Healthy Schools Campaign

Washington Post Editorial: 'How Did Obesity Become a Partisan Fight?'

A recent Washington Post editorial by Fred Hiatt does a great job of explaining why childhood obesity is more than a partisan issue. He addresses backgound on -- and objections to -- First Lady Obama's Let's Move campaign; statistics that reinforce the urgency of the obesity epidemic; and why working for positive, healthy change is an issue that goes beyond partisan interests.

You can check out the full text of this excellent editorial here. In the meantime, here's an excerpt: 

The obesity epidemic is a genuine public health emergency, with vast implications for the nation's well-being, economy and even national security. And yet, could anyone really be against children eating healthier food and getting more exercise? ...

Well, yes, if Michelle Obama is for it, someone will be against it. Someone like Glenn Beck, for example, who was moved to rail against carrot sticks, or Sarah Palin, who warned that Obama wants to deprive us all of dessert.

And when you look a little deeper, it's not surprising that a crusade seemingly beyond questioning would become a political battle. Interests that might feel threatened by Let's Move include the fast-food industry, agribusiness, soft-drink manufacturers, real estate developers (because suburban sprawl is implicated), broadcasters and their advertisers (of sugary cereals and the like), and the oil-and-gas and automotive sectors (because people ought to walk more and drive less).

Throw in connections to the health-care debate (because preventive services will be key to controlling the epidemic), race (because of differential patterns of obesity) and red state-blue state hostilities (the reddest states tend to be the fattest), and it turns out there are few landmines that Michelle Obama didn't trip by asking us all to shed a few pounds.

Insinuations from her critics notwithstanding, Obama has not endorsed nanny-state or controversial remedies such as ending sugar subsidies, imposing soda-pop taxes or zoning McDonald's out of certain neighborhoods. Instead, she is pushing for positive, voluntary change: more recess and physical activity, more playgrounds, more vegetable gardens, fresher food in schools and grocery stores, better education on the issue for parents and children.

All of this makes total sense, and historians will marvel (much as they will at climate-change deniers) that anyone could doubt it.

Read the full editorial in the Washington Post here.

Recognizing the Role of Schools in the National Prevention Strategy: Share Your Comments by Jan. 13

By Alex Schaible, HSC Writer & Policy Analyst

The federal government is changing its approach to health and, for the first time, our country’s decision makers are taking a serious look at how to protect the health of Americans through prevention –- that is, helping people stay well and preventing illness. 

Last month, the National Prevention Council, a group of 17  federal departments and agencies charged with planning and coordinating prevention efforts around the country, released a draft of recommendations for the National Prevention Strategy. The goal of these recommendations is to develop a strategy for “working together to improve the health and quality of life for individuals, families and communities by moving the nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one based on wellness and prevention.” 

The council is accepting comments on this draft through this Thurs., Jan. 13. This is a wonderful opportunity to make sure that the important role that schools play in health and wellness is recognized. 

Schools provide an ideal setting for prevention and health promotion.  For example, providing students with good indoor air quality, access to healthy food and opportunities to be physically active at school can have a major impact on two significant and preventable epidemics: childhood asthma and obesity.  A National Prevention Strategy that supports healthy school environments will help protect the health of the millions of children and staff who spend their day in school. 

While the current draft of the National Prevention Strategy does a good job promoting healthy food, physical activity, and healthy environments, we believe the recommendations need to have a stronger focus on the role schools play in protecting and promoting health. 

We’re letting the National Prevention Council know what we think about the drafted recommendations by submitting our  comments on their website; we encourage you to share your comments as well.  Should the recommendations have a stronger focus on schools? Should they include more details about the importance of healthy food? Should they better address the impact of the environment on our health?

You can read the draft recommendations and let the National Prevention Council know what you think online at www.hhs.gov/news/reports/nphps.html.

Submit your comments by this Thurs., January 13 to make sure your voice is heard.  This is a welcome opportunity to shape the direction of our nation’s health strategy.

This Year, Five Resolutions for a Greener, Healthier 2011

Welcome to 2011! Need some resolutions to start the year off right? We've got some suggestions for ways to make your year greener, healthier and better than ever.

1) Help your school go green. Check out our Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools for simple steps to implement a green cleaning program in schools. Green cleaning supports a healthy school environment with good indoor air quality and less exposure to potentially harmful chemicals that can lead to health problems for children and adults.

2) Learn about lunch. For many children, school provides the most substantial meals of the day. But there is much we can do to make sure school food gives kids the healthy fuel they need to learn. Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act just before the close of 2010, bringing important policy changes to school food. 2011 is a great time to learn more about ways that lunch can look different. You can follow along as students create their own version of a healthy, delicious lunch through Cooking up Change. Or check out the documentary Lunch Line -- maybe even organize a screening in your community. How about starting a healthy cooking club to share great lunch recipes amongst parents?

3) Thank the people who make schools healthier places! Across the country, schools are full of people making change for health and wellness: creative and hard-working teachers, food service professionals, school nurses, facility staff and many others! Take a moment to recognize those who are making a difference -- the school nurses who advocate for health-promoting policies, custodians who keep the school air healthy with green cleaning, food service professionals who encourage kids to try more veggies. Say thanks to the recess monitors who keep our playgrounds safe and the principals who support wellness teams of parents and teachers.

4) Support school building improvement. America's schools are often in need of repairs, and many schools have deferred maintenance as they lack funding for facilities. But students can't learn as well in environments that need basic repairs and upgrades. Check out photographs submitted for Through Your Lens, a contest that encourages students to document their school buildings. Then be sure to submit your own photos when the 2011 contest opens on Feb. 1.

