HealthClass2.0, co-founded by me and food system activist Ellen Gustafson in 2011, is an experiential wellness education program that inspires young people in NYC public schools to EAT, EXERCISE, and ENGAGE in exciting new ways. Housed at The New School, HealthClass2.0 works with over 700 sixth to twelfth graders a year through its twenty college leaders, who lead sessions in physical education and afterschool sessions. Our college leaders engage in a semester-long education that involves practical training as well as an academic course that explores the social and political context of urban education, wellness culture, and university-community partnerships. We have received grant support from the Rockefeller and Roy A. Hunt Foundations. We are currently on hiatus but available for consultation.
What we do
- Provide each student with a delicious snack from one of our sponsors.
- Educate our Eugene Lang College leaders on the broader context of their work in a full-semester academic course.
- Select community partners to build long-lasting relationships.
- Believe that educating young people to be healthy, confident, and engaged human beings should be core to any serious educational mission.
What we don’t do
- Scare young people by fanning fears about the dangers of obesity
- List of random nutritional factors or able certain goods as “bad”.
- Train HC2.0 leaders to “deliver” static lessons.
- Partner with all schools that approach us.
- Parachute in for a semester and then leave.
- Blame our students and their families for the health problems prevalent in their communities.
- See food and fitness education as a “frill” on “real” academic work.