Overview

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 how important it is to have daily physical activity and choose 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. The stories below were published in 2018.

Success Stories

Making Physical Activity Easier

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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.

Making Physical Activity Easier

 

Meeting Physical Education Standards

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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.

Meeting Physical Education Standards

Creating Soda-Free Schools

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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.

Creating Soda-Free Schools

Cutting Back on Sugar at Lunch

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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.

Cutting Back on Sugar at Lunch

Helping Kids Drink More Water

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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.

Helping Kids Drink More Water

Recognizing Birthdays Without Sweets

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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 Locally Sourced Foods to Students

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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.

Serving Locally Sourced Foods to Students

Community Gardens Provide Healthy Food

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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.

Community Gardens Provide Healthy Food

Resources

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