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APPLE Schools

Innovative health promotion initiative that improves the lives of 35,000+ students yearly in Canada.

APPLE Schools is a research-based, school-focused health initiative that empowers students to build lifelong healthy habits, develop critical skills, and thrive both in and out of the classroom. Students in APPLE schools take the lead in creating a healthy school environment that is proven to show better dietary choices, increased physical activity and happiness, and improved learning outcomes.
HundrED 2024
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Overview

Updated April 2025
Web presence

1

Countries
All students
Target group
"Being an APPLE School has played a crucial role in fostering a culture within our school community that prioritizes healthy choices—benefiting both our bodies and minds. Through morning announcements, assemblies, display boards and initiatives involving students, families and staff, we've created an environment where everyone understands the lifelong impact of making healthy choices!" - Principal

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

APPLE Schools was established to improve eating habits, enhance mental well-being, and increase physical activity among Canadian youth by using schools as a powerful setting for change. Since children spend most of their waking hours in school, it is an ideal place to influence daily habits, build supportive environments, and integrate health into everyday learning.

Healthy students are better equipped to learn, and APPLE Schools reinforces this connection by helping children develop the foundations for both personal well-being and academic success. Learning to make healthy choices early in life leads to healthier, more resilient communities in the future.

By providing students with programming and an environment that supports the development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes towards healthy habits, we empower them to embrace lifelong wellness behaviours.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

APPLE Schools partners with underserved schools to intentionally embed healthy habits, lessons, and experiences into daily routines, the physical and social environment, and across the curriculum—creating a culture where making healthy choices is the norm for students, staff, and families.

Collaborating closely with school communities, we identify unique health goals and develop tailored action plans. Through ongoing mentorship, professional development, funding and provision of best-practice resources, we empower schools to prioritize student well-being. Students play a pivotal role in leading and participating in initiatives, ensuring peers are actively engaged in the process.

Our partnerships with the Universities of Alberta and Toronto ensure our approach is grounded in scientific research and continually measured to show our ongoing impact on health behaviours. The evidence generated not only informs school communities of actions and outcomes, but also empowers them to drive meaningful change and sustain a culture of health.

Our impact has been widely published by the scientific community.

How has it been spreading?

APPLE Schools continues to demonstrate exceptional scalability and measurable impact, now supporting 108 schools and reaching over 35,000 students annually—up from 70 schools and 20,000 students in 2018. This growth reflects both the demand for our model and our ability to adapt to the evolving needs of diverse school communities.

A key driver of success is our unique mentorship model, which connects schools with dedicated health mentors who provide guidance, build staff capacity, and support long-term implementation of wellness initiatives. Recent expansion into new regions in Alberta and Ontario has extended our reach across Canadian provinces.

Combined with digital tools and resources, our approach continues to set the standard for equitable, scalable school health promotion in Canada.

How have you modified or added to your innovation?

After the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we evolved our approach to ensure health priorities remained integral to school life—whether in-person or virtual. We offer best-practice digital resources on our website that encourage healthy initiatives at school and at home, shared through APPLE school health mentors and in regular communications like our school and family newsletters.

Additionally, in response to growing demand from experienced APPLE administrators to scale the project, we recently introduced the APPLE Ally Schools model—a flexible, cost-effective approach to expanding our reach. We collaborate with school and district leaders who have first-hand experience with APPLE Schools and invite them to opt into this model. These administrators identify a school health champion—typically a staff member who volunteers their time and passion for wellness—and work with us to bring the APPLE approach to life in a new school. This model responds to the growing demand for our approach, enabling us to extend our impact to more communities while preserving key components that make the APPLE Schools model effective.

These enhancements to our project reflect our ongoing commitment to innovation and equity, positioning APPLE Schools to continuously evolve and adapt—ensuring all school communities can foster health and well-being in changing educational landscapes.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

APPLE Schools extends its support to additional schools as funding permits. We collaborate with school authorities to identify underserved schools and initiate discussions to assess their willingness and commitment to participate in our program.

We are unable to take on all interested schools at this time. However, we offer best-practice resources for free on our website

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

The potential for impact with APPLE schools is important and strong. Students need access to movement and healthy food choices, and could use coaching around how to engage with these things more effectively.

It's easy to implement and highly scalable, as it involves building healthy practices on a day-to-day basis with available resources. The data shows how powerful this innovation can be and impacts millions of lives.

- Academy member
Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Media

Our 2024 Annual Impact Report, Growing Stronger: Cultivating Healthy School Communities, reflects growth, innovation, and impact—all thanks to the incredible school communities, donors, and supporters who make it possible. Check it out
APPLE Schools Named Finalist in the Public Health Agency of Canada/Impact Canada Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge! Learn More
Apple Schools Teams up With Calgary Flames Foundation to Support Student Health in Southern Alberta Learn More.
Hop on the Wellness Bus! APPLE Schools works with committed and quality leadership staff in school jurisdictions to inspire healthy habits. Read about the article here.
APPLE Schools Helps Kids be Healthier for Life
Mental health is a daily practice
Learning about the land in northern communities
Many APPLE schools participated in healthy taste tests, where students learn about a new healthy snack food, and give it a try. The more variety of foods that children try, the more likely they will eat them regularly!
Students pose in front of a bulletin board from APPLE Schools' Hygiene SUPER Heroes campaign, aimed at promoting COVID safety in a fun an interactive way. 
Want to build a healthy school? Just ask the experts
Edmonton-based Apple Schools selected for LEAP’s Healthy Futures Accelerator
Risk of ADHD diagnosis lower in children who follow healthy lifestyle recommendations, study shows
Healthy habits lead to healthier lives for youth
School-focused health promotion project gets international recognition
8 Essential Elements That Help Transform Kids’ Health & Well-being
APPLE schools love to celebrate! And they do so with a fun, healthy lens. This student has decorated her own healthy treat jack-o-lantern as part of a Halloween classroom celebration. 
One APPLE school had a day full of traditional activities, which included some young talented dancers from the school and an Indigenous elder sharing stories.
APPLE’s health champions and facilitators drive some incredible changes in their communities. Like Les at St. Kateri Bison in Fort McMurray, Alberta, who keeps wellness a priority. 
Students take a moment to practice mindfulness.
APPLE schools post healthy messages in hallways as part of their monthly campaigns. This campaign focused on the power of a positive attitude.
Many APPLE schools grow their own greens and veggies year-round. Students take care of the gardens, and the harvest gets used for healthy lunches.
This girl is participating in indoor Indigenous Arctic Winter Games, learning new activities and physical literacy.
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Implementation steps

Building an APPLE School

Download this Guide to Implementation to discover how APPLE Schools cultivates a thriving school culture. The PDF explains our tailored approach for implementing comprehensive school health, empowering school communities to enhance the well-being of students, staff, and families.

Spread of the innovation

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