GROWING PAINS

NEA Today, Mar 2005 by Crute, Sheree

Health activists say initiatives like these get everybody at a school plugged in, not just P.E. teachers and nutritionists. They note there's no shortage of advice on how the science teacher or even the school secretary can make their marks (see "Fit for Life," page 26). "There's definitely a role here for educators," says Mary McKenna, a nutritionist and health scientist at the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. As one of a group of experts working on Making ft Happen! School Nutrition Success Stories (a report on 32 public schools and districts with innovative meal programs), McKenna's seen firsthand what educators can do when they decide to bring about change. NEA HIN's Newberry echoes the sentiment. It's one reason his organization has created SmartBODY, a fitness and nutrition. Web site for educators and parents (see "'Get Fit' Online!" page 31).

It's all about getting informed and inspired, says Newberry.

NEA Today found a few members who are doing just that.

SUMMER FITNESS FUN

ROSS DARNER has pulled off an amazing feat; he's made school the coolest place to be in Kalispell, Montana, in the summertime. In a town of hardworking parents, with 61 percent of kids on free or reduced-price lunch programs, Darner, an Evergreen High School physical education teacher, realized that "lots of the kids were idle in the summer" while their parents were at work and most often unable to afford expensive trips or camps.

"I'd also read about obesity being the number two preventable cause of death, just below tobacco," says Darner. "I thought that if we could get kids healthy at a young age, they had a better chance of being healthy adults." His idea: create the summer Evergreen Fitness Team and get those kids out of the house and on their feet.

To create a state-of-the-art fitness room, Darner and other Evergreen staff members, working with the guidance of Action for Healthy Kids, secured a Physical Education Program (PEP) grant for nearly $90,000. A fund-raising carnival and help from local businesses did the rest. Evergreen High now boasts its very own climbing wall, fitness and weight machines, heart monitors for kids, a summer staff, and a mountain of high-tech equipment that can measure students' blood pressure, body fat, strength, and flexibility. "We give kids a printout they can take home to mom and dad," says Darner.

For anyone who thinks kids actually want to be sedentary, think again. In 2003, the program's first year, close to one-half of the fifth and sixth graders and some seventh and eighth graders, including obese kids, volunteered for two-and-one-half hours of weights and cardiovascular workouts. The demand for this year has already exceeded last year's numbers. "It's great for the kids," Darner says. "They look forward to it and have somewhere to go." More important, the students became healthier. "Across the board, we saw a drop in blood pressure in kids who completed the program," Darner proudly proclaims.