Healthy Schools, Successful Students

Promoting healthy behavior in schools can help students improve test scores, grades, and attendance.

Schools, health agencies, parents, and communities share a common goal of supporting the link between healthy eating, physical activity, and improved academic achievement of children and adolescents. Academic achievement includes, academic performance (class grades, standardized tests, and graduation rates), education behavior (attendance, dropout rates, and behavioral problems in schools), and students’ cognitive skills and attitudes (concentration, memory, and mood). Evidence shows that the health of students is linked to their success in school, so by working together, we can ensure that young people are healthy and ready to learn.

Students spend much of their time at school, making it an ideal setting to teach and model healthy behaviors. Schools can reduce how often students are absent, experience fewer behavioral problems in students, and achieve higher school-wide test scores and grades by implementing strategies to help students stay healthy by eating healthy foods and being physically active throughout the day. Healthy students are better on all levels of academic achievement—academic performance, education behavior, and cognitive skills and attitudes.

Creating healthy schools requires action from the entire community—state public health and education agencies, school districts, schools, parents, and students. CDC Healthy Schools offers evidence-based strategies, tools, and resources to help communities promote healthy behaviors in young people and to create a healthy school environment.

Healthy students make better learners.

Students should do 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity daily.

Resources

• Comprehensive Framework for Addressing the School Nutrition Environment and Services — A framework for school nutrition professionals, school health professionals, administrators, teachers, and parents with detailed information on the seven components of a school nutrition environment.
• Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP) — A step-by-step guide for schools to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive school physical activity program.
• Health and Academic Achievement Overview [2.12 MB] — Key research, messages, action steps, and resources to help make the case for improving school physical activity and nutrition policies and practices to support health and learning.
• Parents for Healthy Schools — Strategies for parent engagement in school health to give schools a framework for engaging parents in school health activities.
• School Health Guidelines (SHG) — Nine guidelines based on research and best practices for promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools. Guidelines serve as the foundation for developing, implementing, and evaluating school-based healthy eating and physical activity policies for students.
• School Health Index (SHI) — An easy to use and confidential self-assessment and planning tool that schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs.
• Tips for Teachers [3.57 MB] — Evidence-based tips and resources for teachers to promote healthy eating and physical activity in the classroom.
• Training Tools for Healthy Schools — A professional development eLearning series that introduces users to select Healthy Schools tools and provides additional knowledge, resources, and opportunities for continuing education credits.

Student Resources

• BAM! Body and Mind — An online health resource for kids 7–12 years old that provides information through games, quizzes, a mobile app, and other interactive activities.

To be more effective, CDC embraces the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model and works with key leaders in health, public health, education, and school health fields. CDC is committed to leading public health efforts to promote well-being, reduce and prevent chronic conditions, and eliminate health disparities. Visit CDC Healthy Schools to learn more about the WSCC model and get more information and resources on the health and well-being of children and adolescents in schools.