5) Stay in touch. Follow HSC on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up for our newsletter. Stay connected as part of a community that believes health and wellness are crucial components of a high-quality education.

What are your resolutions for a green, healthy 2011?

Teachers, Principals & Chefs Reflect on the Success of Chef in the Classroom Day

 
Students get ready for a healthy cooking demonstration at Ruiz School with Chef Alex Cheswick of May Street Market.

By Lindsay Muscato, Writer/Communications Specialist

The survey results are in! This fall, Chef in the Classroom Day linked more than 60 chefs with schools around the city in response to Michelle Obama's Chefs Move to Schools national call to action. In Chicago, more than 4,000 students experienced a fun day of nutrition lessons, veggie tastings and tales from the kitchen. (Here's our recap -- including photos and video!)

While the core nutrition lessons were universal, each chef's unique presentation shaped the day. Students donned chefs' hats, took their first bites of broccoli, learned to arrange a plate like a pro, discovered the history of apples and more. We surveyed teachers, principals and chefs for their feedback, and we're pleased to announce that chefs served up a winning day.

Classroom teachers really saw the impact of the students' reactions to the interactive lessons -- and 100 percent of respondents said they'd participate again. Their biggest surprise? Veggies took the cake. Teachers said:

"The best part was watching how excited the students got to try the food. I was surprised at how many ate most of the food even after saying they didn't like vegetables, etc. It was a great experience!"

"Many of them were surprised at how good the food was and tried a ton of new foods they hadn't eaten before. Excellent experience."

"Very informative and relevant to our students' needs for knowing and understanding about nutrition and heath."

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Principals and administrators noted the positive connections building between chefs, HSC, CPS and schools and also gave kudos for the smiles they saw.

When asked what was most beneficial, principals said:

"The looks of curiosity, enthusiam, and pride of our third graders as they learned, participated, and smiled through the entire demonstration."

"The children were electrified by the chef. It was a great class and exciting too."

"The kids really understood why it's important to have vegetables as part of their meals."

Many said they'd formed longer-lasting connections with the chef who visited, and plans are in the works for projects like workshops with parents, a career day appearance and more ongoing collaboration.

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Participating chefs gained an insider view of classroom life and learned just how excited kids can be about veggies. When asked about benefits, challenges, surprises, and their motivation for participating, chefs said:

"The best part was interacting with the students. It was so much fun walking into the classrooms to see the students all donning toques [chef's hats] almost taller than them!"

"The best part was when the students (third grade and kindergarten) were able to identify the vegetables; and then they ate them with such pride. ... What surprised me the most was that all the children in both grade levels loved the garnishes. They loved looking at them and they loved eating them as well."

"I love the idea of heathy food choices for the students in all schools. I love to play with food. ... I had a blast, and I cannot wait to participate again someday."

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Chef in the Classroom Day was part of the Go for the Gold Campaign, Chicago's response to First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative to reduce childhood obesity, Let's Move. HSC thanks all of the participants for their dedication to spreading fun, engaging nutrition education and a encouraging a lifelong love of healthy eating.

Fit To Learn Training: Making Healthy Habits Part of How Kids Learn

On November 16, HSC kicked off its new Fit to Learn program with the first of three free teacher
training sessions that introduced new lesson plans to help incorporate fitness, nutrition and exercise
into the everyday school curriculum. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers of grades K-5, physical education teachers, resource coordinators of community schools and school nurses were invited to participate.

The training first gave teachers an overview of CPS wellness efforts and the Go for the Gold campaign, the Chicago-based effort to implement the Let's Move! initiative championed by Michelle Obama. Teachers then split up into groups to learn more about the lesson plans for grades K-2 and 3-5. The lessons focused on integrating health messages into core academic subjects, art and music. In the spirit of Fit to Learn, the teachers also participated in an exercise break of their own.

Teachers who took part in the Fit to Learn training received professional development credits as well as free resources and new lesson plans to help them integrate the Fit to Learn ideas into their own curriculum.

According to teachers, the training gave them new tools and inspiration to take back to the classroom. One attendee said the best features of Fit to Learn were "the resources and information about how to implement more movement activities I can do in my room. Love the lesson plans!”

A special thank-you to all the trainers who helped make the first Fit to Learn training day a success!

The next two training sessions will take place in spring 2011.

Plus: Thanks to the great response to this training, HSC has added another opportunity -- starting in January -- for teachers to be part of Fit to Learn! This session is open to additional teachers who were unable to attend the November training. For more information on how you can get involved, please click here.

For additional questions, contact Donna Fishman, training director at HSC, by email or at 312-419-1810 (office); or 847-275-5758 (cell).

Go for the Gold School Spotlight: Madero Middle School

On August 17, HSC helped kick off the Go for the Gold Campaign, a partnership between Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and HSC with the USDA Midwest and the Illinois State Board of Education to help Chicago schools meet the high standards for food, fitness and nutrition education set by the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge. The HealthierUS School Challenge is the program that First Lady Michelle Obama is urging schools to take on as part of her Let's Move initiative.

Today we are pleased to highlight Francisco I Madero Middle School for the exciting wellness initiatives already underway amongst students, teachers, administrators, staff and parents. Madero is getting ready to Go for the Gold!

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by Rosa Ramirez, Go for the Gold Campaign Manager

 
Francisco I. Madero Middle School

At Madero Middle School, parents successfully organized a school wellness team to be responsible for the school-level implementation and evaluation of the district-wide wellness policy. Promoting important lessons about healthful food and nutrition to both parents and students at Madero Middle School became one of the goals of this motivated school wellness team.

