Parent Liaisons and Fitness Programs Help SAISD Kids and Parents Succeed in the Fight Against Obesity!

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What happens when Latino parents stay active? Their kids are more likely to be active too! That’s why the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) is working to provide free after-school programming like Zumba classes at school gyms.

Because an important connection exists between health, school attendance, and academic success, SAISD has placed a Parent and Family Liaison (PFL) at every school in the district, to reach parents with the message of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

Parent liaisons, like Katanna Sanchez-Larralde, work with parents or guardians to help create a healthy and educational environment outside of the school day. The idea is that parents can then help children succeed academically and beyond.

In addition to “Coffee and Conversation” sessions where parents express concerns over their child’s education with the PFL, parents are also invited to cooking demos, weekly Zumba nights, diabetes awareness presentations, and monthly “Come and Play” days.

For Come and Play nights families gather at Arnold elementary school to participate in games which take place at the school’s gym. On Wednesday nights parents are invited to attend free Zumba classes provided by the Bexar County Health Collaborative at Rogers elementary. When parents attend these activities they often bring their children who also get their minutes of physical activity.

Olga Hernandez, a board member for the SAISD, says that through a recent grant all PE teachers in the district were certified to teach Zumba, so now students are also learning Zumba in the classroom.

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