Insights from the Healthy Schools Initiative in El Paso

The Healthy Schools Initiative, spearheaded by Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), was launched to enhance child health within the El Paso region, a predominantly Hispanic community along the U.S.-Mexico border. This initiative utilized the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model as a comprehensive school health promoting guide for its intervention efforts (Lewallen et al., 2015).

AFHK played a pivotal role in supporting school districts to actively engage in expanding health-related activities and infrastructure, enhancing parental and community involvement, and developing health policies. Additionally, the initiative formed a regional coalition, thereby fortifying a network of support and resources dedicated to promoting school health. This coalition was instrumental in organizing events such as school health summits and providing targeted training and virtual learning sessions, all aimed at enriching the community’s resources to support child health.

The initiative also provided grant funding to specific schools, further supporting their efforts to implement and sustain health-promoting practices. Through these comprehensive actions, the Healthy Schools Initiative sought to foster an environment where children’s health and well-being are holistically prioritized and supported.

In this study, we evaluate the impact of the Healthy Schools Initiative on the adoption of school health best practices, using the School Health Index (SHI) for assessment. Our focus is on 60 schools within the El Paso region that participated in the initiative and completed multiple SHI assessments. The findings will provide crucial insights into how the Healthy Schools Initiative, guided by the WSCC framework, enhances the implementation of school health best practices.

Download Case Study: Insights from the Healthy Schools Initiative in El Paso