Virtual Healthy School

Teacher holding tablet in classroom of students

The Virtual Healthy School is an interactive learning tool from CDC Healthy Schools. Explore the classrooms and other areas to to learn how to create healthier schools!

Students spend about 8 hours a day in school, making the school setting an ideal place to teach and model healthy behaviors. CDC’s Virtual Healthy School provides examples of what a healthy school looks like and how to implement the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model to create a healthier school.

The Virtual Health School is an online, interactive tool that provides innovative learning experiences to help make schools healthier. While the Virtual Healthy School’s major themes are nutrition, physical education and physical activity, and caring for students with chronic health conditions, like asthma and diabetes—the tool includes examples of the 10 components of the WSCC model incorporated into the entire school.

Screenshot of gymnasium

The gymnasium provides lots of opportunity for physical activity and learning about fitness.

Discover What’s in the Virtual Healthy School

Each room in the Virtual Healthy School shows a different way that school staff use the WSCC model and CDC’s School Health Index to chart their path toward a healthier school setting. These Virtual Healthy School professionals transform their school with large and small changes.

VHS school-based health center

Staff in the school-based health center provide care to students and faculty.

“Principal Paul” uses an engaging, storytelling approach as he leads a tour of the school and introduces staff. Teachers, a school health nurse, a cafeteria manager, a counselor, and others share their stories about creating healthier schools. A community map is available that shows how the school partners with local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private businesses to promote the health of students and the broader community.

This dynamic, simulated school is easy to navigate on laptops, desktops, and tablets. Move through Virtual Healthy School’s

  • Classrooms
  • 9th-12th grade health education class
  • Playground
  • Cafeteria
  • Gymnasium
  • Nurse’s Office
  • School-based Health Center
  • Counselor’s Office
  • Principal’s Office
  • Staff Lounge

You can also sit in on a meeting of the school health team. The Virtual Healthy School characters have a positive, can-do attitude that carries over from room to room.

The Virtual Healthy School provides resources, guidance, and coaching to promote evidence-based and promising practices. It uses modern learning technology and lists practical action steps to engage families and communities. Schools, parents, and communities share a common goal to support the health and well-being of young people. Studies show a strong link between students’ health and their academic achievement.

Visit the CDC Healthy Schools website for more resources, tools, and information on improving the health and well-being of children and adolescents in schools.