- Certified Healthy is a tool to assess where your school stands on supporting health
- By becoming a Certified Healthy recipient, you will receive recognition as a school that goes “above and beyond” to create a healthy, nurturing environment.
- Certified Healthy Schools have an opportunity to improve the whole school, whole community, and whole child by providing a learning environment that encourages healthier students and employees, thereby allowing them to increase both learning ability and productivity.
- Certified Healthy School award recipients are invited to professional development opportunities to grow in their wellness efforts.
- Recognition as a Certified Healthy School allows for opportunities to apply for grant funding to support initiatives that fall within the application criteria.
- Certified Healthy School recipients gain community recognition and can show their contribution to the health of Oklahomans by displaying their awards.
Certified Healthy Schools 2021 Map
Schools of all sizes are encouraged to apply to become a Certified Healthy School. School Districts are encouraged to apply as a Certified Healthy Business. We hope you will apply, regardless of school enrollment.
Tobacco Free
- As a reminder, a Smoke-Free (prohibiting the use of smoking) policy is required for Basic, Smoke-Free indoor and outdoor for Merit, and a tobacco-free policy is required for Excellence. Tobacco-Free (prohibiting the use of all tobacco and vapor products) policy must include covering All Products, and your smoke-free policy should prohibit use of any products including commercial tobacco products as well as vapes and e-cigarettes. Your policy may also prohibit smoking marijuana if you wish.
- All People: Your smoke-free policy should be applicable to anyone who may be on the property including employees, students, volunteers, guests, residents, and others as needed.
- All Property: Your smoke-free policy should prohibit use on any of your property, indoor and outdoor, whether owned or leased and should include organization owned or leased vehicles.
- All Times: Your smoke-free policy should prohibit use 24/7 so there is no exception allowing smoking or other tobacco use at specific times.
- For assistance with developing or edit a tobacco policy please visit Breathe Easy or e-mail OnlyAir@health.ok.gov.
- Note: The OSDH acknowledges the traditional and sacred use of tobacco among American Indian people living in Oklahoma. Whenever the word tobacco is referenced it refers to the use of commercial tobacco.
Applicants select activities and policies that are currently offered by their school in each of the nine categories of the Coordinated School Health model: (1) Health Education; (2) Physical Education and Physical Activity; (3) Health Services; (4) Nutrition Environment and Services; (5) Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services; (6) Physical Environment; (7) School Climate; (8) Employee Wellness; (9) Family Engagement and Community Involvement. There are three levels of certification to become a Certified Healthy School: Basic, Merit, and Excellence.
Scoring for the School applications are legislatively mandated. Each criterion selected is worth one point. The school must have the minimum criteria in EVERY category in order to be certified.
Minimum Criteria/Points Needed Per Category for Each Certification Level
- School Site
- Basic: 2 criteria from each of the 9 categories
- Merit: 3 criteria from each of the 9 categories
- Excellence: 4 criteria from each of the 9 categories
- 24/7 Tobacco Policy
- As a reminder, a Smoke-Free (prohibiting the use of smoking) policy is required for Basic, Smoke-Free indoor and outdoor for Merit, and a tobacco-free policy is required for Excellence. Tobacco-Free (prohibiting the use of all tobacco and vapor products) policy must include covering All Products, and your smoke-free policy should prohibit use of any products including commercial tobacco products as well as vapes and e-cigarettes. Your policy may also prohibit smoking marijuana if you wish.
- All People: Your smoke-free policy should be applicable to anyone who may be on the property including employees, students, volunteers, guests, residents, and others as needed.
- All Property: Your smoke-free policy should prohibit use on any of your property, indoor and outdoor, whether owned or leased and should include organization owned or leased vehicles.
- All Times: Your smoke-free policy should prohibit use 24/7 so there is no exception allowing smoking or other tobacco use at specific times.
- For assistance with developing or edit a tobacco policy please visit Breathe Easy or e-mail OnlyAir@health.ok.gov.
- As a reminder, a Smoke-Free (prohibiting the use of smoking) policy is required for Basic, Smoke-Free indoor and outdoor for Merit, and a tobacco-free policy is required for Excellence. Tobacco-Free (prohibiting the use of all tobacco and vapor products) policy must include covering All Products, and your smoke-free policy should prohibit use of any products including commercial tobacco products as well as vapes and e-cigarettes. Your policy may also prohibit smoking marijuana if you wish.
