America's Healthiest Schools

The average American child spends nearly 12,000 hours in school, from kindergarten through 12th grade. That's a big chunk of time during which he or she can develop good (or bad) health

Happily, schools today are recognizing the many benefits of a healthy head start—and Health magazine wants to recognize the ones that are doing an A+ job.

To find the health stars in America's vast public school universe, we asked education officials in every state for their nominations.

We scored those based on how they measured up to some tough criteria (see How We Chose Our Winners), and the semifinalists were ranked by our panel of experts.

Congratulations to all of the inspiring winners!

1. West Babylon Senior High, West Babylon, N.Y.

2. (TIE) Rawhide Elementary, Gillette, Wyo.

2. (TIE) Amory Middle, Amory, Miss.

3. Anthony Elementary, Leavenworth, Kan.

4. Richmond Elementary, Appleton, Wis.

5. Mountain Valley Middle, Mexico, Maine

6. Miami Springs Middle, Miami Springs, Fla.

7. Lakewood Elementary, Cecilia, Ky.

8. (TIE) W.C. Britt Elementary, Snellville, Ga.

8. (TIE) South Elementary, Pinson, Tenn.

Additional reporting by Brittani Tingle