Affirming Kaiser Permanente’s Commitment to School Health

For years, students at Hollywood High School held their graduation ceremonies at the Hollywood Bowl, an amphitheater a half-mile up the street from their school, large enough to hold the class of graduating seniors and their families.

Students and staff sold candy bars throughout the year to raise the necessary funds to rent the space. It was a time-honored tradition.

Hawking a few candy bars to help raise money for cash-strapped schools seems harmless enough. But when the student body is caught in the midst of a nationwide obesity epidemic; when school funding for physical education classes and healthy meal options is consistently challenged; and when the message you’re trying to impart on young people is to eat well and take better care of their health, perhaps selling candy bars sends a bit of a … mixed message.

“When I became principal of the school, I told everyone that they would have to come up with another means of raising funds for graduation,” says Hollywood High principal, Alejandra Sanchez. “Making that decision did not make me very popular amongst the students and staff here. But I believe we need to model the kinds of behavior we’re trying to encourage in our young people. If that means promoting healthier eating, then we have to model that in everything that we do.”

Improvements in school health can create lasting change

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