When the parents from Madero Middle School approached principal Principal Jose Luis Illanes to approve the school sponsored after-school nutrition and healthy cooking classes,  he quickly agreed. In fact, he offered the unused culinary arts room -- which was planned to be destroyed -- to host the healthy cooking and nutrition workshop series. Students and parents explain that this program has helped them feel more connected to the school, get involved and be more conscious of the food choices they make. Madero School not only found how to reuse existing school space, but to use space in a way that promotes parent and student wellness.

The healthy cooking and nutrition series has become very popular. Today, these workshops are offered on a regular basis. Additionally, teachers and school staff became interested in these healthy workshops and school staff wellness initiatives began. Daily aerobics classes for teachers are offered at Madero School, helping teachers focus on their own health goals and model healthy behaviors for the students. Teachers then integrated active curriculum practices into their classroom.

Healthy communities require healthy schools. Madero is well on its way to Go for the Gold because so many members of the school community -- parents, school staff, teachers, students and the principal -- are actively involved in promoting and reinforcing messages about healthy eating and opportunities for physical activity. Kudos to everyone at Madero!

Plus: Check out our blog spotlight from Feb. 2010 about a special healthy Valentine celebration by parent volunteers at Madero school! 

Report Shows Schools Cutting Recess to Focus on Testing, But Kids Learn Best When They Move More

HSC works to save recess because research shows that unstructured physical activity can be crucial to a child's development, helping to prevent obesity, supporting learning and teaching healthy habits for a lifetime.

But a recent story on University of Texas public radio station KUT reports that schools are cutting recess in favor of more prep for mandatory high-stakes testing. As the story points out, this move may actually hurt students' academic performance. This is something we've heard from school leaders across the country, and the story describes the issue well. The story points to a report by Children’s Optimal Health, which says that the students in Austin middle schools who are most likely to need extra help passing the state test live in the same area as kids who are more likely to be overweight or obese. The story says:

“We actually may be shooting ourselves in the foot by not allowing kids to get enough physical activity. There’s actually been several studies that have shown that kids who get more physical activity during the day do not do worse on standardized tests and may actually do better,” said Andrew Springer, a researcher at University of Texas School of Public Health.

The Texas requirement of 30 minutes a day of physical activity is better than a lot of states, but still only meets half the recommended requirements from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical education experts say you can’t substitute the organized play of physical education classes with the self-guided, independent exercise kids do at recess.

“Play is the single most effective way to get kids to be physically active, because it’s intrinsically motivated,” said Jill Violet with a non-profit called Playworks. “Play offers these incredible benefits because there’s no end. You win. You lose, but you keep playing. It’s not as goal oriented as other kinds of sports and things, or academics for that matter.”

The pressure that high stakes standardized testing is putting on recess is a national phenomenon.

“Kids should be getting at least 20 minutes per day of recess,” said Dr. Lindsey Turner, a health education researcher at the University of Illinois. “What our data show is that only about two-thirds of kids are getting that amount, which leaves a lot of kids not getting enough recess.”

To learn more, check out the Exercise & School Recess section of HSC's blog. We'd love to hear about efforts underway to save recess in your community!

 

Making Physical Education Part of the Core Curriculum & Part of the School Day

By Alex Schaible, HSC Writer & Policy Analyst

  


As concerns over childhood obesity and diabetes continue to increase, it is more important than ever for students to make physical activity a part of their daily lives.  Physical activity during the school day not only keeps kids healthier, but also helps them academically and socially.   Unfortunately, even though the benefits of physical activity in schools are clear, in this era of standardized testing and No Child Left Behind, physical education is rarely made a priority.

We now have a chance to change this!  The upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, the act currently known as No Child Left Behind) is a great chance for the Department of Education to acknowledge the importance of physical activity in schools by including physical education as a core subject.  Placing physical education on par with math and reading will send a strong message to school boards and education policy makers that the federal government considers PE essential to a well-rounded curriculum.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), along with advocates across the country, are leading the effort to get PE defined as a core subject as a part of the reauthorization. NASPE highlights the benefits of expanding core subjects to include physical education:

• Only teachers in core subjects are required to be highly qualified—they must hold a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and demonstrated competence in each content area taught
• Highly qualified teachers are held accountable for subject matter and helping students achieve competence in each subject area
• Professional development is geared toward teachers of core subjects
• States are required to have academic content standards for curriculum development
• States hold students accountable for mastering content in core subjects

Inclusion of PE as a core subject means more quality physical education programs for students across the country.  Currently, the reauthorization of ESEA does not list physical education as a core subject; however, last month, Senator Tom Udall introduced the PHYSICAL Act, which, if passed, would designate physical education as a core subject within ESEA.  

It is now time to take action and raise your voice in support of this important bill.  You can contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the PHYSICAL Act using the action alert created by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) located here.

Supporting this legislation will send a strong message that physical activity is a priority for our nation’s children and a necessary step towards protecting their current and future health.

For more information about what constitutes a core subject and evidence of how physical education meets this definition, check out “Physical Education as an Academic Subject”, a new paper developed by NASPE to assist individuals in their advocacy efforts.

Jack Segal of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois at Go for the Gold Launch: “It's Never Too Early to Start Helping Children Be and Stay Healthy”

Jack Segal addresses the crowd at the Go for the Gold launch.

At the August 17 launch of the Go for the Gold Campaign, several key leaders helped us kick off this new initiative. We're proud to work with such tremendous supporters, including Jack Segal, vice president of public affairs for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. Go for the Gold will move forward with the support of a civic anc business advisory committee established by HSC and CPS with the leadership of co-chairs Karen Atwood, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, and Terry Mazany, president and CEO of Chicago Community Trust.

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An excerpt of remarks from Jack Segal:

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Being involved with "Go for the Gold" is part of a natural progression for Blue Cross. Three years ago, we launched our own child health and wellness initiative to address the issue of childhood obesity in the state. We fund local initiatives, collaborations and nonprofits that promote healthy eating, wellness and physical activity for kids and their families, and we’re working to connect like-minded organizations so they can coordinate efforts and make a larger impact in the neighborhoods where they are.

We also advance dialog and action by leading and participating in organizations that are driving change. That’s why teaming up with the Healthy Schools Campaign is so important to us. At Blue Cross, we know first-hand the toll that obesity can take on your health in the long run. Five of the top 10 diagnoses among our nearly seven million members across the nation and here in Illinois are related to obesity. Yes, five out of ten – including diabetes, various heart conditions, and others. What’s so tragic about this is that many of these conditions can be prevented. In line with the increasing diagnoses of disease, health care costs are climbing dramatically as utilization of medical services increases -- in some cases starting at a very early age.

In recent years, the proportion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois members with chronic and serious conditions has increased greatly. From 2004 to 2008 alone the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among members increased by about 14 percent and charges for services increased by 34 percent, from about $22,000 to $29,000.

That’s just one example of why it’s never too early to start helping children be and stay healthy, and working with organizations like the Healthy Schools Campaign, we hope to instill healthy behaviors that last a lifetime.

As we’ve looked at the most effective ways to promote healthy behaviors in children, we’ve also had to look at how and why kids develop certain lifestyle habits. Just as their parents spend the majority of their week days at work, kids spend the better part of their days at school, so addressing health in the schools is key to reducing the obesity rate. I’m proud to see Healthy Schools Campaign and Chicago Public Schools make a commitment to addressing kids’ health and I look forward to working with you -- to sharing your goals and vision with others at Blue Cross and with our corporate partners. Chicago Public Schools President Richardson-Lowry and CEO Ron Huberman -- I applaud you both for taking steps to improve the health and future of the district’s more than 400,000 students. We are happy to support your efforts.

It will certainly take cooperation and determination to meet this challenge, and help reverse the trend of childhood obesity, but from what we’ve heard so far today the need is now and the people who can make change happen are here to get the job done. It’s an honor to be a part of this, and I know that by working together we can answer the First Lady’s call to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. In the process, we’ll be setting an example for cities and schools across the country. Many of our employees are parents of Chicago Public School students, and as the largest health insurer in the state, the health of our families and communities is a top priority.

As the health insurer for the Chicago Public Schools, our hope is to engage teachers and other CPS employees in an ongoing dialogue about wellness and prevention, and to do what we can to support and promote health and wellness in young people. I look forward to being back with all of you as we note major milestones along the way, and celebrating when we have successfully met the challenge of improving the health and wellness environments for all Chicago Public School students.

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Thank you to Jack Segal for taking part in this exciting launch!

To check out more photos from the launch event, click here.

One More Day: Join HSC & Groupon to Make Play Part of the School Day

We’re thrilled that our two-day campaign to bring back recess is well underway! With the help of Groupon and The Point, HSC is helping individuals team up and make recess a reality for Chicago schoolchildren.

Please make a contribution to this initiative and make the school day healthier -- and more enjoyable! -- for kids who need the fun and physical activity that recess provides. You can join through the link below or visit The Point for more details.



Why is recess so key? Physical activity in schools isn't just playtime -- it brings serious benefits for kids’ health. Last year's study in the journal Pediatrics also linked recess to better classroom behavior and learning. When kids break for recess, they're exercising developing social skills and learning to stay fit, in addition to giving their brains a chance to rest before the next lesson.

HSC was spotlighted in the Huffington Post last week as one of several nationwide initiatives making sure that recess never dies. HSC provides resources such as The Quick & Easy Guide to School Wellness to support schools and last year organized thousands of Chicago parents to speak up about just how much their kids need recess. Chicago Public Schools heard the parent voices and is working with HSC to identify and overcome the barriers that are holding schools back from recess.

You can learn more about HSC's commitment to recess through previous blog posts, or check out our Quick & Easy Guide to School Wellness for more ways to bring physical activity into the classroom.

Please consider making a contribution and telling a friend about this important two-day effort. (Then go outside and play!)

HSC would also like to recognize and  1 World Sports for its partnership and support in developing its recess program.

Teacher Contest: Share Your Ideas for Wellness in the Classroom!

Attention, teachers: we need your great ideas! By September 15, please share your best ideas for improving student wellness in the classroom.

Have you found a favorite read-aloud book to teach healthy concept? Have you discovered an easy way to incorporate yoga breaks into the classroom? What are some favorite healthy snacks for classroom parties? 

We've already received fabulous ideas from teachers across the U.S.

Kathy Shows of Madison, Miss. wrote:

Each morning for the announcements our students move to the music of our famous composer of the month. Our music teacher sends out a sheet to give ideas for choreography.

Kristine Hillmann of Skokie, Ill. wrote:

Once a month, on Fitness Fridays I make the science daily (or warmup) something related to health.  This month, students compared brands of cereal to determine which was the most "nutritious" and wrote a hypothesis to this fact.  They also had to explain why.  We then discussed their guesses and evaluated the nutrition label on the box.  We talked about the advertisement on cereal boxes and if they are really accurate.

Thanks to Kathy, Kristine and all the teachers who have shared their great ideas! In the weeks and months ahead, we'll continue to spotlight ideas on the HSC blog.

