An Evaluation of King County School District’s Wellness Policies

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the wellness polices in King County’s nineteen school districts. The evaluation of current wellness policies (2013) was compared to an evaluation done in 2009 by University of Washington public health students. To supplement, a small number of King County principals were ask to complete a short survey. Results of the evaluations showed many changes regarding district’s policies from 2009 to present. For example, regarding the items “nutrition education teaches skills that are behavior-focused” and “nutrition education quality addressed,” both were reported to be strong in 2009, however their emphases in current policies have gone down. In contrast, the item “nutrition education integrated into other subjects beyond health” increased from 2009 to present. The introduction to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 impacted the overall strength of King County wellness policies. The strength of written policies is not a determinant of how successful these policies are being implemented; further research is needed to assess impact of wellness policies.