BoardBuzz is happy to announce that March 24, 2010 marks the 14th anniversary of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ Kick Butts Day, a day for kids everywhere to stand up to the tobacco industry and let them know that their actions targeting youth are unacceptable.  The focus area this year is on smoke-free workplaces and public places.  This means schools!

BoardBuzz readers know that the only way to protect kids completely from tobacco is with a 100 percent tobacco-free schools policy, so this year on Kick Butts Day, we encourage readers to consider their district tobacco policies. Does your policy prohibit the use of all tobacco products, on all school property, at all times, by everyone?  If not, BoardBuzz urges readers to revise and strengthen their policies!

In light of a new study linking lung cancer to people who were exposed to secondhand smoke as children, even if they never use tobacco themselves, BoardBuzz knows that it is particularly important to make sure that students are not exposed to smoke at school!

Kick Butts Day is a great opportunity for BoardBuzz readers to partner with local youth to work on a comprehensive tobacco-free school policy!  Kids can be a very powerful force in persuading the powers that be, and fun activities can be incorporated for some added impact.

For other ideas for quick, low-cost and easy Kick Butts Day activities already being planned in your community, please click here.  For help developing  a comprehensive tobacco-free schools policy, visit the National Consortium on Tobacco Use Prevention through Schools or contact schoolhealth@nsba.org.

A study in the British Medical Journal shows that a structured school physical activity program can improve a child’s fitness and decrease body fat.

Researchers in Switzerland studied 540 seven and 11-year-olds in 15 schools over a nine month period that were randomly selected. Students underwent a physical activity program designed by experts that involved structuring their existing three physical education lessons and adding two extra lessons a week. The students were also given daily short activity breaks and physical activity homework.

The researchers reported a relative decrease in body fat, improved aerobic fitness, higher levels of in-school physical activity, smaller increases or larger reductions in body mass index (BMI), and lower cardiovascular risk in the intervention group.

BoardBuzz knows that physical activity is important to combat childhood obesity. Currently in the U.S., nearly one third of children and youth are overweight or obese. NSBA is addressing childhood obesity through our member state school boards associations and is working to provide local school boards with the information and tools they need to support school environments that address childhood obesity by fostering healthy eating and physical activity.

NSBA’s School Health Programs works with state associations and the federal government to develop policies that local school boards can adopt to support student health and has numerous resources on best practices physical activity programs and combating childhood obesity.

Last month, NSBA announced its support for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to combat widespread childhood obesity by to improving student nutrition and physical fitness.

The spotlight is on the issue of childhood obesity these days, especially with the launch of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Initiative. NSBA, working with and through state school boards associations, has announced it will identify at least one school board member in each state to be a “visible champion” in this effort at the local level. 

The numbers are sobering – as high as one third of our nation’s children are affected by excess weight, and the number is growing fast. “Let’s Move” is taking on this huge challenge by mobilizing community leaders and parents across the country to get kids to exercise and make more healthy food choices.

As BoardBuzz knows, an important part of this equation is schools. School leaders play an essential role in supporting policies that promote physical exercise during and after school hours, and in improving the quality of the meals supplied to students. NSBA’s School Health Programs has more information on this topic on their website, including research data for making informed decisions on policy, and resources to help implement goals.

The 2010 NSBA Annual Conference will feature programming on school health and wellness topics that will delve into the issue of how nutrition affects performance, take a look at some districts that have successfully collaborated with the community to create healthy schools, and examine how schools can work with families to promote healthy kids.

Baltimore City Schools braved the snow and ice to come to Washington this Saturday to talk about their School Food program at the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Issues Seminar.  While many may not find this to be the most exciting topic in the education reform era to talk about, it is something relevant to all school children in America.  The Baltimore City School Board is backing up this plan due to so much research supporting the impact of school nutrition on student achievement.

Baltimore presented their relatively new program that is getting a lot of attention, and for good reason.  As one example, they had a 33 acre farm (that was owned by the school) to experiment with growing food as a working farm.  Students run the farm and learn not only agriculture techniques in an urban setting, but also utilize math, chemistry, and other science skills as they figure out what grows well in Maryland.  That information is then given to local farmers to help grow more food to serve to students. 

One of the architects of this new plan is Tony Geraci, who has been a successful restaurateur and knows how to make a meal.  His idea is to make school food something that students actually enjoy, which if you remember from your own childhood, would be a difficult task.  One big change they’ve made is having a six week rotation for their menu, with over 30 different meal options for students.  With over 80% of students in Baltimore City Schools being on a free or reduced lunch program, what Baltimore puts on the plates in front of students has a huge impact on their rising academic gains.  In fact, Mr. Geraci discussed how the program reaches out to thousands of breakfasts and dinners as well as school lunches. 

If your district needs fresh ideas about school meals, how to keep the food sources local, and how to actually make them taste good, looking at Baltimore City’s program will be worth it.

BoardBuzz wants to let all of you know of a useful new webpage on NSBA’s website: Childhood Obesity & Schools. 

Did you know that nearly one third of children and youth in the United States are overweight or obese?  In the past four decades, childhood obesity rates have quadrupled among children ages 6-11 and more than tripled among youth ages 12-19.  Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing health issues affecting our nation’s students, and can impact children’s ability to reach their full potential. 

And, yes, childhood obesity matters to schools – research shows that children and youth who eat nutritious foods and are active, stay healthier, perform better in school, and learn behaviors that keep them healthier throughout their lifetimes. 

With that in mind, NSBA’s School Health Programs created this webpage to help school leaders and others address childhood obesity and keep kids healthy and ready to learn!

The webpage includes information on childhood obesity, why it matters for schools, and the role school leaders play in addressing childhood obesity.  Activities conducted through NSBA’s childhood obesity project, with support from Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are also featured. 

In addition, the webpage includes relevant data and research; resources for developing sound policies and practices related to childhood obesity; and examples of school successes in addressing childhood obesity.  Moreover, the webpage offers ways to combat childhood obesity through healthy eating resources such as nutrition education and farm-to-school programs as well as physical activity resources such as joint use agreements and Safe Routes to School Programs.  General resources such as links to websites and resources on specific topics related to childhood obesity are also provided. 

To check it out, click here. And let us know what your schools are doing to address childhood obesity.  Leave us a comment.

Planning to attend your state school boards association conference or NSBA’s Annual Conference this year? It’s a tough decision in today’s economic climate, but professional development is an investment in improving your district’s student achievement. Reno Contipelli, Board President from Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, wouldn’t consider skipping either event.  Hear Reno’s thoughts on the importance of professional development, and see how he spent his time and what he learned at last year’s NSBA Annual Conference:

BoardBuzz wants to remind its readers of an important event taking place on the week of January 10^th – National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW).  But why, you may be asking, as H1N1 seems to being dying down a little and so far, there have been very few cases of seasonal flu? 

Well yes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overall flu activity decreased slightly in the United States during the week of December 20-26, 2009. In addition, the number of states reporting widespread flu activity decreased from 7 to 4.  However, the CDC cautions that the flu is unpredictable and its activity can rise and fall throughout the season. The CDC believes the flu is likely to continue for months, caused by either 2009 H1N1 viruses or seasonal flu viruses. And actually, flu-associated deaths among all ages increased from the previous week, although fewer deaths in children were reported compared to the prior week (4 versus 9).

According to the CDC, vaccines are “the first and most important step in protecting against influenza.”  And BoardBuzz knows there are many other things schools can do to help combat the flu, for instance:  continually spread the message of appropriate hand hygiene to students and staff; clean classrooms, cafeterias, and other school areas thoroughly; and, if deemed necessary, close the school. 

Nevertheless, as shown in a new report released by the CDC, there can be negative consequences for the school, students, their families, and the community when it is closed for a certain period of time.  As shown in the report, many students meet their nutritional needs through school food programs, and schools provide child care both during and after school.  Moreover, schools rely on student attendance to meet federal and state funding and educational requirements. 

The report summarizes the results of a survey conducted by the Kentucky Department for Public Health of households whose children attended schools in two adjacent school districts that had been closed because of high absenteeism during an outbreak of seasonal influenza in February 2008.  Results indicate that 97 percent of respondents agreed with the decision to close schools.  Nevertheless, in 29.1 percent of households, an adult had to miss work to provide child care, and in 15.7 percent of households, at least one adult lost pay because of missed work.  In addition, specific information regarding the reason of the school closings was not fully communicated to families. 

The truth is that it is always better to prevent a bad situation or disease than have to manage or treat it.  And vaccinating against the flu is one way of preventing it.  Supplies of the vaccines are increasing and many places have opened up vaccination to anyone who wants it. And schools are usually well positioned to help with these campaigns.  In many states (e.g., MD, AL), state health departments are issuing vaccines directly to school-based health centers for distribution and administration because these centers can reach a large audience – children, youth and families – and they are strategically located. 

So get the word out about steps to take against the flu, including vaccinations.  And don’t forget to check out the NIVW website. It lists national, regional and state and territorial activities that will be taking place to during the event; and includes posters, brochures, fact sheets, and other materials for use during NIVW; a media toolkit; web tools; influenza campaign articles; resources for health professionals and partners; as well as related links.

Let us know of ways your schools is combating the flu.  Leave us a comment!

While as a nation we collectively sigh a bit of relief after the holiday season and pull on a sweatshirt to hide the extra pound (or three) we gained, an article from the New York Times caught our attention last week.

In the infamous novel, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair gave America a behind the scenes look at the meatpacking industry.  The book upset the country so much that it prompted Theodore Roosevelt, our president, to push for food safety standards and what is now the FDA, among other agencies to watch over our food supply.  Sinclair’s quote about the impact of the book, “I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach” is still studied by history students across the country.  Fast forward about 100 years, and you’ll find similar problems with our meat supply today.

At BoardBuzz we try to stick to the topics that face America’s students, so you may be wondering why we are “going Oprah” on beef.  In this most recent case exposed by the Times, the meat that is being served to school children in many parts of the nation is being injected with ammonia which has been cleared by the FDA to kill E. coli.  But the ammonia is not listed on the ingredients on the packaging and according to the beef company, helps to save money for school districts, which means this processed beef gets the lowest bid and is fed to schoolchildren.  In fact, a Georgia prison sent beef back from this company because the frozen beef had an odor of ammonia that was so strong that they alerted officials.  Since ammonia was not on the label, the cooks at the prison thought that there was something wrong with the beef.

We know there are many issues facing education today, but when we think about the students eating this food, and in some cases the only “good” meal students get in a day comes from free and reduced lunch programs, we have to stop and think about the pressures faced by schools to meet the nutritional needs of children with limited resources and the increased need among newly eligible students due to the economic downturn.

The federal government is looking into the issue of contaminated food reaching schools. A recently issued General Accountability Office (GAO) report identified standards and procedures to help reduce the risk of school children consuming recalled food purchased as commodities to use in school meals. The report specifically focused on eliminating contaminated food provided to schools through the commodity food program for use in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) school meal programs.

We hope that as you read the NYT  article, you also consider those children and parents who don’t know about this problem, can’t speak up, or trust the school leaders to make the best decisions on their behalf.  The Child Nutrition Act is up for reauthorizaton by Congress this year, giving school leaders an opportunity to voice their priorities for providing healthy meals to children so they are ready to learn.

BoardBuzz recently came across a study published on the November 16, online edition of Pediatrics that shows that reported food allergies – along with related visits to doctors and hospitals – have risen dramatically among children in the U.S. over the past decade.  The underlying causes for this increase are unclear.

According to the study, the prevalence of self-reported food allergies increased by 18% from 1997 to 2007.  The study could not determine how much of the increase is attributable to clinical disease and how much is related to enhanced awareness by physicians, other healthcare providers, and parents.  However, one possible reason was increased use of food allergy V codes, that is, patient case notations that record health issues not directly related to the cause of hospitalization. 

In addition, the study found increases in food allergy prevalence were shown across gender, age, and race.  Nevertheless, certain disparities in the prevalence were revealed:  black children were twice as likely as white children to test positive for peanut allergies on blood tests and were twice as likely to have detectable signs of milk allergies.  Black children were also four times as likely as white children to have detectable antibodies for shellfish.  And, while not as likely to have food allergies as black children, Hispanic children were more likely to have food allergies than were white children. 

So how can schools deal with this alarming scenario and help both food allergic students and their families feel that the school environment is safe?   BoardBuzz knows it is hard to strike a balance between protecting those who have food allergies and guaranteeing the freedom of those who don’t.  For instance, prohibiting certain foods, such as nuts in the school can be something hard to accomplish – a child might bring cookies from home that have nuts or some families might feel that that a child who is not food allergic should not be restricted by schools and denied the right to eat whatever they like, such as, the all-American peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

However, there is no cure for food allergies, and the best way to prevent an allergic reaction is to avoid the food that causes that reaction.  At the same time, some food allergies can cause anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction that affects multiple organ systems, including heart and lung functions, and, if left untreated, can lead to death in a matter of minutes.  Believe me, that is very scary situation that none of us wants to deal with.  One solution that some schools have implemented is to have separate tables for food allergic kids.  BoardBuzz knows this doesn’t sound like the perfect solution since it seems like kids are being “left out,” but the truth is that this can mean the difference between life and death. 

When addressing food allergies, it is imperative that schools first assess their student body and verify what kinds of food allergies are present, as some schools may have more food allergic students than others and/or more severe cases.  Then it is important to establish policies, programs and practices that are aligned with students’ needs.  Part of that process is ensuring that there are established emergency protocols for life-threatening food allergy reactions such as anaphylaxis. 

Besides that, a comprehensive policy for the management of food allergies includes: communication and confidentiality; individual written management plans for students with food allergies; medication protocols; professional development for school staff; food allergy awareness education for students and parents; healthy school environments; and monitoring and evaluation. 

With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NSBA’s School Health Programs is currently developing policy guidance for policymakers and other school personnel as well as a comprehensive toolkit to help them better manage food allergies among students, so stay tuned!  Meanwhile, if you ever need help developing or revising your schools’ food allergy policies, don’t hesitate to contact us at schoolhealth@nsba.org.

If you missed the National School Boards Association’s live webcast “Leadership in Action: Policymakers Addressing Childhood Obesity Through Collaboration and Policy Change,” it’s not too late!  BoardBuzz is pleased to announce that the webcast is now available in archival form on the Education Solutions Global Network (ESGN) website: http://www.esgn.tv/.  Simply click on the red and blue promotional graphic for the program that is located on the right side of the ESGN home page.  There is no cost for viewing the archive, which can be watched an unlimited number of times.  It will be available until July 1, 2010. 

This webcast is a useful resource and discussion tool for community- and school-based groups (school boards, PTA/PTO councils, city or county councils, etc) to discuss the important issues around childhood obesity, as well as strategies you can use in your community or state to address them.  The archived program can be shown in segments, ‘paused,’ and ‘re-started’ (by using the ‘pause’ and ‘play’ buttons) as many times as needed to provide you with the opportunity to discuss the program’s content.

After accessing the program from the ESGN web page, you can also download the agenda of the original ‘live’ program as well as presentation slides used in the original broadcast by ‘clicking’ on the appropriate links next to the broadcast window.

For any technical difficulties watching the archived edition of the program, contact ESGN at esgn@esgn.tv.

After watching the archive, please take a few minutes to complete a short online evaluation of the webcast, which is available at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FPG73LN.  Your responses are greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions about the webcast please contact Emily Kujawa at NSBA’s School Health Programs (ekujawa@nsba.org, 703-838-6743).