Making Wellness Work: A Guide to Implementing and Monitoring School Wellness Policies in Maryland

Wellness policies in Maryland have come a long way since the initial development prior to the 2006 – 2007 school year. Creating a school-wide culture of wellness for students and staff is crucial for the health of future generations. A Wellness Policy will benefit our children only when we are able to follow through with successful implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities. This guide was developed to support the efforts of school systems’ in Maryland to monitor and evaluate their Wellness Policy. Each of the four required components of Wellness Policies–physical activity or education, nutrition standards, nutrition education, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness–is addressed in the guide. The guide provides information on:

• Wellness Policy goals;
• implementation activities;
• steps to support implementation;
• expected outcomes aligned with activities; and
• monitoring opportunities.