Students Prepare for a Healthy Summer with Help from Schools of Wellness Initiative
Schools of Wellness Initiative Components
SPARK (Sports Play and Active Recreation for Kids) Lifelong Wellness Program
A self-management skills program that teaches students how to:
- Manage their time and incorporate physical activity into their daily schedules
- Set short- and long-term goals
- Create a positive support system with friends and family
- Achieve moderation during challenging times, such as birthday parties and holidays
- Improve personal wellness throughout life when initial goals are reached
South Florida Moves
A customized, community walking program that incorporates:
- A multigenerational approach that encourages people of all ages to make regular physical activity a part of their everyday lives
- The 10,000 Steps Program, which recommends that each person take 10,000 steps a day — the equivalent of 30 minutes of daily physical activity
Kidz Bite Back
A grassroots campaign that relies on peer-to peer communication and comprises:
- The Gimme-5 Pledge, which encourages moderation and balance in consumption of fast food, soft drinks and junk food. The pledge also asks kids to participate in physical activity 30 minutes a day, 7 days a week, and to spread the word about Kidz Bite Back.
- An education program and letter-writing campaign to fast food, snack food and soft drink industries — and how they entice kids to consume their products
June 2005 — Every summer, students across Broward and Palm Beach Counties put away their schoolbooks and leave the “classroom” behind. This summer, thanks to the Schools of Wellness Initiative, some of their lessons could very well follow them into their neighborhood swimming pools, onto the local ball fields and into the kitchens of their family homes.
The 2004-2005 school year marked the beginning of the Schools of Wellness Initiative, a $1.4 million program designed to teach 4th and 5th graders in Broward and Palm Beach public elementary schools how to live healthier. The Initiative promotes lifelong wellness skills, emphasizing physical activity and culturally sensitive nutrition. It includes three basic components: a school-based physical activity component called “SPARK” (Sports Play and Active Recreation for Kids) Lifelong Wellness Program, an incentive-oriented walking component called “South Florida Moves,” and a social marketing campaign called “Kidz Bite Back,” which works to change the way our culture — both students and adults — thinks about exercise and nutrition. The ultimate goal is to improve the health, academic performance and attendance of elementary school children, thereby decreasing the alarming rate of childhood obesity throughout our local community.
The Schools of Wellness Initiative is a first-of-its-kind regional collaboration funded in part by a matching grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with local funding from the Children’s Services Council of Broward County, Health Foundation of South Florida and the Quantum Foundation. It is being implemented at 50 public elementary schools within Broward and Palm Beach Counties, with 16 participating this year, 17 schools added in the fall of 2005, and 16 schools added in the third year.
Educators have done much to make the Schools of Wellness Initiative a part of daily life for students. In addition to class-based instruction on such topics as healthy food choices, teachers show students how easily this new knowledge can be incorporated into daily life. For example, to promote walking, teachers might take their students on a longer route to the media center or cafeteria.
At a time when Florida has no public school regulations for physical education at the elementary and middle school levels, Schools of Wellness Initiative participants are fighting that trend. For example, Fairway Elementary in Miramar hired a second PE teacher who not only teaches students “movement” types of exercise such as yoga and tai chi but also conducts an after-school class for teachers. And the coach at Eagle Point Elementary in Weston started an after-school program of football, kickball and other sports that has attracted 100 students.
Making a Difference
For the students, the Schools of Wellness Initiative has already produced more than awareness; some are reporting weight loss and a change in food and activity choices. “The most important thing I have learned is to eat as healthy as I can to take care of my body,” says 11-year-old Paul, a student in Mrs. Pulitano’s 5th-grade class at Eagle Point Elementary in Weston. “The program did affect me because I lost five pounds.”
Ten-year-old Kirstin learned what different kinds of foods can do to her body. “When I ate junk food, I was drowsy and tired,” she says. “Eating the right food makes a difference. I am more active and fun to be around.” This summer, she plans on participating in cheerleading and soccer programs in Weston, and “always playing outside with my friends.” She says the Schools of Wellness Initiative affected her choice of summer activities because “it made me think of healthier activities to do.” Luisa, 11, agrees, saying she chooses more sports activities now than she did before.
Eunice, another 10-year-old in Mrs. Pulitano’s class, says that she had already planned to participate in a wide variety of activities this summer — including tennis lessons, swimming, running, rollerblading and going to camp — but that the Schools of Wellness Initiative “got me more eager to stay in shape.”
In fact, most of her classmates report a long list of outdoor activities planned for the summer months ahead. Cesar, age 12, gives another possible reason for wanting to do more this summer: “We do not have to do homework.”
Measuring Success
At the beginning of each school year, Schools of Wellness Initiative staff measure and record the Body Mass Index (BMI) of every student participating in the program. Results of SPARK and the walking programs are recorded on a weekly basis by staff and students. This information is measured against program standards at the end of the school year to demonstrate its success in lowering student BMIs.
Schools were chosen for participation on the following basis: chronic health conditions of students (asthma, BMIs above 25, diabetes and hypertension); existing Partners in Education partnerships with the Healthcare Districts; and/or a high percentage (more than 50 percent) of students participating in the federal government’s Free and Reduced Lunch Program.
The Schools of Wellness Initiative is composed of a unique regional alliance of collaborative partners: Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, North Broward Hospital District, the School Board of Broward County, the School District of Palm Beach County and the YMCA of South Palm Beach County.
If you are concerned about your child’s health and fitness and would like a referral to a physician, call Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Physician Referral Service toll-free at (866) JDCH-DOC. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.