for healthier lunch options, or for
• The Mini Action Plan was a
improved playground facilities. They familiarized themselves with the link
document allowing them to
leave one copy with the between wellness and academic achievement. And they reinforced the wellness
workshop facilitator and keep message by getting kids more active at home — encouraging healthier choices
the other copy as a reminder not only about food, but about activities, such as suggesting swimming or
of their commitment to their tumbling as an alternative to computer games or TV reruns.
action plan. Flis is quick to remind us that one of the biggest issues in involving parents
• The Mini Action Plan was in the Local Wellness Policy discussion is deciding, up front, what parents —
mentioned at the beginning who want to be involved — are actually going to do, and giving them a menu
of the workshop so that of options to choose from. It does no good to excite parents about wellness if
parents could be aware and
you don’t tell them where to go with that excitement, and how to put it to use.
consider during the workshop
things that they might want “There has to be a reality check about parents’ involvement,” Flis main-
to take action on. tains. “You can’t just enlist parents’ help willy-nilly, and then have nothing
for them to dig into. If a district says it welcomes a parent’s participation in
• The Mini Action Plan was
the wellness dialogue, the district has to know exactly what it’s going to ask
offered as optional, not
required. that parent to do. Parents’ time is valuable, too.”
• 116 Mini Action Plans were
received containing a total 4. INVOLVING STUDENTS: BECAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM!
of 261 intended actions.
Approximately 30% of the It would seem only logical to involve students themselves in wellness efforts
intended actions were for aimed at them — a fact not lost on the Michigan Team, which viewed students
nutrition (school parties, as an important constituency in the Local Wellness Policy implementation
snacks, food service), 30% effort. With that in mind, 47 diverse Michigan schools were each awarded a
personal (family walks, less
$500 grant from MDE and MDCH; the United States Department of
soda pop at home), 11% for
physical activity (recess Agriculture; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the
before lunch, hold a walk- 2006-07 school year. The funding was earmarked for helping students take part
athon, denying recess as in implementing Local Wellness Policies. All of the schools selected served
punishment), and 35% in the high school students; twelve schools served middle school students as well;
“other” category (follow-up and six schools also served elementary students.
with administrator about Local
Required of the grantees was (1) the creation of School Wellness Teams
Wellness Policy, meet with
school nutrition director, consisting of at least four students; (2) the completion of the Healthy Schools
hold a workshop for parents). Action Tool (HSAT, www.mihealthtools.org), an assessment tool developed
to help schools assess whether — and to what extent — their school environ-
ment offers consistent messages about the importance of healthy eating and
physical activity; and (3) formal implementation of specific action steps.
Teams were required to identify and implement at least one school health envi-
ronmental change related to implementing the school district’s Local Wellness
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Policy (one related to physical activity/education and/or one related to CHANGE IS GOOD
nutrition); to present their accomplishments to the school board; to submit a Among the changes made by
success story; and to complete an end-of-year evaluation. The Michigan Team Michigan Student Wellness
calculated that the actions of these Student Wellness Teams had the potential Teams as a result of receiving
to reach over 37,000 students. a Local Wellness Policy
As it happened, schools used their funds in a variety of ways to implement Implementation Grant:
Local Wellness Policies. Those that focused on nutrition standards and healthy • Providing more healthy food
eating tackled such activities as taste-test challenges, posters and bulletin choices in concessions,
board materials about nutrition, encouraging healthy snacks and healthy vending, school stores, and
potluck eating, selecting up-to-date nutrition curriculum materials, organizing the cafeteria.
multicultural food days, and instituting mobile salad bar carts and even • Opening communication
portable, traveling mini-kitchens to support nutrition education. between food services and
Schools that focused on physical activity and physical education students.
researched and invested in new exercise equipment; dance instruction videos • Placing wellness-themed
for use at lunchtime; pedometers for walking programs; heart-rate monitors; posters around the school.
and blood pressure kits and physicians’ scales. One school even created a • Increasing time for after-
school wellness lounge — a destination dedicated to nutritional and physical school and lunchtime physical
self-improvement discussions and information sharing. activities.
