A Midlands school district has more healthy schools than any in SC, report says
The Richland 1 school district has more healthy schools than any other school district in SC, according to a newly released report.
The report, released this week by Alliance for Healthier Generation, found 17 elementary, middle and high schools in Richland 1 made the organization’s list for “Healthiest Schools in America”, according to the report.
“The programs that are developed through this process help schools establish a culture of wellness,” Richland 1 spokeswoman Karen York said in an email. “The whole community benefits from sustainable, healthy initiatives. This motivates students, parents and staff to make healthy choices for a lifetime.”
Schools are ranked based primarily on how nutritious the schools’ menus are, whether the schools offer daily breakfast and whether the schools offer quality physical education and health courses.
Schools can receive either a gold, silver or bronze award. Richland 1 has four schools receive silver and 13 schools receive bronze. Nationwide, 355 schools in 23 states received either a gold, silver or bronze award, according to the alliance’s website. Since 2011, Richland 1 has earned 61 National Healthy Schools Awards, York said. Since then, 37 of the district’s 45 schools have received one of the awards.
Last year, 14 schools in Richland 1 made the “Healthiest Schools in America” list, according to the 2018 list.
Teaching students to eat healthy at a young age can have ripple effects for throughout their lives.
“Dietary habits established in childhood often carry into adulthood, so teaching children how to eat healthy at a young age will help them stay healthy throughout their life,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website.
Schools that received a silver
A. C. Flora High School
Brockman Elementary School
Crayton Middle School
Lower Richland High School
Schools that received a bronze
Brennen Elementary School
Burton-Pack Elementary School
Carver-Lyon Elementary School
Forest Heights Elementary School
Gadsden Elementary School
Gibbes Middle School
Horrell Hill Elementary School
Lewis Greenview Elementary School
Meadowfield Elementary School
Olympia Learning Center
Pine Grove Elementary School
South Kilbourne Elementary School
Webber Elementary School
This story was originally published September 20, 2019 at 2:38 PM.