If a school has 3 criteria selected in eight categories, and a single category with only 2 criteria selected, then the assigned level of certification is Basic. If this same school has only 1 criterion selected in that single section, then the school will not be certified.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team provides assistance and consultation regarding wellness to any Oklahoma business, health department, state or community agency, organization, association, or coalition. We can provide the following services:
Sample policies related to physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco
Resources on how to begin or enhance a wellness program, including the adoption of policies related to physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco
Content expertise and information regarding best practices.
Information and technical assistance – trends, data, and best practices
Training, materials, and tool kits
Data related to physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco
Best practices being implemented and/or suggested by the State of Oklahoma
Information or technical assistance regarding the Certified Healthy process
Helpful Documents
Benefits
Q: Why is becoming Certified Healthy important to my school?
A: Certified Healthy School recipients may be eligible to apply for an incentive grant. Certified Healthy is a free assessment tool to see where your school stands on supporting health and to show recognition to schools that go ‘above and beyond’ to create a healthy, nurturing environment.
Eligibility
Q: What qualifies as a School?
A: Any public or private school that educates Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Q: If I was a Certified Healthy School last year, do I need to reapply?
A: Yes, applicants must re-apply each year for certification. Q: My school is state mandated smoke-tobacco free. Do I need to have a written policy? A: In order for a school to achieve Excellence, a school must enforce a 100% tobacco-smoke free written policy that applies to the entire property
Application Process
Q: When can I apply?
A: The application period runs from August 1st to November 1st.
Q: How do I retrieve my login information from the previous year?
A: Contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team here.
Q: Can I mail or fax my application?
A: No, all applications must be completed online. We will not accept mailed or faxed applications.
Q: How will I know if my application was submitted successfully?
A: You will receive a confirmation e-mail if your application is submitted successfully. If you do not receive this e-mail, first check your spam to see if it was sent there; if it is not there, please contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team and verify if it went through successfully. If it did not, you will need to re-submit.
Q: I work with multiple school sites. Does each one need to apply?
A: As policies and procedures vary by location, we encourage applicants to submit an application for each site. Public schools should apply per site as designated by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Also, we encourage the district offices to apply as a business, rather than a school.
Q: My school has an early childcare program connected to it. Should I apply as business program as well?
A: Yes, we encourage early childhood programs connected to and/or affiliated with a school to apply.
Q: I am having technical issues with the application and/or website. Who can I call?
A: Please contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team.
Q: I have entered my county/school district name on the application, and I received an “invalid school district” or “invalid county” code at the top of the application. Why did I get this code?
A: The application is designed to accommodate specific responses. You will need to type in only your district or county name (i.e. “Carter” instead of “Carter County” or “Idabel” instead of “Idabel School District”). The list will pre-populate as you type. Try typing in the first 3 letters of the district name or County and select from the pre-populated list that appears. The application will not allow the user to move to the following page if the information is not put in exactly the way the system recognizes.
Q: How can I find my school site code?
A: School site codes are available on the OSDE website.
Q: When will the awardees be announced?
A: This is a self-scoring application and your total will auto populate after you submit your application. If certified, you will be directed to a link with a fillable certificate template to type in your organization name. You will need to download and save this certificate for your records.
Q: When is the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Virtual Event and how much does it cost?
A: The CHO Virtual Event is held in June via Zoom and is free. This is a voluntary event to attend.
Criteria
Q: How many criteria are there on the school application?
A: There are 87 criteria total in nine categories.
Q: Are the criteria different from last year?
A: The criteria were updated in 2024 and align with the CDC. All Certified Healthy Oklahoma criteria are updated biennially to reflect the latest best and promising practices.
Q: Where did these criteria come from?
A: The Certified Healthy School criteria are based Oklahoma State Statutes 63 O.S. 2061, “Oklahoma Certified Healthy Schools Act.”
Q: I need help understanding a criterion. What should I do?
A: First, check out the Resource Guide. If you still need assistance, contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team here. If you are interested in having someone from your local community assist with your questions, please refer to the contact section.
Q: These criteria seem difficult. Who can I talk to about implementing these components?
A: Please contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team.
Scoring
Q: How will my application be scored?
A: We strive to be as transparent as possible with scoring. We use specific points for scoring, and applicants are scored based on the points of criteria checked in each category. Scoring information is available online.
Q: How many criteria do I need to check in each category to be certified?
A: Please see the scoring information. The number of criteria needed for certification varies by certification level.
Q: I did not receive certification last year. How can I improve my score this year?
A: We are here to provide technical assistance to your program. Please contact the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team. We can pull up your latest application and work with you to identify ways to improve it. Your local county health department is also a great resource for information on criteria implementation.
Contacts
Q: Who do I contact with questions about Certified Healthy Oklahoma?
A: Please submit your question to the Certified Healthy Oklahoma Technical Assistance Management Platform Request webform.
Q: Who can I contact locally for help with Certified Healthy?
A. Find a County Health Educator in your area.
Q: Who do I talk to about requirements for TSET Healthy Schools Incentive Grants?
A: You can email Laura Matlock or phone at (405) 764-4668.
What is the Certified Healthy School Program?
In 2010, Oklahoma State statute 63 O.S. 2061, "the Oklahoma Certified Healthy Schools Act,' was signed into law creating the Certified Healthy School Program. The program is administered by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Certified Healthy Oklahoma Team. Certified Healthy Schools is a free statewide annual certification dedicated to recognizing school sites that are working to improve student and employee health by providing wellness opportunities and implementing policies that lead to healthier lifestyles.
Why Does Certified Healthy Matter?
Becoming a Certified Healthy School means you are providing a healthy environment for students and employees, along with supporting an overall healthier Oklahoma. By meeting most or all of the criteria to become Certified Healthy, Schools provide an established environment to foster behavior modification among students and employees, in addition to policy adoption and implementation. Introducing children and youth to healthy behaviors and practices now will support lifelong healthy habits.
The State of Health in Oklahoma Students
Many children and youth spend seven to eight hours a day in a public school setting. This means that a healthy school environment that encourages such things as nutritious meals, physical activity, and avoidance of tobacco products can have a big impact on the health of youth. Conversely, the absence of a healthy environment can contribute to a number of negative outcomes. Health-risk behaviors such as substance use, violence, and physical inactivity are consistently linked to poor grades, decreased school attendance, lower test scores, and an inability to pay attention in class.
The nation is struggling with physical inactivity in children. According to the 2024 U.S. Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, the nation gets a grade of a “D -“. This is the same score we got in 2022. Their definition of a “D” grade is “We are succeeding with less than half of children and youth (20-39%)” p. 8 of the full report. One of the worst areas in the report was in Schools. This area got a national grade of “D –“. The Schools section of the report includes things like the percentage of schools with daily PE, recess, bike racks at school, traffic calming measures on school property, and access to facilities and equipment for physical activity. Other sections that got a D- in 2024 were Active Transportation and Sedentary Behavior.
Data for Oklahoma school children is very limited. The childhood obesity rate among 2–4-year-old WIC participants in OK is 12.9%. The prevalence rate of obesity for children ages 10-17 is 18.7% and 13.6% of this age group is considered overweight.3
In Oklahoma High School Students:
- In 2023, roughly 1 in 3 students (33.8%) described themselves as slightly or very overweight. Also, almost 44.6% were trying to lose weight4.
- 26.8% of students were physically active at least 60 minutes per day, every day of the past week4. 49.1% of students were active at least 60 minutes per day 5 or more days in the past week4.
- Just 18% of Oklahoma students ate fruit or drank 100% fruit juice 2 or more times per day in the last week. In comparison, 26.5% of U.S. students ate fruit or drank fruit juice 2 or more times per day in the last week4.
- In Oklahoma, 9% of students reported that they ate vegetables 3 or more times per day in the past week. In the nation overall, 13.1% ate vegetables 3 or more times per day in the last week4.
- In Oklahoma, 21.8% of students reported that they currently used electronic vapor products in 2023. In the U.S. overall, 16.8% currently used electronic vapor products in 20234.
By contributing to the wellness of children and youth in schools, you are helping to create a better, brighter Oklahoma. Schools that advocate for health are recognized as leaders in the community!
References
2024 U.S. Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (2022). Summary Report: https://paamovewithus.org/us-report-card-on-physical-activity-for-children-and-youth/ Full Report: https://paamovewithus.org/us-report-card-on-physical-activity-for-children-and-youth/
CDC – Fact Facts: Obesity among children in WIC. April 18, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data-and-statistics/facts-about-obesity-among-young-children-enrolled-in-wic.html
Oklahoma State Department of Health, 2022, Health for a lifetime: Obesity prevention plan. https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/health/health2/documents/State%20of%20Oklahoma%20-%20State%20Obesity%20Prevention.pdf
CDC – YRBS Explorer: Explore Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questions – United States, 2023. Available at: https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/#/