What did they want to do?

A Columbia School District collaborative developed draft policy that would increase healthy food options and improve the P.E. program. After promoting the policy to the community, the school board unanimously adopted it.

Who took action?
The district formed a collaborative, unofficially called the Child Nutrition and Physical Education Activity Advisory Committee, comprised of two site administrators, a representative sample of teachers, school board members, and parents/community members. Students will be included next year and increased involvement of food service personnel will be sought.

Where did this happen?
Columbia School District - school

Demographics

• Our district Average Daily Attendance is about 1027.
• District-wide about 34%.
• 92% white; 4% Hispanic/Latino; 4% other, including African American, American Indian, Asian, and Filipino

Academic Year Implemented
2005-2005 Academic Year

Why did they want to do it?
Increase healthy food options on campus and improve the P.E. program through school board policy changes, grant writing, and increased community awareness of childhood obesity. We wanted to make changes to improve the nutrition and physical education environments at the schools. Specifically, our objectives were to: get candy and other sweets out of school parties; promote non-food rewards; improve school menus; get the soda machines off campus; and improve the physical fitness of our students through an emphasis on lifelong physical activities through our P.E. program.

Background

How did they accomplish their goal?
We organized the collaborative and attended monthly Health Education Collaborative meetings held at the Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE). Our Superintendent registered our district for the Superintendent's Challenge Grant. We decided to pursue policy changes that would improve the nutritional status of our students and improve our P.E. instruction. Our collaborative reviewed our existing school board policies and compared them with model policies from school districts throughout the state. We began educating staff on good practice for better nutrition. We also educated the staff and students on the importance of life long physical activity as our middle school students were found to be less than optimal in their performance on the statewide physical fitness tests. We also applied for and received a SPARK P.E. grant, given locally by our health department, that includes staff training and materials for a comprehensive, active K-5 P.E. program. The collaborative wrote new policies addressing food and P.E. that the school board unanimously approved. The polices address how many instructional minutes are provided for P.E.; the nutritional content of juices and other drinks sold on campus; other nutritional standards, such as the percentage of total fat allowed in each food item; increased fresh fruit and vegetable options available at our already popular salad bars; and guidelines on food sales and fundraisers that basically prohibit the sale of candy.

What were their results?
Our school board policies have been met with support from staff, parent clubs, and community members involved in the work. We were awarded the Superintendent's Challenge Grant. We are active partners in the Shasta County Office of Education's Health Education Collaborative and will continue to learn and share with other schools and community groups that attend. The soda machines are gone and have been replaced with machines that sell only school board policy-approved juices and water.

What are their future plans?
We will continue to work with staff, students and parents on our efforts. We hope to affect change at the middle school through an after-school program by offering a healthy snack and help with homework. We also want to include the foodservice personnel in our efforts as our superintendent considers working with a dietician to improve our school menus. We look forward to implementing the SPARK program at the elementary site. Since our informative evening program was poorly attended, we plan to offer other in-services at various times in an effort to increase community awareness. Our collaborative is planning ways to spend the money awarded from the Superintendent's Challenge grant to improve the P.E. program at the middle school. Our respective parent clubs have been brought on board and there will no longer be candy/sugar related fundraisers. The student store will sell all non-food items that encourage good academic spirit (e.g., T-shirts, pencils, pens, folders, etc.)

For More Information Contact

Andy McClure
Mountain View Middle School
675 Shasta View Drive, Redding, CA 96003
[email protected]
(530) 221-5224