Three Village CSD benefits from Coordinated School Health efforts

Three Village Central School District
East Setauket, New York
Suffolk County (Suffolk Zone)
North shore of suburban Long Island

8,500+ students

 

Issue

Obesity has tripled among teenagers and doubled among children 6 – 11 years old in the last 20 years. Students are becoming more sedentary and exhibit poor eating habits. Obesity increases the risk of many chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers. Diets high in saturated fat, excess calories and sodium can contribute to the development of chronic diseases.

 

Method

The Healthy Schools Leadership Institute (HSLI) is a five-year, professional development program that focuses on building organizational capacity for healthier schools; effectively advocating for healthier schools; using assessment strategies to evaluate the school environment; leading and motivating others responsible for school health promotion; managing coordination of healthier schools; and, soliciting resources for this initiative. HSLI recruits schools to participate in the initiative. The Three Village Central School District is one of nineteen that the HSLI has worked with since 2005.

Three Village CSD joined the Healthy Schools Leadership Institute in the spring of 2005. During the district’s first year of the program, each of five elementary school buildings formed its own distinct Healthy School Team, comprised of staff and community members representing each area of a coordinated school health program. At the building level, Healthy School Team members included health and physical education teachers, school nurses, principals and assistant principals, custodians, school lunch monitors, school psychologists, and social workers. District-level department heads, such as the Director of Child Nutrition Services, Health/Physical Education/Recreation/Athletics, Pupil Personnel, and Maintenance/Operations, as well as, the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Schools also provided input throughout the first year, and on a continuing basis throughout the Leadership Institute.

By the beginning of the second year of the program, all five elementary buildings had successfully completed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Index (SHI), and had incorporated identified areas of strength and areas in need of improvement into building-level School Health Improvement Plans. Two of the key areas in need of improvement identified by all five elementary Healthy School Teams were Nutrition Services and facilities/programs that promote Community and Staff Wellness, both of which became goals for the 2006-2009 school years. In 2007, Healthy School Teams were initiated at the three secondary buildings, and completion of the SHI Index similarly identified Staff Wellness to be an area of focus for improvement. As a result of the coordinated efforts across the district, Three Village was able to secure over $85,000 in grant funding to support various coordinated school health efforts, including the establishment of its first outdoor multi-station fitness trail, an array of staff wellness promotion programs, circuit training equipment for students, nutrition education materials, and innovative programs to prevent violence and substance abuse.

 

Impact

Since 2005, Three Village CSD:

Established building-level Healthy School Teams to complete the Centers for Disease Control’s School Health Index, and implemented School Health Improvement Plans based on the results;
Incorporated the objectives of the Healthy Schools Leadership Institute into the fabric of Three Village Central School District; provided annual Coordinated School Health Programming kick-off trainings for Health and Physical Education staff to renew a common vision at the start of each school year;
Established a District Wellness Committee, made up of administration, faculty/staff, and parents; developed and implemented a comprehensive Wellness Policy;
Expanded school facilities to include additional blacktop games, updated playground equipment, a multi-station outdoor fitness trail; successfully advocated for new Fitness/Wellness centers and field improvements at the secondary level to be included in future capital budgets;
Increased in-district and community news coverage of coordinated school health efforts;
Coordinated HeartLinks-sponsored child obesity prevention workshops for parents and staff at each of eight school buildings;
Incorporated staff wellness challenges across the district, including the Biggest Loser challenge, resulting the collective loss of thousands of pounds;
Improved school nutrition services by serving only low fat and fat-free milk, expanding the selection of student-preferred fresh fruits and vegetables, and phasing in 100 percent whole-wheat rolls and bread products;
Inventoried vending machines to improve food and beverage offerings to students and staff, based upon agreed-upon nutrition criteria in the Wellness Policy; and
Identified baseline data (i.e., student BMI) and future data needs in order to accurately assess impact of coordinated school health efforts.

 

Importance of Impact

Healthy school environments allow students to establish healthy habits that last a lifetime and encourage faculty and staff to be healthier, too. Three Village CSD recognizes this by involving students and staff in the process and providing them with the tools needed to improve their environment.

 

Keys to Success

Through the collective vision of staff, parents, students and community members to promote wellness, as well as, administrative support for this initiative, Three Village CSD found success. A key component of the process was completion of the comprehensive School Health Index assessment and development of School Health Improvement Plans at each building within the district. This assessment, along with collection of baseline data that was instrumental in demonstrating improvements, helped in gaining financial support for coordinated school health programming. Finally, continuing community and district support for a comprehensive health and physical education program, including a long-standing elementary health education program taught by certified health education teachers proved helpful in the process.

 

Future Plans

In the next five years, Three Village CSD plans to:

Expand the vision and mission of the Board of Education and the District Wellness Committee to more fully embrace and support district-wide Substance Abuse Prevention and Staff Wellness initiatives;
Establish more consistent measures of data collection and tracking pertaining to student and staff health behaviors and indicators (i.e., smoking prevalence, BMI); and
Increase nutrition promotion within the cafeteria and throughout the school building, particularly at the elementary level; re-implement the School Breakfast Program at the elementary level.



Words of Wisdom:

“Focus on essential structures – a representative district Wellness Council, building-level Healthy School Teams, process and outcome evaluations, and continuously update and revise Wellness policies; one-day “events” and programs run by a select few may stir temporary interest and excitement, but it is essential structures that drive sustainable change in overall coordinated school heath programming. Furthermore, most core activities which build essential structures are low or no-cost, thereby eliminating barriers to initiate long-lasting CSHP improvements.” Kristina Fiore-Rosenfeld

 


For more information about health and wellness at Three Village Central School District, contact:

Kristina Fiore-Rosenfeld, M.P.H., M.Ed., S.D.A.

Three Village Central School District

P.O. Box 9050

East Setauket, NY 11733

Phone: 631-730-4000

Email: kfiorero@3villagecsd.org

 

For information about the Healthy Schools Leadership Institute, contact:

Stephanie Gray, Program Director

Healthy Schools Leadership Institute

NYS Association for Health,

Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

Phone: 518.568.5764

E-mail: sgray@nysahperd.org