When you share your idea, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win fabulous prizes for your classroom and school, including:

• Complete prize package from The OrganWise Guys, including OrganWise Guy or Gal, educational video shorts, and the Wisercize supplemental classroom lesson program. Valued at $279 each.
• Skillastics activity kits that combine learning with fun physical activity, created by renowned basketball player and educator Sandy Slade. Valued at $210 each.
• Classroom wellness packages from School Health Corp. filled with stickers, games, activity sets and more. Valued at $50 each.

In classrooms across the country, more and more teachers are making student wellness a priority. Good nutrition and physical activity are becoming part of the curriculum, part of the school day, and part of students' everyday lives. Be part of this national movement; earn recognition for your success and be entered to win prizes.

Submit your idea today!

Entries must be received by September 15, 2010.

Mary Richardson-Lowry of Chicago Public Schools at Go for the Gold Launch: 'The Foundation for Success is Set'

Mary Richardson-Lowry addresses the crowd at the Go for the Gold launch.

At the August 17 launch of the Go for the Gold Campaign, several key leaders helped us kick off  this new initiative. We're proud to work with such tremendous supporters, including Mary Richardson-Lowry, President of the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education. HSC greatly appreciates the district’s commitment to promoting student health and improving nutritional standards for schools meals.

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An excerpt of remarks from Mary Richardson-Lowry:

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We are here for a very important cause -- the health and well-being of our students.

CPS is committed to providing a world-class education for the students of Chicago and we know that there is a strong connection between healthful school food, physical activity and a student’s ability to learn and succeed in school.

In a school district where 86 percent of students are low-income and many young people receive the majority of their daily food intake at school, it is especially important for us to provide students with healthful meals.

Many of our students face the dual challenge of food insecurity and childhood obesity. We see a strong school nutrition program as a way of positively impacting both those conditions.

We are proud that one of our most famous alums, First Lady Michele Obama, is taking the lead on fighting childhood obesity through the her Let’s Move initiative.

But even before the First Lady championed this cause, CPS was at the forefront of bringing healthier foods to our schools. I am very pleased to announce that for the 2011 school year, we have significantly raised the nutrition standards for school food and developed the healthful, delicious recipes that you sampled for lunch today.

To develop the new standards, we convened a group of dietitians, school food operational experts and community partners. This group adopted the philosophy that the menu improvements needed to be far-reaching and sustainable. . .  sustainable so that they would be affordable and pleasing improvements for our students that we could continue to offer for many years to come.

Some of the highlights of the new standards include:

• While vegetables are already offered daily, CPS will now offer a different vegetable every day, and increase dark green and orange and dark vegetables and limit starchy vegetables.
• Where occasional whole grains are offered, there will now be a whole grain offering at lunch each day.
• All menus contain zero trans fats.
• No donuts or breakfast pastries will be on the menu and there is a prescribed standard for cereal that limits the amount of sugar it contains.

Healthy Schools Campaign was one of our key community partners in developing these new nutritional standards.

I am very pleased today to announce Go for the Gold, a new partnership between Chicago Public Schools, Healthy Schools Campaign, the USDA Midwest Office and Illinois State Board of Education.

Go for the Gold builds on the major advancements we made with our new nutrition standards and is a citywide partnership that will challenge and support Chicago public schools to meet the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge.

This challenge is one of the pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move Campaign and recognizes schools that make improvements to school food and nutrition education, and increase opportunities for physical activity and recess.

We support all of these changes and see them as key to creating an educational environment that promotes success and academic achievement. We also support the First Lady’s goal of reversing the childhood obesity epidemic that threatens so many children and adults in Chicago.

Go for the Gold also provides us the opportunity to highlight the individual success of schools that are already committed to health and wellness. Two years ago, Principal Jorge A. Ruiz became the new administrator for Eli Whitney Elementary School, and he quickly became a champion for making schools healthier places.

The dedicated parents who were already involved in school wellness initiatives welcomed his arrival. The school’s active wellness team, composed mostly of parents, researched wellness practices other schools were implementing and compiled a wish list and a set of reasons why their school should implement these practices.

Their list included: increasing breakfast consumption, creating an in-school daily exercise for all students, and increasing opportunities for the surrounding community to learn about being healthy.

Eli Whitney School is a great candidate to be a Go for the Gold school because it promotes student meal participation during the school day, promotes opportunities for physical activity for all students, and reinforces nutrition and health messages through multiple channels of communication.

The school wellness team and the principal worked hand in hand to accomplish these goals. Here are some examples of that:

• The school implemented Breakfast in the Classroom, a program that provides a healthy in-classroom breakfast. Principal Ruiz noticed positive changes immediately after the program was implemented. Not only did school attendance increase, but so did students’ readiness to learn.
• And Breakfast in the Classroom also took away the stigma many students felt in receiving free lunch. Teachers greatly applaud the program and say that taking those ten minutes to eat breakfast are well worth it because students behave better and are more alert to learn.
• Every morning at 9 a.m. and in the afternoon as well, time for yoga is announced over the PA system. Students and teachers clear a space for themselves in the classroom and follow the yoga moves spoken over the PA system. For about a year now, yoga has become a daily ritual for students and staff, and the program has been very well received. Students and teachers are refocused and reenergized, making the school day a very productive one.
• Eli Whitney has also found great community partners that strengthen the work the school is doing around health and wellness. The school helps organize health festivals where various community organizations promote their services and also celebrate healthy lifestyles. For example, many parents and community members began to attend St. Anthony Hospital’s healthy cooking classes and now regularly go to their workshop series on wellness.

