Long Beach Asks: What’s a Healthy School?

Long Beach, Calif., has been selected as one of 14 cities in California to receiving funding and other assistance from the California Endowment to build healthier communities, including schools. The city stands to gain tens of millions of dollars in the coming years. But first they have to ask themselves, what does a healthy school look like? A group of Cambodian-American university students met at a local Long Beach restaurant over the Christmas holiday to share their experiences, so that when they enter the professional world, they’ll have a Cambodian network. Meetings for how to create healthy communities, and build better schools, are ongoing. There are working groups for better neighborhoods, schools and air quality. The next meeting for the schools working group is on Jan. 14. More information can be found at www.bhclongbeach.org. (Cheang Sophinarath, Long Beach)