Health Habits at Bernal Intermediate

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Health Habits at Bernal Intermediate

• Presented by
• Manisha Chulani

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Activity

• Mix-it-up
• Only for the length of this presentation, I would
  like you all to move seats and to sit with your
  classmates/cliques that you usually do not sit
  with. Thank you!

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Mission Statement

• Bernal is committed to continuous improvement of
  all students as they learn to use their hearts
  and minds well and to meeting and raising goals
  for student performance on the Academic
  Performance Index (API), as well as all
  sub-groups, focusing in the areas of math and
  language arts. Students write weekly in all
  curricular areas, using the OGSD District writing
  rubric. High priorities continue to be student
  safety, high expectations, communication with our
  Bernal families, and meeting the goals of the
  District's Five-Year Plan in the area of eight
  grade Algebra. In 2006, 93 of 8th grade students
  enrolled in Algebra and 98 of those enrolled in
  Geometry were at or above proficient on the
  California Content Standards Test.

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Pros of Bernal Intermediate

• Supportive but extremely busy principal and vice
  principal.
• Emphasis on CTAG-closing the gap for all children
  including children who are African American and
  Spanish speaking
• Community Liaisons for these communities.
• Dedicated teachers who provide extra academic
  support during lunch periods, and after school.
• Met Academic Standards.
• For students with a GPA above 2.0, after school
  cross country walking with a teacher.
• Helpful kitchen staff who follow the federal
  mandates of providing healthy options.
• Helpful health liaison.
• Clean Cafeteria, Organized Line at Cafeteria, and
  No Litter in the playground.
• Caring Special Education teacher who is concerned
  about the health habits of the students she
  teaches.
• Voted 8 out of 10 by parents (greatschools.net)

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Pros of Oak Grove School District

• Collaborative School Psychology team.
• Job-Alikes for various departments in the
  District.
• TWO and only Two awesome nurses who are willing
  to help out after school hours to provide
  consultation despite their time constraints
• District Nutritionist
• Parent Informational meetings and Community
  Liaison meetings.
• Wellness Policy included in the School Safety
  Plan (available online).
• Student Dress Program (School T-shirt with Jeans)
  

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School Accountability Report CardReported for
School Year 2005-2006Published During 2006-2007

• Test scores continue to rise for all groups since
  API began in 1999.
• Highest advanced mathematics successful course
  completion in the County and State (125 took
  geometry test with 91 success rate).
• 90 of teachers are fully credentialed.
• We teach all students.

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continued

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continued
Academic Performance Index
California Physical Fitness Test Results
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California Healthy Kids SurveyImportance of
Physical and Mental Health

• Close link between diet, physical activity, and
  mental health to school and life success.
• Promoting healthy personal habits, providing for
  enjoyable physical activities, offering good food
  choices, and addressing depression is as
  important as keeping youth safe and drug fee.
• Students who are hungry, sick, troubled, or
  depressed cannot function in the classroom, no
  matter how good the school.
• Students who eat well and exercise regularly are
  better able to maintain the energy levels needed
  for learning and to maintain positive emotional
  development.

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California Healthy Kids Survey65 of Seventh
graders. Physical and Mental Health

• Table A6.1
• Eating/Drinking of Fruits and Vegetables at Least
  Once per Day, Past 24 Hours
• __________________________________________________
  ____________
• Grade 7
• __________________________________________________
  ____________
• 100 Fruit Juices 73
• Fruit 80
• Vegetables 78
• Five or more potions of any 56
• Table A6.2
• Drinking of Milk and Eating of Yogurt, Past 24
  hours______________________
• 0 times 9
• 1 time 21
• 2 times 25
• 3 times 17
• 4 times 7
• 5 or more times
  21
  

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continued

• Table A6.3
• Drinking of Soda Pop, Past 24 Hours_______________
  ____
• 0 times 38
• 1 time 25
• 2 times 14
• 3 times 8
• 4 times 6
• 5 or more times 8
• Table A6.4
• Eating of Fried Potatoes, Past 24 Hours __
• 0 times 41
• 1 time 31
• 2 times 13
• 3 times 6
• 4 times 4
• 5 or more times 7

