In this Texas Parent Teachers Association (PTA) resolution for school recess, the Texas PTA describes the benefits and importance of allowing elementary school children to participate in recess.
In this resolution, The Texas PTA makes it clear that they support: At least 20 minutes of recess, every day while school is in session;
That children receive both recess and physical education classes;
Policies developed by school districts to ensure that recess includes unstructured play, that playground equipment is safe, and that an adequate adult to student ratio of 1 adult to 30 students be established;
That recess is not withheld from children as a form of disciplinary action. The Texas Parent Teachers Association Website also includes this recess resolution template ...
Parents in New Haven called for change after realizing that children in some schools were not given time for recess. One parent, Tanhee Cookson Muhammad learnedthat her son Enaji was denied the right to recess as a form of punishment. At some schools children only have recess on days that they don’t have PE class. This led Muhammad to join up with a group of local parent advocates, who decided to create a petition as part of a campaign called Recess For All. The petition requests that all public school children, in grades K-8, receive at least 20 minutes of recess a day. Accordingto a state bill passed in 2012, children in grades K-5th are required to receive at least 20 minutes of physical activity throughout the schoolday. Still, not enough schools are enforcing this ...
The World Fit Walk organization, a program sponsored by Olympic athletes, is working to get children moving in 50 schools across the United States. In a news article, Education Week reports that close to 38,000 students would be logging the amount of miles they walked over the course of a six week period. At the end of the six week period students would compare their results with other schools in the area. Those who log 120 miles or more are eligible to receive the President's Active Lifestyle Achievement Award. To learn more about the World Fit Walk organization visit their webpage and Facebook page. Read about how Daniel Herrera a student from Los Olivos School worked towards achieving his goal by participating in the World Fit Walk ...
The Wake County School Health Advisory Council of North Carolina is proposing that schools eliminate junk food or unhealthy options from school fundraisers, including the sales at sporting events. They believe that by cutting junk food and candy sales, they can help increase the healthy options at all school affiliated events. However the policy remains very controversial and is not being supported by all staff or coaches. The amount of profit brought in each year from the sales at their sporting events make up a major component of the booster club's annual budget. Those who do no support the change do recognize the health benefits for students and the community, but do not believe that they will make enough money to support their athletes if this policy goes into affect. In the ...
The ActOut campaign in Virginia, an initiative of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, is raising awareness about the need for more physical activity among youth.
Currently at least 1 in 4 youth in Virginia are overweight or obese and the problem is even more grave among Latino children. Health officials in Virginia worry that 1 in 2 Latino children born today will develop diabetes if action is not taken to reverse the obesity epidemic. Although 60 minutes of daily physical activity is recommended for children, 4 out of 5 kids do not meet this recommendation. This is why the ActOut campaign is calling all school districts in Virginia to provide at least 30 minutes of physical education to children. The ActOut Campaign encourages its supporters to get the word out to friends ...
The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program is a school based physical activity and nutrition program that promotes healthy food choices among children. After CATCH was implemented at schools in El Paso and Austin, Texas the program demonstrated that it had the potential to lower obesity in children. Recently, CATCH was recognized by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for advancing policies and environmental strategies to control obesity. It has been adopted by schools in all fifty states and now offers early childhood and after school programs. The success of evidence based programs such as CATCH suggest that policies to improve physical activity standards for children, could have the potential to significantly reduce and prevent childhood ...
Hispanic and Asian children living in the San Antonio community of East Oakland lacked access to outdoor spaces for recreation. This prompted David Kakishiba of the Oakland-based East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC), to coordinate a Schoolyard initiative with the Oakland Unified School district. The Schoolyard initiative would provide a unique and dynamic environment for school children to learn and engage in physical activity. Parents, students, and teachers participated in a series of three community design workshop meetings, to provide input as to what the schoolyard should look like. Of the two top strategies for creating a healthy schoolyard, Kakishiba recommends working closely with the school district’s facilities department, and developing and following through on a ...
Anyone that impacts school health can be on a School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). Through SHACs parent liaisons, educators, and community partners can work together to plan, evaluate, and implement the healthiest practices for kids at schools. According to this report from the Arizona Department of Health, in 2009, 33 percent of Latino children were either overweight or obese. Thanks to a $15.7 million grant to fight obesity, Pima country started a program to establish over 150 SHACs all across the county. The Arizona Department of Health partnered with the Arizona Department of Education to encourage schools in Arizona to establish SHACs. Watch this video to see how students from Challenger Middle School are benefiting from the coordinated approach to school ...
Schools in southern Florida are implementing more changes to promote healthy eating amongst students. Various schools have started providing a salad bar, changing the vending machine options, and introducing more fruits and vegetables. The USDA's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act standardized calories per meal and what types of foods must be offered. However many schools in southern Florida are trying to go beyond that to create. They were making these changes before the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which has helped the changes become less objectionable. They have gotten rid of deep fryers in many schools, and began eliminating some high fat foods (like hot dogs, corn dogs, and fried foods). Although they are facing obstacles like the student's acceptance and intake of new food, they ...
