Henry County, VA – Students in Henry County are seeing significant, healthy changes this year. Henry County Public Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the division and their overall academic success, with 6,938 students covered under the policy revision and having access to the support they need to stay hydrated during the day. By prioritizing the well-being of its students, Henry County Public Schools is setting a great example for other school divisions to follow.
This updated policy was developed in collaboration with Rev Your Bev, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s (VFHY) healthy hydration campaign, and its statewide, award-winning high school program, Y Street.
Research has consistently proven that water is the healthiest beverage choice as it acts as fuel for your body. Since 2013, Rev Your Bev and Y Street have devoted and sustained efforts to spread healthy hydration messages to help individuals make drinking water a habit and improve Virginians’ overall health. Henry County Public Schools’ revised wellness policy now aligns more with Rev Your Bev’s best practices. The new policy language expands on the existing policy by recognizing water as an essential nutrient, adding provisions for access in high-traffic areas, requiring hygiene and safety standards for water sources, and encouraging teachers, staff, and admin to role model healthy drinking behaviors.
VFHY and Y Street are committed to supporting Virginia school divisions’ efforts to maintain a positive, healthy learning environment and serve as a resource for Virginia schools. “The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth is thrilled to have Henry County Public Schools join as a partner to support healthy hydration. Adequate water consumption is a great habit for youth to develop and a key component to creating positive health outcomes,” said Executive Director Marty Kilgore.
The impact of the updated policy is expected to increase students’ water consumption and promote positive, healthy hydration. Henry County Public Schools joins the growing list of divisions with comprehensive wellness policies prioritizing water access and promotion, becoming Rev Your Bev’s 21st partner. Henry County Public Schools will receive free resources such as water bottles from VFHY as part of its partnership with Rev Your Bev to support the division in implementing its updated policy.
“Henry County Public Schools is proud to partner with Rev Your Bev! We look forward to sharing these hydration resources with our students to encourage water consumption throughout the day! We envision these materials will positively impact the statistics on student hydration. According to the CDC, approximately half of school-aged children do not drink enough water, negatively affecting academic performance. We commit to embracing wellness by promoting access to water and increasing hydration across our division!” says Mark Stroud, School Nutrition Specialist.
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About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)
Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity. VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, day cares and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight on methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.
