Three local schools listed as healthiest
Marshall Middle School, Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School and Miramar Ranch Elementary School are among 30 schools in the San Diego Unified School District that have been awarded the distinction of America’s Healthiest Schools for their dedication to supporting the health and well-being of students, staff and families.
Presented by Alliance for a Healthier Generation, America’s Healthiest Schools is an annual recognition program that celebrates schools for implementing policies and practices to promote health and well-being.
Schools are recognized for demonstrating remarkable efforts to prioritize the essential health needs of their school community and exceeding best practice standards in one or more topic areas, including:
Increasing Family & Community Engagement – Facilitating collaborations to meet student, family, and caregiver needs alongside student learning and development
Strengthening Social-Emotional Health & Learning – Supporting the social-emotional, mental, and behavioral health of students
Cultivating Staff Well-Being – Helping staff build and maintain resilience through policies and practices that promote self-care, positive work culture, and healthy behaviors
Improving Nutrition & Food Access – Promoting and increasing healthy eating and food access through school nutrition programs and nutrition education
Implementing Local School Wellness Policy – Advancing health-promoting practices through implementation of the district’s wellness policy
Bolstering Physical Education & Activity – Providing opportunities for students to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to develop and sustain lifelong physical activity practices
Promoting Tobacco-Free Schools – Fostering a tobacco-free learning environment through implementation of the district tobacco-free policy
Enriching Health Education – Providing educational experiences for students to gain health literacy, make healthy decisions, and adopt health promoting behavior
Supporting School Health Services – Providing services to address and prevent health concerns, health emergencies, and chronic health conditions
“As a school district, our commitment is to foster environments where all members of the school community can learn, grow and thrive. This includes supporting the physical, mental, and social-emotional health and well-being of students and staff,” Board of Education President Sabrina Bazzo said.
San Diego Unified has invested in a comprehensive and system-wide approach to school wellness since 2016. Every school has a designated school wellness coordinator and are encouraged to create wellness committees of staff, families, community partners and student wellness ambassadors to help ensure they are prioritizing health and wellness in all its facets.
The 30 San Diego Unified schools being recognized are among the 781 schools nationwide to be named as America’s Healthiest Schools for the 2022-2023 school year. Healthier Generation’s list of America’s Healthiest Schools remains one of the country’s longest-running, nationwide recognition programs honoring schools for achievements in supporting the whole health of students, teachers and staff.