The point was for the School Wellness Teams to use their district’s newly
• Starting “Health Tip of the
developed Local Wellness Policy as a reference and guideline in brainstorming, Day” on daily announcements.
creating, and enacting all these wellness-enhancing options. More than 76%
• Implementing “Health Spirit
of the teams, in post-grant follow up, reported that they did use their policies
Week,” a sort of “wellness-
to implement their change(s). They were also encouraged to consult school themed homecoming.”
and district food service and physical education staff, to do original research
of their own if they desired, and to avail themselves of the “grab bag” of • Encouraging more students
to eat breakfast.
multimedia informational materials supplied in their district’s copy of
Michigan’s Healthy School Toolkit.
Nick Drzal of MDE emphasizes, “Look, students are the target of every-
thing we do. They’re the center, and the point, of this whole initiative. If we’re
trying to change student behavior, it only makes sense to ask them what
they’re willing to do.”
Drzal points out that enlisting students themselves in the Local Wellness
Policy discussion was “a whole new direction for us. The idea of working
with a ‘student health team’ was a new and exciting one, because it was a
fascinating exploration of how to get students to change their own behavior.
As an education professional, to me that’s the most interesting thing of all.”
Change behavior they did. Post-grant, students reported that their greatest
challenges in improving the school health environment were finding cost-
friendly items that would encourage high school students to eat in a healthier
manner; steering fellow students away from empty calories; successfully
communicating the facts of food choices and offering tasty options; and
simply finding time during the school week for their School Wellness Team
to meet. Impressively, students surmounted each of these hurdles, respectively,
by implementing salad bars with more and varied selections; offering
vegetable and fruit smoothies; scheduling regular taste-testing opportunities
and running student-produced monthly videos on the school’s closed-circuit
cable channel; and meeting during lunch and in the evenings.
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Overall, students claimed that the two most notable improvements at school
as a result of their district’s Local Wellness Policy being adopted were (1)
increased awareness of the importance of good nutrition and physical activity in
general and (2) changes in food served in the cafeteria and in vending machines.
These and other student reflections on the initiative are detailed, and the
MICHIGAN’S LOCAL WELLNESS POLICY IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE
June 30, 2004 President George W. Bush signs the federal Child Nutrition and Reauthorization Act,
requiring school districts to implement Local Wellness Policies by July 1, 2006.
July 25, 2005 MDE releases Administrative Policy Number 3, targeting school food authorities and
detailing the requirements of the law for Michigan school districts specifically.
October 11, 2005 The Michigan State Board of Education adopts a Model Local Wellness Policy.
The model policy is developed by the MDE in collaboration with other state and local
agencies, organizations, educators, and concerned citizens to assist local educational
agencies in Michigan with the development of their policies.
October 12, 2005 MDE puts out a statewide press release describing the Michigan State Board of
Education’s adoption of the Model Local Wellness Policy and encouraging districts
to create their own policy “reflecting local needs and priorities.”
October 14, 2005 The Michigan Association of School Boards emails their members and encourages
them to adopt the Local Wellness Policy as written by the State Board of Education.
December 2005 Utilizing their existing networks, MDE in collaboration with Michigan Action for
Healthy Kids promotes the adoption and implementation of Michigan’s Model Local
Wellness Policy. As a result, the Michigan Team develops the Healthy School Toolkit:
Your Guide to Action.
May 2006 Ten Student Wellness Teams awarded grants by MDCH and MDE. These grants
were to pilot students leading changes identified from completing the Healthy Schools
Action Tool related to their Local Wellness Policy.
2006-07 School Year Parent workshops held in 18 sites statewide, and 47 Student Wellness Team grants
disbursed.
December 2006 Data collection survey reveals that of the 1,022 Michigan educational agencies
required to create a Local Wellness Policy, 677 (66%) have policies in place.
January 2007 The number of Michigan Healthy School Toolkits distributed in hard-copy form
passes the 4,000 mark.
