The CommonHealth of Kentucky
A 13-part KET production aimed at improving the health of all Kentuckians by sharing health and wellness projects from across the state that are succeeding in making their communities healthier.
Be Well Kentucky
a project of KET’s Be Well Kentucky initiative
The CommonHealth of Kentucky is a 2005 KET production. Produced in partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
LaRue County Coordinated School Health Initiative
LaRue County Schools, 208 College St., Hodgenville, KY 42748, (270) 358-8334
Featured in: Program 3 | Program 4 | Program 11 | Program 13
When the LaRue County Schools won the grant they were seeking to start a health project, the first order of business was a little self-diagnosis. That assessment discovered an “overwhelming need” to improve health education in the district. So the steering committee for the LaRue County Coordinated School Health Initiative, including both educators and community members, drafted a plan that emphasizes prevention of health problems—particularly obesity—through education, nutrition, and fitness.
Many of the plan’s components, of course, are for kids. But adults are expected to set a good example. School staff members participate in a “get healthy” diet and exercise program, including at-work health screenings, and events such as a bike festival and a health fair have extended the activities into the community.
Meanwhile, LaRue County students now get milk instead of soda from school vending machines, celebrate birthdays each month with healthy treats, and practice portion control at lunch with the help of measuring cups. Written district policy now mandates health education at all grade levels, and students are encouraged to share what they learn and get their families involved in healthier habits, too. And PE has once again become the best part of many kids’ days: They can take archery lessons, climb rock walls, practice jump-rope routines, learn to juggle, or participate in a fitness club.
The LaRue County effort doesn’t neglect mental health, either. A key part of the initiative is that therapeutic counseling is available to all students throughout the district.