LearnWELL, an initiative of Healthy CPS (Chicago Public Schools): Strategies for local school wellness policy implementation in a large urban school district

Background

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is committed to ensuring a healthy school environment for the more than 400,000 students in the district.  With an estimated 87% of students from low-income families and nearly 50% being overweight or obese, socioeconomic disparities are abundant.

 To address this discrepancy, CPS passed two strengthened wellness policies in 2012. Numerous studies have shown that while school districts are generally meeting the federally mandated requirement to have a wellness policy, there is wide variance in both the policy’s strength and implementation. CPS evaluated different wellness policy implementation strategies for CPS elementary schools, which may serve as a useful model for other school districts.  

 Methods

The wellness policies were divided into 12 criteria and branded as the LearnWELL initiative. A variety of different strategies were used to help schools meet policy criteria and become LearnWELL schools. Strategy effectiveness was evaluated using a school-level wellness survey that measured alignment to policies pre and post specific strategy implementation.

 Results

Results indicated that specialized, tailored technical assistance combined with adequate funding is the most effective strategy for implementing school wellness policies. Detailed outcomes on strategies to implement school wellness policies will be presented, including survey results that show the greatest and least successful implementation strategies district-wide. Lessons learned and best practices for the implementation process will also be shared.

 Conclusions

Conclusions will articulate key strategies needed for effective school wellness policy implementation. Best practices gleaned from this project can serve as a model for other school districts across the country.