September 2007 Post survey follow-up with educational agencies reveals that a total of 872 (85%)
Michigan districts have adopted a Local Wellness Policy.
Fall 2007 Publication of three reports: (1) “Status of Local Wellness Policy Adoption and
Implementation among Michigan Local Education Agencies,” MDE; (2) “Parent
Champions for School Wellness Initiative Local Wellness Policy Implementation
Grant Final Report 2006-2007,” MDE; (3) “Student Wellness Team Local Wellness
Policy Implementation Grant Report: How Students Can Drive Local Wellness
Policy Changes in Districts,” MDE.
September 2007 and Beyond Ongoing monitoring of newly developed and implemented policies by MDE, and
continued follow-up with, and technical assistance to, remaining districts still not
in compliance.
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L O C A L W E L L N E S S P O L I C Y I M P L E M E N TAT I O N
scope and level of students’ contributions described, in the white paper “Student
Wellness Team LWP Implementation Grant Report: How Students Can Drive Local
Wellness Policy Changes in Districts,” available at www.michigan.gov/cshsp.
LOOKING AHEAD
As of September 2007, phone calls confirmed an additional 195 districts with
a Local Wellness Policy, which means 872 Michigan districts have adopted a
policy, representing a compliance level of 85%. To capture the remaining 15%,
or 150 districts, Michigan Team members acknowledge that it will be impera-
tive for the Team’s direct communication and support to continue — as well
as, to use Nick Drzal’s term, hand-holding.
In the meantime, bona fide success stories are legion.
In Michigan’s Manistee Area Public Schools, new soda machines are on
timers and are turned off until 3:30 p.m.; water is the only vended beverage
offered during the school day. The vended snack machine was removed and
a refrigerated vending machine is being installed that will offer healthy items
including string cheese, wrap sandwiches, and yogurt.
At St. Gerard’s School in Lansing, a special team reviewed the research
on Recess Before Lunch. The research indicated that this approach was more
beneficial for students both nutritionally and physical activity-wise, and the
decision was made to implement Recess Before Lunch in August 2006.
Baby steps? Of course. But in districts across the state of Michigan,
regular health education to students, staff, and community is taking place;
zero-trans-fat soybean oils are being used in cafeteria kitchens; baked chips
and fruit snacks are popping up on the menu; fryers are being replaced; the
“New Look of School Milk” is infiltrating dairy cases, with milk in updated
plastic containers; and made-to-order sandwich bars are offering fresh sliced
turkey, turkey ham, and turkey pastrami on whole-grain buns and rolls.
And 25 schools in Michigan are participating in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture/MDE Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, in which students
receive fresh fruit and/or vegetable snacks during the school day.
The next phase of Local Wellness Policy implementation in Michigan will
be a thorough review of each policy to determine if established criteria set
forth are being met. In Michigan, it turns out, Local Wellness Policy imple- Since 2006, Michigan Action
mentation isn’t just a complex and well-managed process. It is an ongoing for Healthy Kids, MDCH,
one — involving the continued participation and input of all the constituencies and Office of Michigan’s
represented on Action for Healthy Kids’ dedicated Michigan Team. Surgeon General have
recognized schools that
have made changes to their
policies and environments
to support healthy lifestyles.
Over 88 schools have been
recognized for leading the
way in making changes in
Michigan in 2006-2007.
Successes can be found at
www.mihealthtools.org/hsat
under Success Stories and
Recognition Programs.
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SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR CRITICAL FEEDBACK
Melanie Brummeler, Michigan Department of Education
Barbara Campbell, Michigan Department of Education
Melissa Fahrenbruch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Barbara Flis, Parent Action for Healthy Kids
Deb Grischke, Nutrition Consultant
Lisa Grost, Michigan Department of Community Health
Kyle Guerrant, Michigan Department of Education
Kandi Lannen, Priority Health
Renate Myler, Action for Healthy Kids
Dru Szczerba, American Cancer Society
Sarah Titzer, Action for Healthy Kids
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