Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Visits Hózhó Academy

Gallup Native Dr. Heidi Overton Brought Spotlight to Hózhó’s Student Health Programs

GALLUP, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of his Make America Healthy Again tour, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Hózhó Academy yesterday to observe how the school’s almost 800 students—most of whom are Navajo—benefit from a robust physical education program, a tried-and-true classical education curriculum, and healthy, freshly prepared school lunches.

Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, a Gallup native who graduated from local schools, the University of New Mexico, and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, now serves as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy at the White House and helped facilitate the visit.

“Nutrition and physical fitness are key pillars of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, and Hózhó Academy is serving as a model of local solutions that can help address the chronic disease crisis in children,” said Overton.

Hózhó Academy is located in McKinley County, which ranks last among all New Mexico counties for positive health outcomes. Life expectancy in McKinley County is ten years shorter than the national average, and most of the top causes of death in the county are preventable with healthy lifestyle choices. Hózhó Academy is proving that with the right focus, schools can be a front line of defense—and a source of hope.

Secretary Kennedy toured the campus, discussed physical education, and helped serve a freshly prepared lunch made by the school’s in-house culinary team.

“President Trump and I are committed to finding solutions to make our children healthy again,” said Secretary Kennedy Jr. “It was an honor to visit Hózhó Academy and see firsthand their commitment to healthy eating and lifelong fitness.”

Coupled with Hózhó’s nutrition program is its Arete Wellness Program, which draws inspiration from the renowned fitness program of La Sierra High School in the 1950s. Later known as the La Sierra System, this program became the foundation for President John F. Kennedy’s 1960s national initiative: the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.

“To give children a robust classical education, we educate them in mind, body, and spirit,” said Juliane Hillock, principal of Hózhó Academy. “Physical education trains students in courage, the mental and physical toughness to persevere and overcome life’s challenges. That’s why we put so much effort into developing a program that shapes the mind and body. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.”

As a Hillsdale College Member School, Hózhó Academy uses Hillsdale College’s K-12 Program Guide, a classical curriculum that provides a well-rounded foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. Hillsdale’s resources for K-12 schools offer all children the opportunity to read and engage with the very best of what has been thought and said throughout history.

“At Hillsdale classical schools, physical education is as important as any other part of the school day. Education is for both the body and the mind,” said Dr. Kathleen O’Toole, associate vice president of K-12 Education at Hillsdale College. “Over the course of a child’s education, his or her character is formed. A physical education program that gives students the experience of striving and the confidence to succeed and is an essential part of the K-12 years. Hózhó Academy provides these students with an education that will shape them for their whole lives. I applaud Mrs. Hillock and her whole team for their accomplishments.”

Media Links

To see a video of Hózhó Academy’s Arete Wellness Program, click here.
To access photos from Kennedy’s visit, click here.
To access logos from Hózhó Academy or Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office, click here.

About Hózhó Academy

Hózhó Academy is a tuition-free classical charter school serving nearly 800 students from Pre-K through 11th grade in Gallup, New Mexico. Rooted in the Navajo concept of “Hózhó”—balance, beauty, and harmony—the school trains the minds, improves the hearts, and strengthens the bodies of its students through a rigorous classical curriculum, character formation, and wellness education. The school will expand to include 12th grade next year and celebrate its first graduating class in the spring of 2026.

Hózhó Academy is a Hillsdale College Member School, a distinction that offers access to curriculum and training from the K-12 Education Office at Hillsdale College. Learn more at hozhoacademy.org.

About the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office

Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office supports school administrators, teachers, and parents with the educational and organizational resources they need to educate the nation’s K-12 students in the American and classical tradition.

The Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office promotes the founding of classical charter schools and excellence in their teaching and operations so that American students may be educated in the liberal arts and sciences and receive instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue. Hillsdale’s K-12 Education Office currently serves 85 K-12 schools across 30 states. For more information, visit k12.hillsdale.edu.