A "School Wellness Committee" - made up of concerned parents like you -- is a group that can be as diverse as the students whose interests they represent. Community members have the opportunity to form Wellness Committees in order to implement policy within their specific schools. This is based on the School Wellness Policy that schools are required to develop. This means that your community gets to design a program that caters to the specific needs of your children.

• What Can a Wellness Committee Do For My School?How Do I Get Involved?

What Can a Wellness Committee Do For My School?

Your school's Wellness Committee can be a valuable resource in a number of ways. Key among them is influencing nutrition standards for food served to the children in your community.

Here are a few of the successful measures that some Wellness Committees have taken up so that they could positively affect changes in student behavior, academic achievement and engagement:

• Putting bottled water in vending machines in place of soft drinks.
• Offering more healthful a la carte offerings in the lunch room.
• Removing deep fryers from the school kitchens.
• Providing school nurses with training to deal with nutritional problems and eating disorders.
• Organizing health fairs and fitness events for students and their families.

How Do I Get Involved?

You can be an active member of your School Wellness Committee and accomplish your own brand of success. Because every district and every School Wellness Committee is unique, there is no one way to get involved.

Here are some of the ways you can get started:

1. Communicate with other parents. You may find that parents you know are already involved with your school's Wellness Committee or are in touch with members.
2. Talk to your child. Your student can be the best source of information. Your children may be able to inform you of upcoming meetings or events they've heard about or seen posted on school bulletin boards.
3. Visit your district's website. District websites are powerful tools for gathering information. Besides listing upcoming events and important notices, the site will have contact information for key school district staff.
4. Talk to your child's teacher or principal. The next time you pick your child up from school or attend a parent teacher meeting, ask your child's teacher for the scoop on the school's Wellness Committee.
5. Call the superintendent's office. It is most likely that your superintendent is most directly involved in the creation and implementation of the wellness policy as well as the wellness committees, and should be able to point you in the right direction.
6. Ask the School Board. The school board elected in your local area may also be involved in wellness policy adoption and implementation. These meetings are open to the public and take place regularly. Meeting dates and policies should be posted on your school's bulletin board, on the district's website, or even in your local newspaper.
7. Attend an Event! Once you've done your research, take part in your Wellness Committee's next meeting or event. Learn more about what your School Wellness Committee is doing to keep your children healthy and how you can be a part of the action!