Our wellness policy supports all of the components of Go for the Gold. Chicago Public Schools knows that physical activity during the school day increases the likelihood for children to be successful in school and strongly encourages schools to incorporate recess on a regular basis as part of the instructional day.

The district also makes available to all schools a robust health curriculum which includes nutrition education. The foundation for success is set.

Go for the Gold will engage the entire school community – from parents to teachers, students, principals, nonprofit organizations, businesses and the culinary community. CPS is committed to this partnership at every level of the organization and we are energized and excited to work with all of you to make it a reality.

We treasure all of our students and want them to lead long, healthy, and active lives.

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Thank you to President Richardson-Lowry for taking part in this exciting launch!

To check out more photos from the launch event, click here.

Go for the Gold: Chicago Comes Together for Healthier Schools

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Photos by Tell Draper

by Rosa Ramirez, Go for the Gold Campaign Manager

On August 17, HSC celebrated with more than 250 guests the launch of the Go for the Gold Campaign. Attendees included Audrey Rowe, USDA Deputy Administrator for Special Nutrition Projects, who visited Chicago to learn about the city’s initiatives in response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s call to reverse childhood obesity in a generation. Rowe, who was appointed to her post by President Obama, said that from her perspective, “Chicago is a national model.” This simple praise marks a real milestone in our work for school wellness and is a testament to the community’s and CPS’s journey to make schools healthier places.

The Go for the Gold campaign, a partnership between Chicago Public Schools, HSC, and the USDA Midwest, forms a crucial part of that journey, helping CPS schools meet the high standards for food, fitness and nutrition education set by the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge.

It was exciting to see so many people at the launch event express their commitment to support schools in this goal:  students from the Mikva Challenge Teen Health Council committed to urging their classmates and high school principals to welcome health-promoting changes while Mary Richardson-Lowry, president of the CPS board of education, voiced a top-level commitment to healthy change. 

Terry Mazany, CEO of the Chicago Community Trust and Karen Atwood, President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, will lead a civic and business advisory committee dedicated to engaging even more leaders from across the city in supporting schools as they work to meet this challenge.

With the excitement of this launch and the strong, diverse group it brought together, I am excited for the school year to begin so even more schools can benefit from the strength of this community support. I am confident that Go for the Gold will bring about changes for the health and well-being for our kids.

Stay posted for updates!

Walk Across Illinois: Promoting Healthier Students, Healthier Schools

HSC believes that physical activity in schools helps students to develop healthy habits that last a lifetime. Today we have a special guest blog from our friends at the Active Transportation Alliance, about the organization's Walk Across Illinois Fitness Program.

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As concerns over childhood obesity and diabetes continue to mount, it is more important than ever for students to make physical activity a part of their daily lives. Schools across Illinois are creating healthy environments and encouraging students to be physically active through programs offered by Walk Across Illinois. Schools and programs can join children of all abilities who are gaining a sense of belonging through fun and free standards-based curricular activities.

The Walk Across Illinois School Fitness Program provides third- to sixth-grade students with engaging interdisciplinary, standards-based programming that increases physical activity in school and at home. Participating students are motivated through classroom and/or P.E. lessons to meet weekly physical activity goals through unique, grade-specific virtual walks, which bring students to destinations across the state.

The Afterschool Challenge program contains 40 pairs of lessons, one part brain and one part body, geared toward elementary students at any afterschool program facility. The program combines character building, physical activity and literacy instruction in a safe, supportive environment.

All Walk Across Illinois programs include program materials, teacher training (with professional development credits), physical activity tracking tools and ongoing professional support, completely free of charge.

Join us by visiting www.walkacrossillinois.org today!

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To learn more about other ways to integrate wellness into schools, click here for information on HSC's work to promote healthy, active lifestyles in schools. Special thanks to the Active Transportation Alliance for contributing a great post!

Go for the Gold Resource Spotlight: Chicago Run

by Rosa Ramirez, Go for the Gold Campaign Manager

When Chicago Public Schools, Healthy Schools Campaign and the USDA Midwest announced the Go for the Gold campaign to support schools in meeting the HealthierUS School Challenge championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, Chicago Run was one of the initial supporters.

Alicia Gonzalez, executive director of Chicago Run, explains her readiness to join the Go for the Gold team: "The better we establish our relationships with our schools –- teachers, principals, and school staff –- the greater the impetus to improve the health of our kids. I see [Go for the Gold] as doing just that."

Actively involved in schools throughout the under-served areas in the south, west, and north sides of Chicago, Chicago Run's programming is a great asset for schools looking to supplement physical education and increase physical activity.

Since 2008, Chicago Run has helped kids achieve fitness and have fun, 15 minutes at a time. In one of several programs it offers, Chicago Runs organizes a safe, appropriate running course on the school grounds, so students can run during recess, the lunch hour or a designated "fitness break." The incentive-based running program also promotes digital learning through its virtual marathon database that highlights historic landmarks, nutrition, and geographical points of interest -- all of which are aligned with Illinois Learning Standards.

Creating healthier school environments and, specifically, increasing opportunities for physical activity are key components of the HealthierUS School Challenge.

To learn more about Chicago Run and the programming available for schools, visit www.chicagorun.org.

Have kids at your school participated in a running program? We'd love to hear about what's working for you!

Education Policy Holds Promise to Promote Wellness & Environmental Health at School

 

Parents, advocates, school nurses and educators alike agree that healthy students are better prepared to learn -- to focus in the classroom, engage fully in activities and succeed at school. Yet it's rare to see education policy shaped with regard to the vital connection between health and learning.

