WHERE WE LEARN

Many Oklahoma schools, large and small, have been successful in taking action to improve the health of their students and faculty. Students and parents can make a difference by getting involved and encouraging schools to improve school food choices and physical activity programs.

There are resources available to help promote the values and attitudes that will set children on a healthy course throughout their lives. An excellent gauge for educators to determine how your school is doing in its efforts to provide a wellness-friendly environment is the Oklahoma's Healthy and Fit School Scorecard. The Healthy Oklahoma Schools Manual is a comprehensive resource for making students' learning environments healthier places.  Click here for a downloadable copy of the Healthy Oklahoma Schools Manual.

The Oklahoma Farm to School Program provides the opportunity for schools to purchase locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables to serve in school breakfast and lunch programs. Farm to School also integrates hands-on learning through gardening, farm and farmers market visits, cooking and tasting classes, along with nutrition and educational curriculum.

Programs offered to Oklahoma's youth outside of the formal school setting present exceptional opportunities to increase physical activity, promote better eating habits, and protect children and youth from experimentation with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The Oklahoma Afterschool Network can help you implement quality programs addressing these risk behaviors. CATCH-Kids Club (Coordinated Approach to Child Health), a nutrition and physical activity after-school pilot, will be launched throughout Oklahoma by the Oklahoma State Department of Health and county health educators, along with after-school partners in the fall of 2007. 

Oklahoma's colleges are taking progressive steps to produce a bright and healthy workforce. One great example is the University of Central Oklahoma's Healthy Campus 2010, a cutting-edge program designed specifically for a college community.  This program sets health goals for students, faculty and staff, while encouraging them to eat better, move more, and be tobacco free.The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are the coordinating board of control for all institutions in the State System of Higher Education. The State Regents prescribe academic standards of higher education, determine functions and courses of study at state colleges and universities, grant degrees, recommend to the state Legislature budget allocations for each college and university, and recommend proposed fees within limits set by the Legislature. The State Regents also manage 23 scholarships and special programs and, in cooperation with the Office of State Finance, operate OneNet, the state's information and telecommunications network for education and government. The State Regents also operate the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program, which guarantees loans made to students by the private sector.