Healthy changes help Spout Springs students soar

FLOWERY BRANCH - When Spout Springs School of Enrichment physical education (PE) teacher Tom Adam attended his first district wellness team meeting with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, he sat in the back of the room, arms crossed. "I'll be honest, the demands on our time are many, and this was just one more thing to do," he said.<br /> <br /> But the spirit of that meeting changed Adam forever. Adam became a believer and a fierce champion for wellness and the Healthy Schools Program. He said, "Working with the Healthy Schools Program is life-changing. For me, and more importantly for our students and their parents, it has been nothing less than a culture change for our community."<br /> <br /> Spout Springs utilized the Healthy School Program Framework to achieve excellence and in just three short years, has been recognized with the program's Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards. This year it is one of only six schools in the country to achieve "gold" status.<br /> <br /> The Healthy Schools Program's combination of high quality technical assistance, professional development, tools, resources, and access to national experts to support implementation helped Spout Springs become the first elementary school to achieve this honor in the Southeastern United States. <br /> <br /> "The Alliance gave us the road map, the tools and the recognition. They helped us identify where we were currently, where we were we going and what incentives we needed to get there. The Alliance made it so easy," said Jacob Weiers, district wellness coordinator for Hall County Schools.<br /> <br /> "It was a team approach."<br /> <br /> (Click on the link below to read more about the Healthy Schools Program and its impact on Spout Springs and other schools in in Hall County, northeast Georgia, the state and the country.)

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