Action Forum Summary:
Promoting Health and Wellness in Schools
Oct. 8th, 2008 – Sarasota County School Board
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, November 5th
Sarasota County School Board
1960 Landings Blvd (Blue Awning),
Second Floor Classroom 220
Attendees:
Beth Banko, Linda Glover, Jody Whetzel, Jennifer Robertson, Bryan Little, Mary King, Oren Rosenthal, Rick O'Connell, Marilee Heider , Megan Jourdan, Karla Pignotti, Sherri Reynolds, Jennifer Tucker, Hugh Henkel, Maggie Kennedy, Suzanne Dubose, Beverly Girard, Kari Ellingstad
Overview:
This Action Forum was a follow-up to the 2008 Community Health Interactive, and event to encourage creative collaborations to improve community health. The Interactive brought together community members, and representatives from organizations, agencies and government as well as the faith and business community. At the interactive, participants:
§ Generated IDEAS for solutions to community health challenges
§ Identified PRIORITIES by voting for their favorite ideas
§ Offered RESOURCES availablefor working on those Big Ideas
Discussion & Action Plan
This Action Forum represented an opportunity to continue conversations around the idea of promoting health and wellness in schools.
The first part of the forum helped answer the question: “What is already happening to promote health and wellness in schools?”. A summary of projects and programs which are currently promoting health and wellness in Sarasota County Schools can be found at the end of this document, beginning on page 4.
Other discussion at the forum focused on:
· The idea that some things happening in schools are currently undermining the current wellness programs/health messages or efforts parents make at home to emphasize healthy lifestyles. Oren Rosenthal cited some examples, such as business partnerships that some schools have with McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts; fundraisers which involve selling unhealthy foods in order to bring funds to schools; the ‘Donuts for Dads’ program; and teachers giving candy to students as rewards. Although a School Wellness Policy has been established for Sarasota County, Dr. Rosenthal senses that there is a lack of consistent follow through which has the effect of diluting the important health messages.
Regarding the Donuts for Dads program, Beverly Girard mentioned that it would be possible for her program to provide a healthy breakfast for kids/dads at a reasonable cost. Others suggested that the program could be centered around an activity rather than food.
· Beverly Girard told the group that there are not currently any wellness mandates for children aged 0-5. Locally, Jill Collins with All Faith Food Bank’s Growing Healthy Kids Program does provide nutrition education to 46 daycares. Angie Stringer also works with this population. Generally, however, it was felt that there is an opportunity to make strides promoting heath and wellness with the 0-5 age group.
· Beverly Girard also said that a major emphasis of the Food and Nutrition Program is ensuring kids are getting food. Free and reduced meals have increased from 30%-40% in the past year, and reports are that the shelves are nearly bare at local food banks.
· A website was referenced – Action for Healthy Kids Partnership – which can be found at http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/
· Beth Banko, a school health nurse, talked about her experiences with a school with a large proportion of overweight students. Though she talked to the administration about creating a healthier school environment, she did note resistance from the parent population, largely unwilling to make healthy changes. She is now working with the fourth grade class, and hoping that this can be the first “healthy class” cohort.
· Maggie Kennedy, Interim Director of CHIP, talked about her work with hospital and health department CEOs in Charlotte, Sarasota and DeSoto Counties. This group, known collectively as the “Health Provocateur Project”, has a strong interest in childhood obesity and its long-term impacts. The group has engaged the South County YMCA to hear about their wellness programs in schools, and will soon be engaging superintendents to talk about the issue.
Following the discussion, the group defined the beginning of a plan to help promote health and wellness in schools. A summary of the key ideas and preliminary action steps are captured below.
Action Idea #1: Organize County-Wide PTO/PTA Workshop
The goal of the workshop would be to inform and promote health and wellness options to local PTA/PTO representatives and try to change the culture of our schools. The workshop could highlight healthy programs currently happening in schools, encourage healthy fundraising options & business partnerships, etc.
Action Steps:
Item / Champion§ Acquire a master list of PTO representatives. (Refer to the PALs program and Linda Glover has a list for the private schools). / Bryan Little
§ Establish content for the workshop at Nov. 5th meeting. / Group
Action Idea #2: Help Support and Grow the Walking School Bus Concept
A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults. Bryan Little, Health Department intern, is currently working on a pilot project to start a walking school bus at Garden Elementary. It is hoped that this pilot project could represent a model that could be replicated in other Sarasota County schools.
Action Steps:
Item / Champion§ Update the group on progress with the walking school bus / Bryan Little
Action Idea #3: Support a School Board Policy to Create Tobacco-Free Campuses
Currently the School Board policy toward tobacco is very antiquated, with individual school policies regulated by principals. Changing the policy to create a district-wide school tobacco-free policy has been tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, but the group is interested in revisiting this idea.
Action Steps:
Item / Champion§ Megan Jourdan is working on modifying a document from another state which provides excellent rational and justification for going tobacco-free. She will update the group on this progress at the next meeting. / Megan Jourdan
Action Idea #4: Address Option to Promote Health and Wellnes Among the 0-5 Population and Aftercare Programs
Daycares and after programs were identified as locales in which there is a real opportunity to promote health and wellness.
Action Steps:
Item / Champion§ No clear action steps have been defined yet.
The group agreed to meet again to move the action plan forward. The next meeting will take place on November 5th, 9:00 a.m. at the School Board of Sarasota County (Blue Awning, second floor classroom #220).
What’s Currently Happening?: Projects & Programs Promoting Health & Wellness in Schools
Sarasota County School Health Program
The mission of the Sarasota County School Health program is topromote and protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of students. The School Health Team is a part of the Sarasota County Health Department (SCHD) and works closely with the Sarasota County School Board. Team members act as a liaison between parent and the school, helping to clarify and interpret medical information and provide medical resources. A registered nurse is assigned to each of the public schools in Sarasota County. Funding for school nurses is a collaborative effort between the school board of Sarasota, Sarasota County Health Department, State of Florida and Community partnerships. Not every school in Sarasota has a full time school nurse. School nurses enhance health within the school and community by providing health appraisals, nursing assessments, periodic health screenings (including state-mandated vision, height/weight, and scoliosis screenings), health counseling, referral and follow-up of suspected or confirmed health problems, emergency health services, and promoting activities to reduce risk-taking behaviors. Health education is conducted by the school nurse in both formal classroom presentations, via active boards, and informal small group or one on one session. School nurses collaborate with parents, teachers, social workers, and other health care providers to develop care plans, identify available health resources, and identify the need for health referrals to address specific health problems discovered through mandated health screenings and assessments. School nurses serve as a health resource and provide in-service education and wellness consultation for school staff with the Sarasota County School Board.
Narcotics Anonymous
The Suncoast Area of Narcotics Anonymous provides literature and information on Narcotics Anonymous, including meeting lists for parents or young additicts. A program for young addicts, by young addicts occurs at Sarasota High and Riverview. The website for Suncoast Area Narcotics Anonymous is http://www.suncoastna.org.
Sarasota County Pupil Support Services
Some of the health and wellness-related programs and services coordinated by Pupil Support Services include: Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Homeless Children/Services, Juvenile Justice System, Peer Helpers/Mediation, Prevention Programs, Safe and Orderly Schools, and Character Education. Some schools also have Fit-N-Fun programs, and some are also starting diabetes support groups. The FCAT has also offered a back door approach to put emphasis on health and wellness, as some questions have focused on this topic.
Sherri Reynolds, Supervisor of Pupil Support Services, emphasized that their efforts are focused on prevention rather than intervention, and specifically focus on grades 4-6 (research indicates that unhealthy behaviors tend to emerge and increase in grades 8-9).
Safe and Drug Free Schools
Safe and Drug Free Schools is funded by a grant from the Florida Department of Education. The program's purpose is to provide substance abuse and violence prevention as well as character education resources to the parents, staff, and students of Sarasota County.
South County YMCA Student Wellness
The South County YMCA has partnered with Sarasota County Schools to start an initiative aimed at reducing childhood obesity and improving the health of local children and families. A nine-week fitness and nutrition curriculum, currently delivered to 4 schools, focuses on healthy lifestyle choices and teaches kids to be healthy for life. The program involves families with a weekly scorecard which serves as a way for children to share the healthy lifestyle concepts they’re learning in school with parents. In addition to the classroom lessons, the YMCA also created a series of child-oriented exercise videos. These videos are targeted toward classroom use and help fulfill the 150 minute/week physical education mandate.
Sarasota County Food and Nutrition Services
Beverly Girard, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, noted that nutrition and nutrition education has been a major focus for years, allowing Sarasota County to emerge as a leader in the nation and demonstrate that it is possible to find a balance between . The Dietetic Internship Program is one of only two in the country that focuses on training school nutritional educators and has allowed Sarasota County to develop its own talent pool (currently 5 registered dietitians are on staff).
Food and Nutrition Services offers a nutrition education program in which children may participate. Students from all over Sarasota County learn about the importance of nutrition and health. Items like the Food Pyramid, healthy snacking, tasting parties, sports nutrition, and many other nutrition-related topics are taught to children
In the cafeteria, green, yellow, and red on the menu will help students make smart food choices. The three colors work like a traffic light. GO foods, in green, are the lowest in fat, sodium and calories and also “nutrient dense”; SLOW foods, in yellow, are somewhat higher in fat, sodium, and calories than GO foods and should be eaten less frequently than GO foods; and WHOA foods, in red, are the highest in fat, sodium and calories and should be eaten once in a while or on special occasions. The overall message is that all foods can fit into a healthy diet and that a healthy diet is made up of more GO foods than SLOW foods and more SLOW foods than WHOA foods.
And while nutrition remains a major focus of the program, simply getting food to students has become an increasing important issue. Beverly noted that free and reduced lunches have increased from 30-40% in the last year and the shelves of food banks are bare.
SWAT – Students Working Against Tobacco
Megan Jourdan provided a brief overview of the tobacco prevention program in place in the public and private middle and high schools. After the 1997 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) MSA, which brought 11.3 billion dollars the state of Florida, Students Working Against Tobacco Teams (SWATs) were created by youth, for youth. The SWATs are designed for grades 6-12, and it is important to note that 90% of tobacco users begin before the age of 18. The focus of SWAT is not the health effects of smoking, as research has historically shown that students do not respond well to a lecture on health effects and smoking after the 5th grade. Instead, SWAT focuses on media literacy and marketing, teaching students that they are being targeted by the tobacco industry and giving them the opportunity to rebel against the industry. Currently, in Sarasota County, there are 6 SWATs in the public schools, and 6 SWATs in the private schools. The SWATs advised by teachers and parents, and staff from the Health Department and School Board help support the effort. The idea of SWAT is to promote student leadership, so advisors serve as facilitators only.
School Wellness Policy
In 2004, federal legislation required that school districts create local school wellness policies that address health and nutrition education along with physical activity by the 2006-2007 school year. The wellness policy for Sarasota County can be found at http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/FNS/nutrition.htm.
Growing Healthy Kids
Growing Health Kids (GHK) is a collaborative preschool nutrition education, gardening, physical activity and healthy snack program run by All Faiths Food Bank that serves Sarasota and Desoto counties. It targets at-risk and low-income preschool children and their families at childcare sites as well as parent education groups. Last school year the program served 67 classrooms and 1,076 children.
The GHK curriculum is centered on research-based nutrition information and focused on healthy eating habits. Each month a different nutrition topic is featured, including MyPyramid, healthy snacking, and each of the five food groups. Nutrition information is distributed to parents weekly. The children learn about gardening and have the opportunity to observe where different foods are from by planting a variety of vegetables and herbs in their indoor GrowLab.
Walking School Bus Project
Bryan Little, an intern with the Sarasota County Health Department, talked about a project to promote walking school buses at local schools. A walking school bus is any group of children accompanied to school by one or more adult. Bryan is working on a pilot program at Garden Elementary, and in the coming months hopes to showcase this example as a replicable model for other area schools.
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For more information about the Community Health Interactive, visit www.chip4health.org/interactive