In this era of standardized testing and No Child Left Behind, it has become difficult for many school leaders to make wellness a priority at school. Education policy that emphasizes the impact of kids' health on their readiness to learn has the potential to change that, particularly in light of the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, the act currently reauthorized with the No Child Left Behind initiative) and the nation-wide movement to end childhood obesity embodied by First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign. 

HSC advocates for national education policy that recognizes the role wellness and environmental health play in learning and student achievement:

Add a "learning environment index" to NCLB.
A new "learning environment index" requirement under the No Child Left Behind Act is important to better measure and improve environmental conditions in schools as part of an overall strategy to raise student performance. Many of the schools not making adequate yearly progress under NCLB do not have adequate facilities, safe conditions, or school environments that support learning. A learning environment index would identify and measure conditions that contribute to student achievement. Schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress would be required to show improvement on their learning environment index, and states and districts would be required to provide the resources to ensure that schools address the conditions identified for improvement.

Promote health with the Blue Ribbon Schools program.
HSC encourages the U.S. Department of Education to update the Blue Ribbon Schools Program to incorporate health and wellness measures into its assessment criteria. The goal of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program is to recognize excellence in education. Incorporating health and wellness measures into this program would empower schools to focus on the connection between health and learning and make wellness a priority at school.

The federal government currently offers schools guidance on how to promote health and wellness. For example, the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge has established high standards around school food, nutrition education and physical activity; the U.S. EPA’s Tools for Schools program provides excellent guidance for a healthy school environment; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention School Health Index provides recommendations on a range of wellness-related topics. Revising the standards for the Blue Ribbon Schools Program to incorporate health and wellness measures would be an important way for the Department of Education to provide strong leadership to schools and help schools connect with these existing resources while supporting the health and wellness of students.

As Congress begins the reauthorization of ESEA, we anticipate additional opportunities for incorporating health and wellness into education policy. Stay posted for updates!

Support for Healthy School Food in National Defense Bill

At first glance, H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, may seem an unlikely place to highlight the importance of child nutrition. The bill’s purpose, "to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for military activities of the Department of Defense," does not seem to be directly related to obesity or child nutrition.

But, as HSC's Mark Bishop explained in a recent blog, the connection is not too far of a stretch:

. . . 75 percent of 17 to 24 year-olds are not eligible to enlist in the armed forces. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most significant is obesity. This made me think that the more things change, the more things stay the same. Prior to World War II, military and government leaders became concerned with the health of army recruits: as a whole, they were malnourished.  . . .

We currently have a 60-year-old system designed to get more calories to a malnourished student population, delivering too many calories to a student population facing record levels of obesity. Just as the National School Lunch Program was established to deliver more calories to malnourished children, it must now be adapted to provide the kind of healthy meals that can help this generation of children develop healthy eating habits for a lifetime.

Last month, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment to this military spending bill to demonstrate support for adequate funding for healthy school food in the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. The amendment includes a statement that "hunger and obesity are impairing military recruitment and must be properly addressed." The bipartisan amendment was offered by Representatives James McGovern (D-MA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA).

Both the House and the Senate are moving forward with reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and we need advocates from every community -- from education to health to national defense -- to speak up about why healthy school food matters. Click here to raise your voice.

How Will Public Policy Strategies to Reverse Childhood Obesity Address Health Disparities in Communities of Color?

by Rosa Ramirez, Go for the Gold Campaign Manager

Parent advocates discuss strategy at Parents United for Healthy Schools training

The epidemic of childhood obesity is, for the first time, a major topic of national conversation. And big strides are being taken in understanding the causes and implications of childhood obesity.  As we move forward as a nation and craft public policy to address this epidemic, it is important that we keep in mind the great disparities that exist in obesity rates, particularly in Latino and African-American communities, and that we look to existing initiatives that have been successful in combating childhood obesity in communities of color.

The Center for American Progress, a non-profit non-partisan research organization, released a memo earlier this month urging lawmakers to develop and implement public policy strategies that tackle childhood obesity disparities among minorities head-on.

In the memo, Sonia Sekhar puts the health disparities in childhood obesity in context: 

The prevalence of childhood obesity has risen among all racial and ethnic subgroups over the years, but the growth has been more pronounced for communities of color. Childhood obesity rates of African Americans and Hispanics increased by about 120 percent between 1986 and 1998, but among non-Hispanic whites it grew by 50 percent.. . . Allowing this problem to continue to grow at its current pace will have dire economic, social, and public health consequences, including lower life expectancy in the 21st century. With the Census projecting that minorities will make up more than half of the U.S. population by 2050, the disparity in obesity rates among African Americans, Hispanics, and whites has profound implications for the nation’s health, not to mention the billions of dollars it could add to our nation’s health care costs.

Sekhar argues that addressing these disparities must be a specific and central element of public policy efforts to change the course of the obesity epidemic.

"Approaches that ignore the factors that influence obesity rates in Hispanic and black communities will only have marginal effects on reducing its prevalence," she writes.

Leaders in Washington, DC are taking important strides to combat childhood obesity and are laying significant groundwork: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the First Lady’s Let’s Move Initiative, the recommendations of the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report, efforts to reform school food and much more. 

Yet, as Sekhar explains, we need to focus attention to specifically addressing racial and ethnic disparities in obesity to overcome the health disparities that plague our communities. As we do so, we can learn from successful examples on the ground.

In Chicago, we've seen that parents and community members can be powerful catalysts for school-based change to promote health in communities of color. 

Parent activists involved in Parents United for Healthy Schools/Padres Unidos para Escuelas Saludables, an HSC-led coalition of more than 40 community organizations and parent groups from low-income African-American and Latino communities, have steadily been making changes in schools and throughout neighborhoods.

Since 2006, hundreds of parents have graduated from HSC’s four-day parent training program resulting in a strong community base that is actively promoting healthy changes in more than sixty Chicago Public Schools and helping lead 35 school wellness teams. Parents collected 4,000 petitions in support of recess and  presented them to the Chicago Board of Education, advocated for improved school nutrition standards at the district level and have been successful in incorporating food and fitness goals in their local schools' School Improvement Plans.

These efforts mean that children in low-income Latino and African-American communities facing health disparities and high rates of childhood obesity now have more access to healthy food and physical activity at school. At the same time, many of the parents and community members involved have transformed their own lifestyles to include more healthy eating and physical activity. 

Community-based strategies such as those that are working in Chicago and across the country can be an effective and important part of our nation's strategy to reverse childhood obesity in a generation. National leaders must recognize the racial and ethnic disparities in obesity; equally important is the need to raise awareness of the strategies that are successful in reversing them.

"A more highly targeted effort is needed to address the gaping racial and ethnic disparities that exist in this realm," Sekhar writes. "Considering the groundwork laid by both the health reform law and the Let’s Move initiative with the Presidential Task Force on Obesity, tackling obesity within a generation—especially among racial and ethnic minority populations—is certainly within our reach."

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Top Chef DC Taking on School Food: But Why the Extra Cash?

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

It's hard not to get excited when you see an issue you care about get elevated in the media, so you can imagine how I felt when I heard that Top Chef is taking on childhood obesity and specifically school food.

But what happens when the media portrayal elevates information that's just wrong?

According to ObamaFoodOrama, the chefs competing to create a "healthy, kid-friendly meal" in a local school kitchen will be doing so on a budget:

Chefs can only spend $2.68 per child, which is the reimbursement rate schools receive for each child who is eligible for free lunch under the federal program.

I'm glad to see the chefs have a budget, but I have to object to the amount.

Sure, schools get reimbursements of $2.68 for each free meal they serve, but that's not close to the amount that school food directors have available for ingredients for each meal. As we've discussed before on this blog, that $2.68 has to cover the cost of overhead, labor, administrative costs, maintenance, cleaning, transportation. . . the list goes on. When it comes to spending on ingredients, the amount that most food service directors have to work with is less than a dollar. (In large urban districts, it's generally closer to $0.70.)

Unless Top Chef is going to have its competitors get into the details of covering overhead and systems costs, it's only fair to give them the same funding the schools are able to spend on ingredients.

Every year, we engage with teams of students at the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest. We challenge them to create a healthy school meal on a dollar's worth of food ingredients, and they come up with some creative and healthy stuff. Yes, they all wish they had more to spend, but that's the challenge that schools deal with everyday. If you can do this, or this or this with a limited budget and ingredients, imagine if you had an extra 50 cents, or even a dollar.

Getting that extra dollar per meal for school food could require an extra $20 billion per year of funding in the Child Nutrition Act. And in one fell swoop, Bravo gave schools an extra $1.70.

Chef Ann Cooper was right on the money when said on the Slow Cook:

Perhaps instead of restaurant chefs trying to cook a meal for $2.68, we should have 'Lunch Ladies' competing to showcase what’s actually possible when we cook fresh food from scratch for our kids. After that, let’s give the professional chefs the USDA commodity food to deal with.

With this show, Bravo has a real opportunity to raise awareness of the significant funding problems in our school food system. So maybe this reality show could be just a little more real.

And the reality is that right now, Congress has an opportunity to do something about that problem. The Child Nutrition Act is up for reauthorization and both the House and Senate have introduced legislation with proposed funding that falls short of making healthy school food -- and kids' health -- a priority. Take a moment to raise your voice and urge Congress to provide adequate funds for healthy meals.

Parent Summit: Celebrating Parent Leadership, Creating Healthier Schools

By Guillermo Gomez

Recently, Parents United for Healthy Schools held its 4th Annual Parent Summit, "Creating Healthier Schools Through Parent Leadership in Chicago Public Schools." More than 200 parents representing 40 school-based wellness teams from across the city participated. The summit was a reflection of the positive changes that are taking place in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) through school wellness teams and parent involvement.

This year’s summit was a celebration filled with sones jarochos music and dancing along with parent testimonials that highlighted the rewards of long years of work developing school wellness teams.  We recognized two young students, now in high school, who demonstrated feisty leadership while in grammar school by advocating for recess at their schools. Six parents from Little Village Academy were recognized for winning their local school council elections on a wellness platform. And two schools, McCormick and Lowell Elementary, were recognized for their school wellness team’s incorporation of recess as a SIPAAA goal.
 

Parents also celebrated two major accomplishments:

After years of parent advocacy for recess, the CPS central office sent a letter in March 2010 to all principals in support of recess and its positive benefits, strongly encouraging all principals to include recess as a SIPAAA goal.

CPS also announced new nutrition standards for school food beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, providing healthier meals to all students. Under the new standards, school meals will meet or exceed the gold standard of the HealthierUS School Challenge that First Lady Michelle Obama is encouraging schools to take on.

Parents also announced the Go for the Gold Campaign as a goal for next year. The Go for the Gold campaign is an initiative to improve school food and fitness in Chicago by supporting school efforts to meet the HealthierUS School Challenge.  This program will improve student access to healthy meals, nutrition education and physical activity.

HSC is thrilled to support and celebrate the tremendous accomplishments of these parents, students, and school wellness teams. Stay posted for more updates!

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