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continued

• Table A6.5
• Eating of Breakfast
  ___________________
• No 36
• Yes 64
• Table A6.6
• Exercise on at Least Three of the Past Seven
  Days __
• Exercise or do a physical activity for at least
  20 minutes 62
• that made you sweat and breathe hard
• Participate in a physical activity for at least
  30 minutes 50
• that did not make you sweat and breathe hard
• Either 80
• Table A6.7
• Frequency of Exercise to Strengthen or Tone
  Muscles, Past Seven Days __
• 0 Days 22
• 1-2 Days 31
• 3 or more days 47

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Continued

• Table A6.8
• Frequency of Sad and Hopeless Feelings, Past 12
  Months __
• No 76
• Yes 24
• Table A6.9
• Student with Asthma
  ___
• No 66
• Yes 20
• Dont know 14
• Table A6.10
• Student Body Mass Index
  ___
• Underweight 1
• Acceptable 72
• At risk of overweight 18
• Overweight 8

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Continued

• Table A6.11
• Selected Physical Health and Nutrition Measures,
  by Gender and Grade_____
• 7th Grade
• Female Male
• __
• Exercise on at Least Three of the Past Seven
  Days
• Exercise or do a physical activity for at least
  20 minutes that 56 69
• made you sweat and breathe hard
• Participate in a physical activity for at least
  30 minutes that 54 47
• did not make you sweat and breathe hard
• Either 80 80
• Did you eat breakfast today? 61 67
• During the past 12 months, did you ever feel so
  sad
• and hopeless almost every day for two weeks or
  more
• That you stopped doing some usual activities?
  30 18

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Supervisor Interview

• Building a relationship with the students and the
  families.
• Concerns Although the students have a free
  breakfast and lunch program, they do not utilize
  it.
• She has observed that some of the children go to
  the vendors which is quicker but has less healthy
  options, or not eat at all.
• She has observed students socializing with each
  other rather than eating.
• She hypothesized it may be because of appearances
  and she has also observed more males not eating
  as well.
• Reading is emphasized at Bernal, and some
  students have to catch up on their reading during
  P.E. and from informal conversations with
  students she has learned that a lot of students
  do not like P.E. for many reasons including this.
• She suggested that I touch base with a concerned
  Special Education Teacher to learn more about
  this situation and work together to understand
  the issue and find programs that may be helpful
  in addressing this issue.

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Interview with the Special Education Teacher

• She reported that her students did not get to
  participate in physical activities because of the
  GPA limitations and because she hypothesized that
  they would not feel comfortable with the general
  education population.
• She mentioned an incident where one Mexican
  student brought beans and rice from home and
  others (both adults and students), in the
  teachers perception were curious about it.
• Another student did not want to go to the
  cafeteria and requested that the teachers
  assistant help her pick up a meal.

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continued

• She hypothesized that not eating may be one way
  the children are able to control their
  environment as they have a hard time at school.
• When I informed her that I was planning to have
  an informal focus group session with the Expect
  Respect Group (Cornerstone). She told me that her
  children have different needs than the General
  Education Population
• We plan to have an informal focus group on
  3/19/08 with the students of her classroom.
• She suggested that I use the term CTAG, closing
  the academic gap, when discussing about
  implementing any programs with the school
  administration.

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Interview with the Assistant Principal

• To be able to do a paper survey, the school would
  require permission from the District office.
• She gave me permission to do an informal verbal
  survey.
• She told me that as far as she knew most children
  were eating. She was aware that some of the
  students who have the free lunch ticket were not
  utilizing the lunch program.
• She referred me to the Kitchen staff and to the
  Health Liaison.

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Interview with the Kitchen Staff

• They informed me that they follow the health
  mandates and provide healthy choices.
• They acknowledge and praise students who choose
  healthy food options.
• They have observed that some students who have
  the Free Lunch Ticket do not utilize them.
• They are concerned about the reasons that the
  students are not eating healthy despite the
  options.

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Health Liason

• She provided me with the CHKS for Bernal
  Intermediate.
• According to the information in the CHKS she
  works closely with the Student Council to propose
  positive change in the school.

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Informal Focus Group with the Expect Respect
Group (part of Corner Stone)

• At least six males and six females participated.
• The School Counselors facilitated this meeting.
• Their concerns included
• Cost of food, including the price of water.
• If the student has a pass to see the teacher, the
  student has difficulty to go to the cafeteria
  because of the person in charge of the yard duty.
  
• They are unable to go outside with their food.
• There is not enough time, and they are unable to
  create time to eat and socialize.
• They only feel comfortable eating when others are
  eating.
• They are hesitant to wait in the line to buy
  something, because, then they are expected to buy
  something for their friends.
• When I inquired if students may feel embarrassed
  about bring food from home if they are from a
  minority culture. They responded that the culture
  at Bernal is that most students do not bring
  food from home.

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Continued

• The cafeteria staff tries to get the students to
  leave the cafeteria quickly so that they can
  clean up.
• If they want to get something else from the
  cafeteria, they cannot go directly but have to go
  around to get back to the cafeteria.
• The females engage in gossip during lunch time as
  there are no activates that they can engage in
  and they are bored.
• They do not like a lot of the selections
  available.
• They told me that at the cafeteria/vendors there
  is the option to pay cash or use tickets. (the
  color is the same for student who bought the
  tickets and for students who participate in the
  free lunch program). However, they have not
  observed

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Student Suggestions

• Bins for Extra Food For Students and Families
  that are Socio Economically Disadvantaged.
• Cheaper food options
• Food options that are tasty, for example, cup
  noodles.
• Allow the children to eat outside
• Have a policy where half the time is in the
  cafeteria, and the other half of the time is
  outside.
• Have music at lunch.
• Clubs/Activities to go to during lunch, less
  boredom, and less time to create gossip.
• If there are healthy snacks provided they will
  eat them.

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Next Steps

• To have a cheap and easy to implement program as
  the principal is supportive but busy.
• Create an alliance with the Health Liaison and
  the Student Council and bring them the
  suggestions that the students made.
• Ask the Expect/Respect Group if they would like
  to create clubs during lunch time. Ask the School
  Psychologist/Counselor/Teachers if they could be
  the advisor.

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Mix it Up

• My supervisor had suggested this program to me.
  She said that it was tried in the past in another
  school and was effective.
• We understand hanging out with people we think
  are most like us can be comfortable. But we also
  understand it can be uncomfortable when you want
  to hang out with someone new and other people
  think you should "stick with your own kind."
• Nowhere on school campuses are the boundaries of
  group membership more clearly drawn than in and
  around the cafeteria.

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continued

• "They" sit at those tables and "the ..." hang out
  over there. Everybody knows where you're supposed
  to hang out. But why does it have to stay that
  way?
• Truth is, things don't have to be how they've
  always been. That's why we decided to support
  young people who wanted to create change and
  started Mix It Up.
• Mix It Up believes in the power of youth to
  create and sustain real change. We want to
  provide ideas and tools to help you break the
  walls of division in your school and community.
• Mix It Up is a project of the Southern Poverty
  Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program.

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Grants

• Types of grants fundedThe Mix It Up Grants
  Program funds small-scale, youth-directed
  activist projects that focus on identifying,
  crossing and challenging social boundaries in
  schools and communities.
• The projects should be
• Youth Driven Youth (ages 13 years and older)
  must serve as decision-makers in the project.
  Ideally, the project is created and implemented
  by youth.
• Challenging Projects should challenge the status
  quo and focus on crossing social boundaries
  through youth activism and youth leadership
  development.
• Creative Youth and their advisors should step
  outside of the box, thinking of fresh ways to
  engage in and encourage socially just behaviors.
• Collaborative Projects must promote
  collaboration across social boundaries
  different grade levels, youth groups, clubs or
  community groups working together. Various adults
  and community volunteers should be invited to
  participate.
• On-Going The project should be a part of an
  ongoing effort, or an effort that's just getting
  started, but will continue.
• Responsible Project organizers should be very
  thoughtful when constructing a budget. Before
  purchasing items for your project, ask community
  partners and local vendors for in-kind donations.
  Also be sure to check multiple retailers for
  price comparisons and sales for items you must
  purchase. Partner with others in your community
  and share project expenses.

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Comments

• What was your experience of the Mix It Up
  Program?
• What was your experience of eating healthy snacks
  if they are provided?

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References

• California Healthy Kids Survey. (2005). Bernal
  Intermediate Technical Report Fall 2005.
• Executive Summary School Accountability Report
  Card, 2006-07. (2007). Retrieved Febuary, 5,
  2008, from
• http//www.ogsd.k12.ca.us/html/schoolinfo.html
• http//www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/
  ca/5584
• http//www.tolerance.org