by Keshia Crosby

NLC?s first-ever leadership academy on city-school strategies to combat childhood obesity through school wellness plans will take place in Nashville, Tenn., during the week of Jan. 29, 2007.

The leadership academy will be hosted by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

The leadership academy will focus on the implementation of federally mandated school wellness policies as tools for addressing childhood obesity. All school districts participating in federal school lunch or breakfast programs are now required to develop and implement school wellness plans that address nutrition and physical activity.

Today, one-third (33.6 percent) of American children and adolescents are either obese or at risk of becoming obese, according to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Health problems arising from childhood obesity include heart attack and stroke, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Municipal leaders interested in forging stronger partnerships with schools around the growing childhood obesity epidemic will be given a unique opportunity to learn and network with officials from cities and schools across the country.

Selection Criteria
Two-person teams composed of one elected city official or senior municipal staff person and one superintendent or assistant superintendent may apply to attend the leadership academy.

Selection criteria will focus on how well the applicants demonstrate that the academy can assist them in implementing school wellness plans. Successful applications will feature evidence that city-school collaboration is already occurring or will occur in the near future.

There is a joint application for cities and schools that must be submitted together. Due to the limited size of the academy, it is expected that no more than one team per city or town can be accepted.

Benefits for Participants
Selected teams will learn ideas and strategies, receive useful guidance on implementation and obtain helpful assistance from peers. The academy will empower the teams to strengthen collaboration back home in order to move forward in the school wellness plan implementation process. Selected participants will be reimbursed for travel-related expenses (airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, parking, etc.). 

Another benefit of the leadership academy is that participating teams will be given preference should they choose to apply for a follow-up school wellness planning technical assistance project in their community. Four to six cities will be selected to receive joint assistance from NLC and AASA.

Details: The application for the leadership academy can be found at www.nlc.org/iyef. For more information on the leadership academy or childhood obesity, contact Keshia Crosby at (202) 626-3074 or crosby@nlc.org.