Article submitted by County of San Diego Public Health Services

Representatives from 23 school districts across San Diego County joined school wellness advocates in February for a workshop titled, “Assessing Wellness Policy Implementation: The Who, the Why, and the How”  Facilitated by County of San Diego Public Health Services and coordinated by the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, participants reviewed two evidence-based implementation assessment tools, discussed local best practices, and learned how assessment data can be used to meet school district objectives.

Workshop partners and speakers included the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, California Department of Education, San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego Unified School District, Santee School District, Dairy Council of California, and UC San Diego Center for Community Health.

The workshop was one in a series of nearly 20 trainings presented since 2005 to support school districts in developing, implementing, and monitoring school wellness policies with the goal of creating healthier environments. Workshop materials are available on the Childhood Obesity Initiative website. Over the next year, the COI Schools & After-School Domain plans to hold a roundtable to continue the discussion about wellness policy implementation.

For more information please contact Deirdre Kleske at Deirdre.Kleske@sdcounty.ca.gov.