Alaska Schools Set the Bar High in Supporting Healthy Habits

About 1 out of 3 Alaska children is growing up at an unhealthy weight. Schools throughout Alaska are determined to make a difference. They have worked with parents, school boards, districts and the whole community to teach the importance of daily physical activity and choosing healthy foods and drinks. They have provided healthy options to hundreds of children, from installing water bottle filling stations to providing daily physical education classes and more. Read these examples that were published in 2018.

Success Stories

• Making Physical Activity Easier for Alaska Children

  Alaska kids are great at getting out to play in any weather, but coordinating outdoor play can be a struggle during the school day. Communities are making activity more accessible by building playgrounds kids can use anytime.

• Meeting Recommendations for Physical Education in Schools

  Alaska parents may think their children get a physical education class as often as they did growing up. In 2017, however, only 1 out of 5 Alaska high school students attended daily physical education classes.
  

• Creating Soda-Free Schools and Smart Snack Solutions

  One way to help children grow up at a healthy weight is to cut back on serving them sugary drinks. Reducing added sugar can lead to many health benefits. It can prevent type 2 diabetes, cavities, unhealthy weight gain, even heart disease. School districts are making changes that limit added sugar for hundreds of children who attend their schools every day.

• Cutting Back on Sugar by Serving White Milk for School Lunches

  Schools from the southeast to the northernmost part of the state are reducing how much sugar children are drinking at school by focusing on the milk they serve. Schools in two districts are limiting milk options to plain white milk with no added flavors or sugar.

• Making it Easier for Kids to Drink Water at School

  One way to help children cut back on unhealthy sugary drinks is to give kids more access to drinking water. That's the change that Petersburg School District made in schools across the Southeast community.

• Recognizing Children's Birthdays with Books, Not Sweet Treats

  If it's your birthday at Stedman Elementary School in Petersburg, your day is going to start off with a school-wide celebration. The principal will announce your name during morning announcements. You'll be invited to come to the main office to pick out your own book to keep in honor of your birthday.
  

• Serving Fish and Locally Harvested Foods for School Lunches

  At school districts across Alaska, students can sit down for school lunch and be served locally harvested, Alaska-grown ingredients. That includes locally caught salmon and other types of fish in Sitka schools and Alaska blueberries in the North Slope.

• Providing Healthy Food for Schools through Community Gardens

  School districts are partnering with their communities to serve healthy, locally harvested food to children during school. Involving children in gardening is a great way to support physical activity and healthy eating, as well as build a sense of contributing to their community.

Webpage published in 2018​