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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced eight local educational agencies will share $270,000 in School Wellness Policy Demonstration Mini-Grants. For a list of awardees, please visit Funding Results: School Wellness Policy Demonstration Mini-Grants.

The grants will provide awardees with technical assistance and fiscal support for programs aimed at improving student health, and also provide for important evaluations that will lead to improved school wellness policies statewide. While awardees have been notified they will receive the grants, they will not be funded until a state budget is passed.

"This is yet another reason why Senate Republicans need to end the impasse and pass the state budget," said O'Connell. "At stake are the students who benefit from these grants.  Research shows when children eat a balanced diet, are physically active, and are surrounded by people who care for them, they perform better academically.  However, we need to find a way to implement this knowledge so that all children may benefit.  These grantees were selected because they had wellness policies in place that are meeting the health needs of school-age children, and their programs may provide a model that other schools can duplicate."

The School Wellness Policy Demonstration Mini-Grants are a result of the federal 2004 Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act that required all school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program to adopt and implement a district-wide school wellness policy by July 1, 2006. The competitive grants awarded by California Department of Education are part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research project that includes Iowa and Pennsylvania. The project is designed to assess the effectiveness of local wellness policy implementation at the district and school levels.

Based on matching criteria, six districts were selected as demonstration sites, and two districts will serve as comparison sites in California. The demonstration sites will receive more technical assistance and fiscal support.  The comparison sites will serve as a control group during the two-year grant period. The goal is to collect examples of successful programs, measure their effectiveness using standardized evaluation tools, and develop case studies of all districts participating in the research project.

Eligible applicants included public school districts or direct-funded charter schools that are in good standing as sponsors of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program that serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, and have a least 300 students. Of the 13 applicants, the eight grantees were selected based on the quality of their applications, needs of their students, plans to ensure effective implementation and evaluation of school wellness policies, and plans to sustain their strategies after the grant ends. The applicants represent a diverse group accounting for school sizes, student demographics, geographic location, and various percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals.

The findings of this research project will ultimately result in districts adopting and implementing wellness policies that will create an environment where active and well-nourished students are more likely to attend school and be better prepared to learn.  California has been on the forefront of enacting nutrition standards in schools to eliminate junk food and battle the silent epidemic of childhood obesity.  The findings in this project will also provide California with information regarding the financial impact of these standards; and, thereby, help schools throughout the nation to base their wellness policy decisions on accurate data.

For more information on the School Wellness Policy Demonstration Mini-Grants, please visit Past Funding Profile (ID 1099): School Wellness Policy Demonstration Mini-Grants.