Building a Healthy Mississippi


Healthy School Awards Program



Purpose

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation’s Healthy School Awards recognizes and rewards public schools with health policies and programs promoting healthy eating, physical activity, staff wellness, tobacco-free lifestyles among students and staff, and parental and community involvement. The criteria for this award is based on state and national school health standards.

The goal of these awards is to motivate Mississippi schools as they create and maintain healthy school environments. Healthy schools help students achieve full academic potential and support them in developing lifelong healthy behaviors. The Healthy School Awards assists school leaders in their efforts to make their schools, and ultimately our state, a healthier place to live.

Awards

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation invites all K-12 public schools to apply for the Healthy School Awards. If your school is one that promotes health, you are eligible to be recognized and rewarded for your efforts in establishing a healthy school environment.

The Foundation may award a "Healthy School Award" grant to one school, or award "Healthy School Award" grants to multiple schools, each at $50,000, regardless of school enrollment.

Eligibility of Winning Schools

The Healthy School Awards is open to public K-12 schools physically located in Mississippi. The Healthy School Awards is a school-level recognition award. School districts are not eligible to apply.

Schools that have received a $50,000 award as part of the Healthy School Awards Program are ineligible to submit an award application.

Application and Selection

Many schools may not meet all the criteria or have all the policies in place that the application suggests. However, the winning schools will be those that have made the most strides in creating a healthy school environment and demonstrated the highest level of commitment to a healthy school culture. Winners will be announced at the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents Summer Convention, planned for July 2024 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Award Restrictions

The grant award may be used only to improve a school’s health and wellness efforts, not to fund existing or new athletic programs or teams. The recipient schools and the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation will complete a standard grant award contract. The plan of expenditure must be approved by the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

Recognition

To recognize the winning schools, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation provides the following:

  1. Congratulatory ad in the local newspaper and statewide publications

  2. Framed certificate and a banner for display at their school

  3. Promotion of the winning schools on the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation website