December 17, 2004

Healthy Lifestyles, Quality Options In All School Food, Daily Recess Urged

The Commission on School Nutrition and Physical Activity this week presented 13 recommendations to the Denver Board of Education that call for a series of sweeping changes designed to help address the epidemic of obesity among children.

The recommendations were led by one over-arching suggestion: "Adopt healthy lifestyles as a strategic priority for the DPS school community over the next three years."

Commission co-chair Elaine Gantz Berman linked the commission’s report to the district’s core work of raising student achievement. "Our commission believes strongly that our students will achieve in the classroom if they are healthy and have good habits with nutrition and exercise," she said.

Berman referenced results of a student survey that was distributed by the commission and filled out by some 5,000 students. One in four students say they never eat fresh vegetables, she noted, and nearly 50 percent of the students said they eat at fast food restaurants at least three times each week. "I think you see if the students are themselves answering questions this way that there is room for improvement," she said.

Commission co-chair Reggie Washington, who also serves as co-chair of the Academy of Pediatrics’ National Task Force on Childhood Obesity, said all the recommendations were based on "data and facts" and urged district staff and the Board to analyze the report carefully.

Among all the recommendations, Washington said the commission is "most passionate" about the idea that all school food offerings – cafeteria food, vending machine choices, and food sold through school clubs and school fundraising – be healthy.

"We have an obligation to help students make a healthier choice," he said.

Superintendent Jerry Wartgow thanked the 17-member commission for its "balanced, thoughtful approach" on the issue. District staff will next digest the findings and determine cost and policy implications.

The recommendations would impact a wide variety of policies and practices involving nutrition, physical activity, physical education, and health education. One calls for district-wide nutrition standards for all food sold at schools. Another calls for developing specific guidelines for portion size and nutrient content of all vending machine beverages.

The report also calls for developing a "health education program that will include behaviorally focused nutrition education for all students" and that "all students should participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity ... and involves a variety of activities both within and outside of the school day."

Each grade level – elementary, middle and high – should improve physical education, the report urges. Specific "near term," "mid-term" and "long term" goals are spelled out for each. For instance, in the near term, elementary schools should require at least 90 minutes per week of physical education.

The report also urges research and follow-up study as "ongoing surveillance" of the problem.

"In 2002, former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher founded Action for Healthy Kids, which served to ignite initiatives in school districts nationwide," the report stated. "Focusing on nutrition and physical activity as two key variables in the energy equation, public health officials have started to address the epidemic in a serious and hopeful way. The public schools are perfectly positioned to promote healthy lifestyles as the antidote to obesity and to reinforce the benefits of lifelong physical activity."

A full copy of the report will be posted on the commission’s web site,

http://dcsnpa.dpsk12.org.

 

K-8 And Middle Schools Considered

As the Board considers converting some elementary schools to K-8 schools, Superintendent Jerry Wartgow announced yesterday a new online survey (in English and Spanish) to continue gathering input from students, staff and community members. The survey is accessible under "updates" on the DPS homepage, www.dpsk12.org.

The Board began weighing a proposal last month to expand K-8 schools in Denver – beginning with five northeast Denver elementary schools (see the online survey for details).

Chief Academic Officer Sally Mentor Hay has said the traditional middle school model is not being abandoned. "Our clear purpose and focus is to create strong middle schools and strong K-8 schools," she said. "Our interest is to give parents some very good choices."

Both middle school and K-8 principals were on hand at yesterday’s Board meeting to echo that commitment.

"This is a great time for us to have another educational opportunity in Denver Public Schools," said Gail Paige-Archambeau, principal of Centennial K-8 School.

She and Park Hill K-8 School principal Peter Sherman addressed Board members yesterday in part to cite what they’ve experienced as positive qualities of K-8 schools, which serve students from age four to 14 and offer a "nine-year, cohesive program." With an upper and lower campus, the principals said K-8 schools integrate elementary and middle school curriculum, foster cross-age teaching and learning, and support role modeling from older to younger students.

Middle school principals also spoke to Board members as they consider expanding K-8 schools city-wide.

"Middle schools are the right choice for thousands of kids," said Ann Greenfield, Merrill Middle School principal. "Other options are right for many other families."

Citing the positives of middle schools, which serve students from age 11 to 14, she said that when students make the transition from elementary to middle schools, they begin thinking about the future – about what it takes to graduate from high school.

"Maturing is a focus," she said. "Middle schools get them started on career paths and college paths."

She and Morey Middle School principal Kristin Waters said middle school facilities specifically are designed to support a "rigorous curriculum designed by middle school teachers for middle school students" and include made-to-order computer and science labs.

"It’s a time of change, of learning and of growth – both intellectually and physically," said Waters of the middle school years. As students that age experiment and sometimes fail, the principals said middle schools have safety nets and access to extensive community resources to offer support.

 

Brown Elementary Adds International Baccalaureate Program

The Board of Education this week approved a plan to revitalize Brown Elementary School by adding the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program school-wide starting in August 2005.

Brown Elementary School is one of 13 Denver schools selected by the Board to tap into $2.5 million annually to attract families back into neighborhood schools.

The school’s Revitalization Committee worked for months with current families and families new to the area to identify an attractive educational program that ultimately would reduce the achievement gap, increase student enrollment and increase the school’s state rating from low to average to high in a three-year period.

"Gaining the trust of those parents whose children may never attend a public school in Denver is another key to improving Brown," stated the proposal adopted by the Board. "Full implementation of the IB Primary Years Program will provide a strong and academically rich elementary school experience for these families and encourage them to keep their children in a feeder system that includes an IB Middle Years Program and a Diploma (high school) Program."

International Baccalaureate

The IB Primary Years Program (for students from five to 12 years old) focuses on the development of the whole child through environments in which children learn – in the classroom and in the world outside. It offers a framework that meets children’s academic, social, physical, emotional and cultural needs.

The program is based on student-centered inquiry and is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning with an international curriculum that also teaches a second language (Spanish) starting in Early Childhood Education classrooms.

Year One at Brown

In its first year, Brown would train 50 to 75 percent of teachers and hire a part-time program coordinator, a full-time Spanish teacher and a principal who is a proven, strong instructional leader committed to implementing the IB program. The school also would update and expand its existing computer technology, create a science lab and expand lunchtime and after-school tutoring, homework support and activities.

 

Westerly Creek Elementary Adds Sixth Grade Temporarily

The Board of Education yesterday accepted a proposal from the Collaborate School Committee at Westerly Creek Elementary School to add sixth grade for the 2005-2006 school year only – until the new Stapleton K-8 school opens one year later.

Sixth-grade students eligible for enrollment must reside in the school’s attendance area or must currently be enrolled in fifth grade at the school. Attendance in sixth grade next year at Westerly Creek will be through the district’s Choice process; transportation for sixth-graders will not be provided. (The Choice process allows students to attend a school other than the one in their neighborhood.)

In 2006-2007 and thereafter, Westerly Creek Elementary School will serve students in Early Childhood Education through fifth grade only.

 

Next Year’s School Year Calendars Set

The Board of Education yesterday approved the 2005-2006 calendars for both the traditional and continuous-year schedules. The calendars are accessible online at

http://www.dpsk12.org/calendars.

The two calendars are similar to this year’s – but in the coming months, the district’s calendar committee will plan the 2006-2007 and subsequent calendars.

Traditional Calendar

The first semester on the traditional calendar will begin on Monday, August 15, 2005. The last day of school is a half-day for students on Thursday, May 25, 2006. The calendar includes a two-day fall mini-break on Thursday and Friday, October 20 and 21 and repeats the current three-day break during Thanksgiving, two-week winter break in December and one-week spring break in March.

Continuous-Year Calendar

For continuous-year schools, the first semester begins on Monday, July 25, 2005. The last day of school is a half-day on Wednesday, June 7, 2006. The calendar again has a two-week fall break and three-week winter and spring breaks. (Bryant-Webster K-8 School will move from the continuous-year calendar to the traditional calendar starting in fall 2005.)

 

January Meetings

The Board of Education has postponed its second regular meeting in January to the fourth instead of the usual third Thursday of the month. The rescheduled meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, January 27 in the first-floor Board Room at the DPS administration building, 900 Grant St.

The meeting to receive the final report from the Commission on Secondary School Reform will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday, January 31 (also at the DPS administration building).

 

Board Notes

In other action this week, the Board of Education Approved:

This page was last updated: Friday, December 17, 2004 at 10:54:47 AM

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