Coyle Public Schools receives Healthy School Incentive Grant

Coyle Public School District was one of 26 School Districts to be awarded a Healthy Schools Incentive Grant from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET).

The Oklahoma TSET Board of the Directors at their quarterly board meeting on May 9 approved a $2,500 grant for Coyle Public School District. Grant funds are used to support Coordinated School Health.  Coyle Public School District received Merit status to enhance their efforts.

The School District plans to use the money to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to be used in the new gym. Coyle currently does not have this life saving device. Funds will also be used to purchase exercise equipment to be placed in the faculty lounge to encourage teachers to maintain a healthy lifestyle as well.

“Coyle Public School District continues to stay on track to become one of the healthiest schools in Oklahoma,” said Courtney Thompson, Nutrition and Fitness Coordinator. “They have gone above and beyond what is asked and has always put their student’s health first. They have a school garden, use healthy fundraising options, students participate in a daily walking program, have Wiggle Wednesday’s where they encourage classrooms to get up and move, and have also been featured for their healthy school lunch programs. They are currently a Schools for Healthy Lifestyles grant. These are just some of the reasons Coyle excels in terms of health for our youth in Logan County.”

This is the first year for the Healthy Schools Incentive Grant Program and a total of $189,000 in grants were awarded to school districts across the state. 

These grants were awarded based on district enrollment size and specific criteria met. Individual schools within the district were required to be certified through the Shape Your Future Certified Healthy Schools Program, a partnership between the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, the Oklahoma Turning Point Council, the State Chamber and the State Department of Health.

The incentive grant criteria focus on school districts strengthening their local wellness policies to involve stakeholders, set goals for nutrition education and physical activity, implement nutrition guidelines and publicly report progress toward implementation. Tobacco-free campus policies, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, are a prerequisite for the grants. Other criteria include schools utilizing the School Health Index to assess strengths and weakness and develop action plans to improve health and safety for students and staff. 

  “We are pleased so many Oklahoma school districts are working to make their schools healthy places to work, learn and play,” said Tracey Strader, TSET executive director. “The Coyle School District is enacting policies that make a difference in children’s lives. This grant highlights the achievements of their achievements and their efforts to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Other school district incentive grant recipients were Beggs, Bristow, Central, Cheyenne, Edmond, Elk City, Fort Gibson, Gore, Guymon, Haworth, Indiahoma, Jenks, Madill, Morris, Oakdale, Okarche, Okmulgee, Olustee, Panola, Pryor, Tahlequah, Valliant, Washington, Watonga and Wewoka.

TSET was created by a constitutional amendment in 2000 as a long-term strategy to ensure settlement payments from a 1998 multi-state lawsuit against the tobacco industry are used to improve Oklahoma’s health status. The funds are placed in an endowment to ensure a growing funding source for improving health for generations to come. Only the earnings from the endowment are used.

If you or your school is interested in becoming a Certified Healthy School, please contact Courtney Thompson, Nutrition and Fitness Coordinator, Get Fit Logan County at (405)-282-3485 or courtneyt@health.ok.gov