Empowering a Healthier Generation Competition Schools
Livingston Manor students using The Walking Classroom outside the school.
The Sullivan 180 Empowering a Healthier Generation program is a school-based effort to promote health and wellness among students, staff, parents and the school community. The idea is to create a grassroots movement that will change policy and environments.
Since the program launch in 2021, Sullivan 180 has welcomed 22 Healthier Generation Advisors representing all Sullivan County public school buildings, Sullivan BOCES and SUNY Sullivan. Healthier Generation advisors receive an annual stipend from Sullivan 180 to serve as liaisons and coordinators for the Healthier Generation work in their school building.
In addition, participating schools are eligible to apply for grants to support and implement initiatives that advance the wellness goals of their schools.
Sullivan 180 has also assembled the Empowering a Healthier Generation Council, made up of School District Wellness Coordinators, Healthier Generation Advisors, and organizations that offer resources to the schools and the community.
Outside of the school grant program, during the 2022-2023 school year, five school buildings were awarded Healthier Generation Competition Grants in the amount of $5,000 each; and are competing for Healthier Generation Awards in the amount of $75,000 and $50,000 that will be presented in the fall of 2023.
Participants in the Empowering a Healthier Generation Competition include: Benjamin Cosor Elementary, Fallsburg; Livingston Manor Elementary; Livingston Manor High School; Cooke Elementary, Monticello; Sullivan West Elementary
“The competition phase has enabled schools to elevate their health and wellness initiatives and gain greater school community support.” said Meaghan Mullally-Gorr, Director of Health & Wellness. “Healthier Generation Committees made up of diverse voices including staff, students, families, and administration, are working together to implement health initiatives that continue to grow a culture of wellness and empower the next generation.”
“The Empowering a Healthier Generation program through Sullivan 180 has positively impacted my schools.” Shared John Evans, Superintendent, Roscoe and Livingston Manor Central School Districts. “There is a noticeable excitement from students, staff, and the entire school community surrounding some of our recent wellness initiatives.”
To learn more about Empowering a Healthier Generation visit www.sullivan180.org or contact Meaghan Mullally-Gorr at 845-295-2685 or Meaghan@Sullivan180.org.
Benjamin Cosor Elementary School, Fallsburg School District – Walking Classroom
The Walking Classroom’s goal is to increase physical activity, health literacy, engagement and academic performance through kid-friendly educational pod casts that students listen to on an audio player while walking inside or outside the school building with their classmates in grades three through eight. BCES uses this program both during the school day and in after school programming as a supplement to the lessons that are being taught in the classroom. Each podcast begins with a message related to health, and character values are woven throughout the lesson.
George L. Cooke Elementary School, Monticello School District – Staff Wellness Program
The staff at the Cooke School have been participating in weekly yoga, Zumba and mindfulness classes throughout the school year. They also had the opportunity to participate in the Monticello Teacher’s Association 5K walk, The Tinsel Trot, through a sponsorship. The goal of the programming is to encourage the school staff to address their own health and wellness needs, which in turn, helps them in the classroom and at home.
Livingston Manor Elementary School – Walking Classroom and Snowshoes
The national award-winning Walking Classroom program provides students and teachers with an innovative way to get exercise without sacrificing instructional time. The evidence-based nonprofit program’s “Walk, Listen, and Learn” methodology capitalizes on the favorable link between exercise and cognitive function.
Students used snowshoes in gym classes and at recess, and staff were able to sign them out for weekend use.
Livingston Manor Middle/High School – Walking Classroom and Snowshoes
The Walking Classroom program is simple: Students take brisk 20-minute walks as a class while listening to the same custom-written, kid-friendly podcast that comes preloaded on their audio player. The lesson plans and quizzes in the available Teacher’s Guide help educators effectively discuss and review the podcast material. Aligned to state standards, the podcast topics include English language arts, social studies, science, and more.
Students used snowshoes in gym classes and at recess, and staff were able to sign them out for weekend use.
Sullivan West Elementary School – Miss Kendra Curriculum
Miss Kendra Programs equip teachers, counselors, and other school personnel to build healthy, resilient schools for every child through open classroom conversations that weave together trauma-informed care, Social Emotional Literacy and resiliency. Through the imaginative and playful world of Miss Kendra, students explore their worries and traumas that interfere with their ability to learn and focus on their schoolwork. It is rooted in the core social emotional competencies set out by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning.