The Adams 12 Five Star School district received a $20,000 grant from the Colorado Legacy Foundation early last month that will fund a health-and-wellness promotion program in nonchartered schools across the district.

The two-year grant will kick start a Golden Sneaker Award Program, with recognition going each month to two district schools.

An elementary school and a middle or high school, that are making strides to create a healthier school environment.

Kaitlin Wasik, the district’s wellness coordinator, said staff began creating the program in early January as an effort to highlight wellness success stories in individual schools and encourage other schools to share their achievements.

“Sometimes, one barrier for schools is that there are ideas they would like to do, but they really don’t have any funding set aside for wellness in their budget,” Wasik said. “We thought this could be a way to provide financial support, and also have a way to share the success stories and what’s happening across the district. So many schools are already doing great things around health and wellness, but people don’t really talk about it.”

To be eligible for the Golden Sneaker Award, a school must fill out a brief application and submit a success story about a health-and-wellness initiative at the school. A district committee will then make a selection based on advancements in nutrition, physical activity or workplace wellness.

Wasik said schools may begin applying for the award in October.

Along with earning recognition as the “healthiest school in the district,” schools chosen for the award will receive a trophy that will travel among winning schools and $500 to invest in school health-and-wellness programs.

The $20,000 grant was one of 14 awarded to schools and school districts statewide as part of a $222,500 grant from the Colorado Legacy Foundation’s Health and Wellness Initiative. The initiative, which began in 2009, helps school districts address health-and-wellness policies and student-achievement practices.

Joe Miller, the Colorado Legacy Foundation’s communications coordinator, said this is the first time Adams 12 was selected for this grant.

“They were selected based on their plans to implement innovative strategies to further their gradual districtwide culture shift,” Miller said in an email.