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Weatherford Public Schools Honored for Efforts to Improve Health

Friday, May 17, 2019

Weatherford, OK (May 17, 2019) – Weatherford Public Schools was honored on Wednesday for their efforts to improve health through the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Healthy Incentive Program for Schools.

To receive the $30,000 incentive grant, Weatherford Public Schools put a variety of policies and strategies in place to promote health and wellness for students and staff. The district will be using the grant funds for physical education (PE) & physical activity equipment for elementary school sites, secondary PE & health education curriculum, equipment and supplies to support hands-on learning experiences in Health, Wellness & Nutrition Education classes for students, cafeteria equipment for elementary kitchens, and water bottle filling stations at multiple school sites to encourage increased water consumption for students and staff throughout the day. 

TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee and Sharon Howard, TSET Healthy Incentive Program manager for Schools, presented a plaque and big check to Weatherford Public Schools Superintendent Chad Wilson, Assistant Superintendent Steve Callen, and Sharbee Heinrichs, Director of Nutrition Services with Opaa! Food Management, Inc. Representatives from the TSET Healthy Living Program serving Custer County were also on hand for the presentation.

The incentive grant criteria focus on strengthening district wellness policies to improve school nutrition, increase physical activity, student wellbeing and provide tobacco-free environments for students, staff, faculty and families. These health-promoting practices and policies are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Incentive grant funds must be used for projects or programs to improve health.

 “These grants recognize the efforts of school districts and school sites that are actively promoting healthy lifestyles,” said TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee. “Studies show that active, healthy kids perform better in school and we want to recognize schools that are making the healthy choice the easy choice for students, staff and the community.”

Funds for the TSET Healthy Incentive Program are limited and all available funds have been exhausted for this fiscal year. The grant program is expected to re-open for the next fiscal year.

The TSET Board of Directors has awarded grants to 54 school districts and school sites and 33 communities. Over $1.9 million in grants have been provided to promote partnerships at the local level to improve health and promote healthy behaviors in schools and communities.

The TSET Healthy Living Program works to prevent and reduce tobacco use and obesity by partnering with schools, community organizations, worksites, and local governments to promote healthy choices. Healthy Living Program staff, collaborate with community champions across all sectors and throughout the county in order to make Custer County a healthier place to live, learn, work, and play.

TSET was created by a constitutional amendment in 2000 as a long term strategy to improve health and ensure settlement payments from a 1998 multi-state lawsuit against the tobacco industry are used to improve the health of all Oklahomans. The funds are placed in an endowment to ensure a growing funding source for generations to come. Only the earnings from the endowment are used to fund grants and programs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                
Whitney Dinger, whitneyd@tset.ok.gov
Direct: 405-521-4959
Cell: 405-227-0488

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The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public's health. TSET. Better Lives Through Better Health.

Last Modified on Jan 25, 2022
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