Healthy Schools Partnerships

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Kentucky Employees' Health Plan

The Department of Employee Insurance (DEI) administers insurance benefits, including the Kentucky Employees' Health Plan, for Commonwealth employees and retirees. At DEI, we support the Commonwealth's public servants and their families by providing comprehensive health and wellness benefits at an affordable cost. In fact, many benefits included with your health plan coverage are offered at no additional cost to members. By offering health insurance with prescription benefits and dental, vision, and life insurance, members can tailor coverage to meet their needs.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation

In December 2016, the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) approved the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy Schools Program (HSP) assessment as a tool that each school district may use to evaluate its nutrition and physical activity environment. KRS 158.856 and KRS 160.345 require an annual assessment tool and public reporting. This board approved action was in response to a recommendation by the Office of Education Accountability (OEA) as part of the Recess and Physical Education (K-5) Report, published in November 2015. The Healthy Schools Program is an evidenced-based approach that each school and district may use for compliance with KRS 158.856 and KRS 160.345. In October 2016, KDE issued updated guidance recommending the Healthy Schools Program assessment. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation's (the Alliance) work in schools aligns with the WSCC model. The Healthy Schools Program empowers school and district leaders to create and sustain healthy schools where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically.

Action for Healthy Kids

Action for Healthy Kids offers school grants, in-depth resources, and personalized support to schools and districts to create sustainable programs and policies to support students' physical and emotional health. Their key program areas include food access and nutrition education, physical activity and active play, and social emotional health and risk behavior prevention.

Kentucky Society for Health and Physical Educators

The Kentucky Society for Health and Physical Educators (KYSHAPE) is the state's professional organization for health education and physical education teachers. KYSHAPE energizes teachers so they can inspire students to enjoy movement, maintain wellness and be their best. KYSHAPE has built a community where teachers from across the Commonwealth coach each other through challenges and empower each other to advocate for improving policy, programs, and practices for health education and physical education.

Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance

The Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance's (KYOSA) mission is to support the continued growth, development, and accessibility of quality out-of-school programs to promote the success of children and youth. KYOSA achieves this mission by forging statewide, regional, and local cross-sector collaborations, advancing statewide policy, building the capacity of the out-of-school time workforce, and providing a centralized hub of data and resources. 

Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children

The Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children has established as a coalition to work in the school setting in recognition of the fact that this setting strongly impacts behavior and plays a critical role in the development and support of children as they grow and learn. The Coalition is a space for advocacy organizations and community members to share expertise and information, identify and promote policy priorities and programs, organize campaigns, and mobilize advocacy efforts with the goal of improving the health and well-being of children and youth.

Kentucky Department for Public Health

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) Division of Maternal and Child Health provides leadership, in partnership with key stakeholders, to improve the physical, socio-emotional health, safety and well-being of all Kentucky women, infants, children, adolescents and their families. Programs within the Division include healthy schools, school health nursing, and strengthening families. 

Baptist Health Madisonville Deaconess School Wellness Initiative

The Baptist Health Deaconess School Wellness Initiative is an anti-obesity wellness promotion program offered by the Delta Rural Network Center at Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, Inc. in Madisonville, KY. The Initiative serves far Western Kentucky's twenty rural Mississippi Delta region counties and offers assistance to public service area school districts, elementary, middle, and high schools with:

• Establishing sustainable school wellness leadership groups to assess and address health and wellness activity and issues;
• Retention of classroom-based physical activity beyond required physical education;
• Providing professional development training for school staff;
• Healthy lifestyle activities and presentations for students and residents; and
• Wellness policy review.