Everyone, please join us in giving a big round of applause and a huge Patch-on-the-Back to Highland Lakes Elementary for being honored with the Silver National Recoginition Award for transforming its campus into a healthier placefor students and staff.

Former President Bill Clinton presented the awards last week at the seventh annual Healthy Schools Program Forum in Little Rock, Ark.

Highland Lakes earned the award by making the following changes-

• The cafeteria manager removed all unhealthy a la carte items and found healthier replacements. 
• Each classroom started a garden, conducted physical activity breaks and a weekly Zumba class was held after school. 
• Staff meetings had a healthy snack makeover where health screenings and more wellness information was provided. 
• The PTA used the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s website to find healthy fundraising ideas.

Healthy Schools Program Forum is sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a national nonprofit organization founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. The alliance created the Healthy Schools Program to help reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States by 2015. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation primarily funds the program.

The Healthy Schools Program works with more than 15,000 schools across the nation and reaches more than nine million students, teachers and other school staff.

Thanks to Pinellas County Schools for providing this information.