Physical Activity and Nutrition in Schools. Information on Physical Activity and Nutrition in Schools is available at the Prevention Agenda website:

Transcription

1 Physical Activity and Nutrition in Schools Information on Physical Activity and Nutrition in Schools is available at the Prevention Agenda website: Questions 1. Is there any movement to having longer lunch periods in school, i.e., more than minutes? Response: Individual districts/school boards decide this; wellness committee could make recommendations/suggestions (contract issues re: length of school day, etc., would need to be addressed as well.) 2. How can we work with schools that are cutting back on recess? Response: Work through wellness committee. 3. What are constraints of schools lunches? o 2009 Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act has requested a 6-cent increase per school lunch. o Wealthier school districts have less money to work with for lunches than districts with a higher percentage of free and reduced-eligible participating students. o Studies indicate that school lunches are healthier than those brought from home. o Cooking food requires more staff and time. o Most school lunch programs are not supported by school budgets. 4. Since most health and safety officers are more concerned about the business perspective than health, how can LHD link with school nurse? Response: Work through the wellness committee. 5. Does each school or district have a wellness committee? Response: Usually, the wellness committees are established at the district level, with a school health committee representative from each building. 6. Chautauqua County has done the STEPS program and has a SHEP through BOCES. Response: BOCES is required to hold trainings for school nurses annually, and to provide updates twice a year. 7. Who regulates school lunches? Response: Federal and State legislation regulate the meals; oversight is provided by the State Education Department s child nutrition authority. 8. The following are the physical activity requirements established by the State Education Department: K-3: Daily, 120 minutes/week 4-6: At least 3 days/week for 120 minutes

2 7-12: 3 days one semester/2 days next semester; the State Education Department requires at least 90 minutes per week (Note: Secondary instruction goes by unit of credit which is defined as 180 minutes per week for a 5 day-a-week class. Since physical education is approximately half that (3 days/week one semester and 2 days/week the other semester), it must average 90 minutes per week). 9. Who enforces compliance with physical education requirements? Response: The State Education Department has one person focusing on physical education, so they don t have the capacity to assure compliance. Consequently, action is at the local level. In response to the PE audit that was completed in 2008, the State Education Department issued corrective action plans for the 19 school districts that were not in compliance with the regulations, with the expectation that the necessary changes would be made in the school year. 10. How does physical education work under a block scheduling arrangement? Response: Technically, anytime a district designs a comparable time, it must be approved by the Commissioner. However, in the last ten years, there are no records of schools applying for a block schedule. Issues 1. Adherence to union hours is a constraint. 2. State audit conducted by Office of the State Comptroller found only one school compliant; compliance was achieved by having physical activity instruction integrated into classrooms. However, during class they are moving about 20-40% of the time. That is why it is important to include activity during recess/free play. 3. National effort is underway to come up with revised standards nationally through Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. 4. Why is the State Department of Education not represented at this meeting? Response: They are on the Action for Healthy Kids team and NYS Farm to School Committee. The State Education Department has only one person dedicated to physical education. 5. There are 703 school districts in New York. 6. Workshop for nutrition learning should be attended by teachers, not decision-makers. Recommended Tactics/approaches 1. The New York State s Action for Healthy Kids team is currently led by BOCES Student Support Services Center, Kim McLaughlin.

3 2. Wayne County provides training for school nurses during superintendents conference day. 3. BMI data Data from the DOH BMI/Weight Status Category surveillance project is expected to be available in late 2010 early Stressed importance of obtaining data, i.e., impact of BMI helps show data on outcomes. Local data are very helpful. Putnam County is collecting weight data; needs to get parental permission slip signed. Even though identifiers are not being collected, still need parental approval. Clinton County worked with pediatricians to get BMI data. In other counties, BMI data are provided to schools from family physicians. What are barriers to collecting BMI? For example, some school nurses could not calculate height/weight; may get skewed data if not all children go to their physicians annually. 4. Student Weight Status Category Reporting system This system is based on 2007 amendments to Education Law Sections 903 and 904 which require students attending public schools outside of New York City to furnish "health certificates" signed by a MD, PA or NP. Health certificates are proof of a physical exam and are required at school entry (pre-kindergarten or kindergarten) and in grades 2, 4, 7 and 10. Usually a student's primary health care provider does the exam and the form is submitted to the school by the parent. If the parent does not submit a health certificate, then the school medical director performs the physical exam at no cost to the parent. Some medical providers do not document BMI or the weight status category (based on sex-specific BMI-for-age percentile) on health certificate forms. This is still a barrier to schools being able to collect and report student weight status category data. DOH encourages school nurses to follow-up with parents and physician offices to obtain this missing information. Also, parents have the right to have their child's data excluded from the aggregate summary report submitted to DOH under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects student confidentiality. Screening using BMI and BMI percentiles is still a required component of the school health certificate, but school districts must notify parents of their right to have the child's weight status category data excluded from the summary report sent to DOH. Additional barriers to BMI and student weight status category are being addressed by making changes to the reporting system beginning in school year.

4 School nurses obtained a scale to measure BMI data in Clinton County. One county expressed concern that football players are skewing BMI results. It is difficult to get BMI data at school district level. For more information on BMI data, contact Megan Prokrym at General questions: send to prevention@health.state.ny.us 4. The recommended way to get into a school is to be part of the wellness committee, i.e., be a player, help wellness committee look for resources (e.g., grant funding). 5. NYS recommends less focus on school meals (since these are well-regulated) and instead focus on other areas of the school day when consumable items are sold, such as during school fundraising). A healthy alternative for fundraisers is a walkathon. Focus on alternatives to candy sales, candy during celebrations, vending machines, sports projects. Action for Healthy Kids ( has resources (see handout from meeting). Use a tool like the School Health Index to assess school environment, create plan, identify priorities; look at wellness committee and what is being implemented. 6. Clinton County has lunch roundtables with school lunch nutrition stakeholders. 7. Schools can explore cooperative buying to help procure healthier items at a lower price. It has become easier to obtain local produce for schools. Explore how to integrate farm to school practices into local school districts; get connected with statelevel Farm to School Committee. Look at Rock on Café Program. Ray Denniston from Broome/Tioga BOCES works with farm to school issues and has a lot of experience with cooperative purchasing for school meals. 8. NYS Action for Healthy Kids is open to representatives get involved and linked in. 9. Partner with PTOs/PTAs and work with them (e.g., Bethlehem Central Middle School started a garden). 10. Influence fundraisers: (1) suggest healthier ideas; (2) tell parents what monetary amount schools need and get the funds; (3) blocks with families/names; (4) citrus sale; (5) apples tough to get parents buy-in; (6) family portrait night; and (7) oneday walkathon. 11. Collaborate with BOCES/State Education Department to provide training for food service managers. 12. Sullivan County works through a wellness committee. 13. One county used ARRA funds to purchase lots of materials for nutrition education or health education (e.g., foodscape poster, bulletin materials).

5 14. Find champions in your school district, e.g., Superintendent Mark Doody at Hudson Falls Central Schools has Learning Connection publications and is an excellent resource. Resources 1. Action for Healthy Kids The Learning Connection: The value of improving nutrition and physical activity in our schools. Find it at: 2. New York State s toolkit for schools (which has NYS best practice interventions) is available online and was handed out as a cd: 3. See for good resources under the SPIN, School and Professionals in Nutrition training 4. The training resources and training for NYS-recommended approaches with schools can be found at 5. The National Association of State Boards of Education has an obesity prevention policy guide on its website ( 6. School health policy RFA recipients 18 awardees yet to be announced. 7. The New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets leads NYS Farm to School process. 8. Prevention Institute Toolbox has lots of best practices for building healthy communities. 9. ARRA funding will be used to expand the School Policy Grant by providing funds to a statewide contractor that will conduct training for the 18 school policy regional contractors who will work with school districts to develop the board of education approved physical education plans. Recommendations 1. School physical education audit and information like this would be helpful to have on Prevention Agenda website. 2. Identify selected links; too many are overwhelming. 3. Use LHD2 listserv.

6 4. Establish bi-directional communication on HIN. Discussion forums are not being used. 5. Use CDC s School Health Index for elementary, middle and high schools. Each time the index was released, new questions have been added about another key issue that could impact the health and school environment: year 1 physical activity and nutrition; year 2 tobacco use was added; year 3 asthma; and Year 4 unintentional inury. 6. Use CDC s Coordinated School Health Model, with 8 key areas to help assess a school or district s policies, response to various to different aspects of the school environment (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, unintentional injury) 7. LHDs need an assessment tool to look at the school environment. Subject Matter Experts: Dan French, Physical Activity Coordinator, Obesity Prevention Program Amy Koren Roth, Director, Childhood Obesity Unit, Division of Nutrition Patricia Kocialski, Associate in Physical Education, State Education Department, pkocials@mail.nysed.gov (not in attendance) Note-taker: Priti Irani, Office of Public Health Practice