How WELL are WE doing with WELLNESS? Planning to evaluate our school’s wellness activities

WELCOME and INTRODUCTIONS Purpose is to brainstorm and plan the most effective ways to evaluate some of our school wellness activities Every member of this group has a critical role to play in the process Brief introductions of team

GROUND RULES Open brainstorming All ideas are welcome Let no good idea go unheard Quantity not quality Record all ideas Have fun Stick to positives Look to future

New Wellness World School wellness policies are just in their infancy. No one is precisely sure how to measure success yet. Many new strategies/tools will develop to meet needs.

Update on OUR Wellness Policy Federal requirements Local policy Assessments

Role of Evaluation The key is using evaluation to improve our school’s approach to health and wellness for students and staff.

Using evaluation for improvement Write school wellness policies to reflect best practices. Collect baseline data prior to intervention. Begin intervention using appropriate resources. (Repeat cycle as necessary.) EVALUATE effects of the intervention activities. Rewrite or adapt school wellness policy.

EXAMPLE: Improving Classroom Rewards School wellness policy is originally written as: Encourage non-food rewards in the classroom. Baseline survey: 90% of teachers use food rewards regularly Activity: Alternatives to Food as a Reward distributed Evaluation: 75% of teachers still use food rewards at times Activity: Staff in-service training on Effective Rewards for Optimal Performance with Registered Dietitian (RD) from Health Department and experienced classroom teacher Evaluation: Most teachers have discontinued the use of food to reward performance in their classrooms School wellness team recommends strengthening the school wellness policy to read: Only non-food rewards may be used in classrooms.

Measurements of success for busy schools Level 1 Pre-assessment Level 2 OUR MAIN TASK: Ongoing evaluation Level 3 Research and replication

EVALUATION Easy Recognizing how busy we already are Efficient Using existing data when possible Effective Working to improve wellness activities

Current Wellness Activities What do we do NOW to enhance the nutrition and fitness opportunities for students and staff at school?

Possible Wellness Activities What could we do IN THE FUTURE to enhance the nutrition and fitness opportunities for students and staff at school?

Not every activity can be evaluated immediately WHICH ACTIVITIES do we choose to evaluate? Important for students and staff? Possible to measure with relative ease? In need of improvement or resources? Key component of our wellness program?

BRAINSTORM Activity Goal Output SHORT-Term Outcome (6-9 months) MEDIUM-Term Outcome (1-2 years) LONG-Term Outcome (3+ years) Impact

Thinking outside boxes Be realistic Choosing the simplest approach to get the data we need. Be flexible Adapting our approach as we move through the process. Be creative Getting help from not-the-usual places and people. Be smart Maximizing our use of existing data and information.

NEXT STEPS What do we need? Background information? Survey or questionnaire? Online data collection? Who is going to find it? Assignments?

THANK YOU Next meeting DATE? TIME?