Montgomery County Public Schools Launches First School Wellness Council Toolkit in the State of Maryland
The Toolkit Aims to Provide Schools with the Resources Necessary to Successfully Implement Local Wellness Councils and Improve Wellness
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is excited to announce the release of the MCPS School Wellness Toolkit. Montgomery County Public Schools partnered with the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) to develop this toolkit in order to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the creation of local school wellness councils. These local wellness councils guide schools to identify their wellness needs and develop goals to enhance student health and well-being.
The school wellness toolkit will help assure that schools are compliant with the MCPS Wellness Policy/Regulations, which focuses on promoting physical and nutritional health, social-emotional well-being, and ensures that schools are compliant with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements. Language in the MCPS Wellness Regulations states that each school must have a local school wellness committee as well as the inclusion of a component of wellness in each school’s School Improvement Plan (SIP). The toolkit provides technical guidance as well as a link to hands-on individual support as needed.
MCPS is the first public school system to develop such a toolkit in the state of Maryland. Currently, there are over 110 local school wellness councils established in MCPS. To learn about their accomplishments click here.
Funding for the toolkit was made possible by the support of Trinity Health, Health Montgomery TCI, the Healthcare Initiative Foundation and the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission.
About the Transforming Communities Initiative
The Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health affiliate Holy Cross Health, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and numerous other government and community partners. Montgomery County, Maryland is one of eight locations selected by Trinity Health for investment through their national TCI grant program.
TCI is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social influencers of health. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health.
