Santa Cruz City Schools all make 2026 list of "America's Healthiest Schools!"
All 10 campuses in the Santa Cruz City School District have placed on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s list of America’s Healthiest Schools. The list recognizes schools in a wide-ranging set of categories relating to the programs and supports available to students.
Santa Cruz City Schools Bay View Elementary, DeLaveaga Elementary, Gault Elementary, Monarch Elementary, Westlake Elementary, Branciforte Middle, Mission Hill Middle, Costanoa High, Harbor High, Santa Cruz High and Soquel High have all been recognized in the categories of: School Wellness, Nutrition & Food Access, Tobacco-free Schools and Health Services. Our Middle and High Schools were recognized further in the categories of Physical Education and Activity & Health Education.
“We are so proud of the incredible collaboration of our food services team, teachers and support staff,” says District Superintendent Kris Munro. “We know that health is made up of so many complementary parts, from food to curriculum to activity. It is wonderful to see such aligned efforts across the district, for that great work to be nationally recognized.”
SCCS Food Services Director Amy Hedrick-Farr says she is proud to have earned recognition for the fourth year in a row. “We are so happy to have so much support from departments and teams across the district,” says Hedrick-Farr. “Everyone works together in confidence that our impact will be greater than the sum of all efforts. I’m so happy to see the whole-student approach gain traction across the country, and we’re happy to be at the forefront of it here in Santa Cruz.”
For over 15 years, national nonprofit Healthier Generation has worked to promote health and wellness in school environments across the country. The organization approaches “health” as a broad term comprising nutrition, activity, development and emotional support. Santa Cruz City Schools are among the just 1,300 schools in the entire country who made the 2026 list of America’s Healthiest Schools.
The full list can be found here: https://www.healthiergeneration.org/campaigns/americas-healthiest-schools
More on the great work of our Food Services Team:
More on last year's placement on Healthiest Schools list:
