South Dakota

The South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH) and partners provide professional development and technical assistance to schools through a project called Good & Healthy South Dakota SchoolsExternal. This program increased healthy school environments by promoting food service guidelines, nutrition standards, and best practices for physical education and physical activity.

SD DOH collaborated with the South Dakota Department of Education (SD DOE) and South Dakota State University to conduct regional Healthy School Meals trainings. These trainings helped school nutrition employees representing 36 schools fully meet child nutrition guidelines, including requirements for professional standards. Another training series incorporated members of the SPARK PEExternal Speakers Bureau to deliver training on increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity during physical education classes and other settings to K-12 physical education teachers and physical activity leaders representing 23 schools.

Impact

Project-related data and results from the 2016 South Dakota School Health Profiles show an increase in secondary school physical education teachers or specialists trained on best practices in physical education and physical activity and an increase in the implementation of strategies to support healthy school nutrition environments (e.g., decreased sales of less healthy food and beverages, increased access to fruits and vegetables in cafeterias and other school sites).

The Good & Healthy South Dakota Schools program also led the revision process for updating the South Dakota Standards for K–12 Physical Education adopted in 2014 by the South Dakota Board of Education.