The Texas Education Agency (TEA) leads efforts to promote coordinated school health in Texas. Coordinated School Health (CSH) is designed to prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes in elementary, middle, and junior high school students. Each program must provide for coordinating health education; physical education and physical activity; nutrition services; and parental involvement. With more than 35 percent of Texas children considered overweight or obese, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is proud to highlight the programs that, like the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy, empower schools to empower children. Together, we can promote a healthier environment in Texas schools and help ensure a healthier future for Texas children.
Visit TEA's page "Resources for Coordinated School Health Programs" to learn more about how your school can get the most from CSH.
www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/hpe/coordinated_school_health.html
TEA also has School Health Specialists in every region to help. Click the link below to identify the School Health Specialist in your region.
www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth/netlist.shtm
Before you start worrying about all those New Year's resolutions that you may not be keeping, think about resolving to improve student health at your school. Even small steps can make a difference. To help you choose a way to participate, below are some ideas to think over, many of which will fit into even the busiest schedule. SMALL STEPS
Lead by example. Eat healthy foods and be physically active. Take five minutes for yourself six times a day and move. Park farther away from your destination, take a stretch break and walk up and down the stairs just for exercise.
Promote non-food rewards in the classroom. Recognize students with stickers, pedometers, coupons for extra computer or reading time or gift certificates from local merchants.
Educate faculty and staff, as well as students. Arm your teachers with the facts, provide information on available resources (see Big Steps below), and post nutrition facts in the school cafeteria.
Sponsor a district or campus health fair. Invite local professionals to participate and provide information to teachers, parents and students.
BIG STEPS
Inventory school vending machines and opt for more nutritious selections such as trail mix, graham crackers, baked tortilla chips, bottled water and 2 percent milk.
Encourage campus groups to sponsor activity-based, non-food fundraisers like walkathons, jumpathons, closest-to-the-hole golf (or Frisbee golf) tournaments or car washes. Sell seat cushions for sporting events, pedometers to encourage physical activity or bricks with donor names engraved for the courtyard.
Invite parents, teachers and students to participate in after-school wellness programs. Sponsor a dunk-off or dance competition between the groups. Encourage outside organizations and clubs to host.
Tap into every available resource. Utilize School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs) to develop district and campus student wellness policies. Explore grant funding for innovative nutrition programs.
GIANT STEPS
Spread the word. Incorporate nutrition messages into core subjects. Have students calculate calories expended versus calories consumed, research the nutrition values of fast food or write a report on the symptoms of diabetes. Get everyone involved.
Lead by action. Adopt district-wide policies that support long-term nutrition education, physical activity and healthy food choices for students.
Share your great ideas. If you've had success implementing a new idea, e-mail your success story to us and we'll publish it so that other school districts can benefit from your success. Send it to squaremeals@tda.state.tx.us.
Throw a Tasting Party: Introduce kids to a variety of fruits or vegetables with a sample table in the cafeteria. Set up an educational display to teach basic facts about the food.
Let the Kids Plan the Menu: Select one class in the school to create a cafeteria menu for one day. Have someone from Child Nutrition Services present the kids with the available food options and the nutritional information that they need to create a balanced menu.
Put on an Act: Challenge your budding thespians to write a skit with a good-nutrition message and have them perform it for classmates.
Paint a Poster: Encourage students to create a poster with a nutritional message and award non-food prizes for the best ones.
Focus on Dessert: Show kids how to turn a high-fat dessert into a low-fat dessert. For example, make a milk shake with skim milk and fruit yogurt.
Invite Parents to Lunch: Show Mom and Dad how hard you've been working to create appealing, healthy fare for their kids.
Hold a Nutrition Knowledge Contest: Display nutrition information in the school, and over a two-to-six week period, ask a question once a week during morning announcements that tests the students' knowledge of the information. Collect the answers, place the correct ones in a lottery and have a drawing each week. The number of winners is up to you.
