TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• NJ QSAC Presentation
• To Food Service Workers
• Facilitator Kathleen Smallwood Johnson,Esq.
• Special Assistant to the Superintendent
• April 30th, 2008

2
Your work in the District,does matter!

• Food Services professionals affect public
  school children in many ways. They not only
  provide the food and ensure proper nutrition, but
  they serve as role models for teaching kids how
  and what to eat at school. Iona Holloway, former
  NEA Executive Committee Member, Louisiana.

3
Did you know..

• Only in recent years has it been acknowledged
  that without proper nutrition, students cant
  learn and thrive in school.

4
Did you know..

• Studies have demonstrated that students who come
  to school undernourished are often uninterested
  in learning and unable to concentrate---factors
  that significantly impact the ability to learn.

5
Did you know.

• Hungry children also miss more school, losing
  even more ground academically.

6
2 Myths about Food Service Professionals

• Myth 1 Food Service employees dont impact
  student achievement.

7
The reality of the Food Service worker is that
they provide.

• Nutritious meals and love for students which
  directly impact student achievement.
• Fully balanced menus and a range of food options
  provide the nutrition for proper brain activity
  and academic development.
• Studies show that children who eat a nutritious
  breakfast and lunch improve their reading skills
  and test scores.

8
Myth 2

• All these employees have to do is put the food
  on the trays.

9
The reality is

• Today, the school Food Services department is
  modern, extensive, technologically complicated
  and very busy.
• Children nutrition programs have expanded as
  school administrators have become aware that
  poorly nourished children do not learn.

10

• Unlike the days of peanut butter and jelly
  sandwiches, Food Services employees today must
  focus on more complicated and important aspects
  of their jobs than ever before, including proper
  food handling, proper use and handling of
  chemicals, adapting recipes for certain children,
  nutrition education and practice, and 21st
  century student disorders, such as anorexia,
  bulimia, and obesity.

11

• Youre constantly moving on this jobalways
  cooking, even during the last lunch to keep food
  fresh. After that we clean trays and utensils,
  sterilize the serving line and sweep and mop.
  Even three hours on the job can feel like ten.

12
Impact on Expectations

• It is unreasonable to expect positive results
  from programs that have to operate in negative
  physical environments.

13
Expectations.

• It is unreasonable to expect positive results
  from programs that have to operate in negative
  work place environments

14
It is reasonable to expect

• It is reasonable to expect for each person to
  come and bring their best selves to the challenge
  of educating and serving our children each and
  every day.
• It is reasonable to expect that staff will
  fulfill both their statutory and code
  responsibilities cotemporaneous with their job
  description.
• It is reasonable to expect that together we will
  do all we can in spite of our difference to work
  together on behalf of children.

15
Key Characteristics of Effective Schools

• High expectations on the part of teachers and
  students
• High levels of collaboration and communication
• High level of family and community involvement
• Effective Leadership
• Frequent monitoring of teaching and learning
• Frequent monitoring of job performances at all
  levels of the organization.

16

• A supportive, safe, orderly, civil , clean and
  healthy learning environment

17
The 1 Factor- Clean and Orderly environment

• The effective school establishes
  well-disciplined, secure, and wholesome learning
  environment, and maintains clean and orderly
  school buildings.
• Claus and Girrbach.

18
Keys to excellence in School Food and Nutrition
Program Organization

• The school food and nutrition programs goals and
  sound business practices provide the basis for
  planning.
• The school food and nutrition program has written
  short and long term goals that are communicated
  and evaluated annually.

19
Keys to excellence

• The school food and nutrition
• Program uses sound financial and
• Accounting practices.
• Financial and management
• Practices are reviewed on an
• on going basis.
• Internal controls assure financial accountability

20
Keys to excellence

• School food and nutrition personnel are qualified
  to implement the goals of the school food and
  nutrition program.
• Procedures ensure that qualified staff are
  recruited and hired following local, state, and
  federal requirements.
• Staffing is planned and allocated according to
  operational needs and within budgetary
  constraints and state standards.
• Training and employee orientation are available
  to school food and nutrition personnel and the
  training responds to the districts goals and
  workers need.

21
Keys to excellence

• Internal communications among school food and
  nutrition personnel are open and ongoing.
• Meetings and/or other channels of communication
  are established regularly with personnel to
  discuss issues and encourage suggestions.
• A variety of communication vehicles is used to
  communicate to and among school food and
  nutrition personnel- i.e. bulletin boards, email,
  newsletters, handbooks, etc.

22
Keys to excellence

• Performance standards and a formal evaluation
  system are clear and followed.

23
Keys to Excellence

• The school food and nutrition program works in
  concert with the school community to maintain a
  healthy school environment.
• School food and nutrition personnel are accepted
  as partners in the education of children.

24
Keys to excellence

• Administrators work with the school food and
  nutrition program to create a positive dining
  environment that includes adults as role models.
• The school food and nutrition programs district
  office and school sites coordinate efforts.

25
Which leads us to NJQSAC

• NJ Quality Single Accountability Continuum

26
What is NJQSAC?

• NJQSAC is the Department of Educations new
  monitoring and evaluation system for public
  school districts.

27
From Compliance to Capacity Building

• This new system shifts the monitoring and
  evaluation focus from compliance to assistance,
  capacity- building and improvement.

28
One single system

• It is a single comprehensive accountability
  system that consolidates and incorporates the
  monitoring requirements of applicable state laws
  and programs and complements federally required
  improvements.

29
FIVE KEY COMPONENTS

• INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM
• PERSONNEL
• FISCAL MANAGEMENT
• OPERATIONS
• GOVENRANCE

30
Why is it necessary?

• Districts must be held accountable for student
  achievement. The NJQSAC system of accountability
  promotes equity, efficiency, and effectiveness
  and will help build a public understanding among
  educators, policy makes, legislators, and all
  stakeholders.

31
Fiscal Management- District Performance Review
(DPR) Indicator

• E.2.C.
• The child nutrition program operates without a
  general fund transfer or subsidy.

32
Fiscal Management- District Performance Review
(DPR) Indicator

• A. Facilities 3.a
• Annual health and safety reviews have been
  conducted in each building using the Evaluation
  of school Buildings Checklist.

33
Check list report

• 2 A current inspection report of the local
  health official (KITCHEN,CAFETERIA,) is available.

34
What does that mean to me?

• I need to know the plan.
• I must also IMPLEMENT the plan on my job site/
  in my building.

35
Oper A3a

• Annual health and safety reviews have been
  conducted in each building using the Evaluation
  of School Buildings Checklist.
• Answer NO.
• What does that mean to me?
• Become current on all items on the checklist!

36
Oper. A3b

• 100 compliance section- all items are in
  compliance in all buildings.
• Findings NO.
• Of 8 schools visited 7 failed the 100 compliance
  section of the checklist. These schools did not
  have a current Fire Certificate of Inspection. 6
  did not have current kitchen inspections.

37
What does that mean to me?

• Understand the checklist.
• Use the checklist.
• Maintain compliance with the checklist.

38
References

• Do k-12 Facilities Affect Education Outcomes?
  TACIR January 2003 report.
• Impact of Inadequate School Facilities on Student
  Learning.www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/archivesinits/con
  struction/impact.
• School Facility Conditions and Student Academic
  Achievement. Glen I. Earthman, Virginia
  Polytechnic Institute. October 2002.
• Do school Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes
  National clearinghouse for educational
  facilities. Mark Schneider November 2002.
• Breaking Ground Rebuilding New Jerseys Urban
  Schools. Education Law Center. April 2004.
• The Educational Adequacy of New Jersey Public
  School facilities Results from a Survey of
  Principals. Mark Schneider, PhD. May 2004.
• NJQSAC fact sheet. State of New Jersey DOE. 2007

39
References

• NEA The ES Professionals Action Guide to Help in
  Your Professional Development- Food Services
  workers.
• School Nutrition foundation- Keys to excellence.
• NJQSAC regulations
• District Performance Review Checklist