CAFETERIA MARKETING CASE STUDY

Duffy Elementary Tucson, AZ: An Arizona school developed two popular events: The first was "Start Your Engines" to encourage students to eat breakfast. Every student who participated in school breakfast received a car to color and post on the cafeteria wall. Students then received a sticker to adorn their car each day they returned for breakfast. Breakfast participation increased by 50% that week! The second was a "Nutrition Express" theme in the cafeteria. Classes received a large "railroad car" with the students' names on it when they sign up for a nutrition class. Cars roll down the wall of the cafeteria for all to see. Every classroom in the school wanted to have their own car, and shortly after the promotion was announced the cafeteria had at least 10 cars on the walls! For more examples, visit USDA's Team Nutrition website.

CASE STUDY: SCHOOL NURSES CREATING CHANGE FOR WELLNESS

Susan Marcum, a certified school nurse in the large District McClean unit 5 school system in Illinois, was quick to implement lessons learned at the School Nurse Leadership Program headed by the Healthy Schools Campaign. The leadership program is geared toward empowering school nurses to advocate for change in wellness policies in their schools and districts.

"The training helped me to focus on how to make change," Susan said.

Susan began to address wellness issues in her district by joining the Wellness Committee, and is now the committee's co-chair. The committee includes representatives from the district administration, the school board, the local Health Department, a local pediatrician, district school nurses, a registered dietician, physical education teachers, a wellness teacher and even parents and students.

The first thing that the committee did was focus on issues within the district and within each school, and came up with goals to address them. The committee also focused on making people aware of the issues at hand, and to get buy-in from various stakeholders into what the mission and goal of the committee was. There continues to be a strong focus on communicating the value of wellness, which includes a quarterly district newsletter published by the Wellness Committee. The newsletter goes out to each employee, and is accessible to the public through a website. Each school building also has a contact person who reports to the district committee.

One of the committee's goals was to have wellness teams at each and every school in the district. However, coming up with the goals from scratch was not easy. Susan suggested using the Quick and Easy Guide to School Wellness as a starting point. The guide, which outlines five steps to improve student nutrition and fitness, is available free of charge from the Healthy Schools Campaign.

Susan said that the Quick and Easy Guide is "just wonderful!" The guide proved to be a great resource in outlining just what needs to be achieved, and how to achieve it. "It broke down the multi-faceted nature to approaching obesity. . . this is it, in a nutshell," she said. Susan thought the guide was so useful that she ordered one for each school in the district.

Now, many wellness initiatives are in place throughout the district. Susan spearheaded a "Team Nutrition" approach to wellness, which was launched last spring. Its goal is to involve various stakeholders in a team atmosphere to approach wellness. Also, a "Fruit and Veggies Only" snack policy is in place in some classrooms, and kids have fun bringing a variety of creative goodies. Schools also offer wellness-focused Family Fun Nights, which are a type of family health fair held at the schools where Susan works. Other wellness initiatives in the district include a "no more unhealthy birthday snack" policy in some classrooms, and an intense curriculum study to determine the gaps in nutrition education at the different grade levels.

VENDING CASE STUDY

The Corpus Christi (TX) Independent School District (CCISD) piloted a reimbursable meal vending program in 2006. Branded "DeliZone by VendSMARTT," the program used a vending machine to deliver nutritious breakfasts, lunches and snacks, as well as accessing meaningful financial reports. Director of Food Services Jodi Houston, and the district's nutrition consultant, Jean Fields, R.D., organized student focus groups and taste panels to determine what foods and beverages would be most popular. Menus were written and analyzed using USDA-approved Nutrient Standard Menu Planning software and evaluated for compliance with the Texas Public Schools Nutrition Policy. The pilot has since been expanded to Mesa (AZ) Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, Shawnee (KS) Mission School District and Conroe (TX) Independent School District. (From Food Service Magazine, December 2006)

PHYSICAL FITNESS CASE STUDY

After realizing its PE program was inconsistent, the North Cow Creek Elementary School District (CA) embarked on a two-year improvement effort (from 2003 – 2005) resulting in the adoption of a policy that completely overhauled and improved physical activity options for students, staff and the community. After reviewing its students’ results of the California Physical Fitness Test, the district then held a series of community meetings to discuss ways to improve the school district's PE program. The school board adopted a 5-year strategic plan which standardized the PE curriculum at all grade levels; implemented the President's Challenge program, which recognizes excellence in physical fitness; involved community and staff in the fitness program; and developed a board policy on health, fitness, and nutrition. The district also applied for funding in an effort to establish a gym that is used year-round. Source: “CALIFORNIA PROJECT LEAN.”

CASE STUDY: SCHOOL NURSES CREATING CHANGE FOR WELLNESS

This is Marie Walter's fourteenth year as a school nurse. She works at a new high school in the Elgin Unit 46 school district in Illinois. Marie participated in the School Nurse Leadership Program run by the Healthy Schools Campaign and, shortly after, appointed herself to be on her district's Wellness Committee to help put wellness policies into action. The committee is made up of the district head of school nursing, health and wellness and physical education teachers, the school nurse, parents and students. One of the goals of the district's Wellness Committee is to have a wellness committee in each school.

Marie continues to be active in implementing what she learned at the training. She transferred to the brand new school to help institute a comprehensive school health approach across the curriculum. In addition, she will be doing a presentation at the school's Institute Day, addressing the issue of how to start a wellness committee. The audience will include other teachers, school nurses, physical education teachers and others. Additionally, Marie will be meeting with the food services department to address what is being served in the cafeteria.

With the help of students, Marie is working on an effort to develop wellness-related "stall journals." These journals address health issues, and will be found posted in each bathroom stall.

She attributes many of her ideas and initiative to the School Nurse Leadership Program, as well as the Quick and Easy Guide to School Wellness.

"It's about starting small, working slowly, and working toward a goal," Marie said. She has used the Quick and Easy Guide's outline on how to make effective change. "We will be giving it out to each school," Marie said.

What also helps, Marie said, is that the person in charge is fully engaged in wellness efforts.

"This is an overall collaborative effort and we are working with other disciplines," Marie said. She noticed that there is more of an overall awareness about health and physical activity throughout the school and district. "There is more of an education approach; we are what we eat, and we'll be better learners if we are healthy," she said.

CASE STUDY: SCHOOL NURSES CREATING CHANGE FOR WELLNESS

Sandy Lawinger, a District 89 school nurse in Glen Ellen, Illinois oversees the district health offices and special education health needs. Her district contains five schools and over 2,200 students. Although each building has a nurse, Sandy is the only certified school nurse in the district.

Sandy was one of the participants in the Healthy Schools Campaign School Nurse Leadership Program. Although the district's wellness policy was being written during the time Sandy was taking the course, she quickly participated in the policy's implementation after she finished.

During a needs assessment that the district conducted, issues of nutrition education, physical activity and healthy food were emphasized.

One of the effects of the policy is that physical education will be offered five times a week starting next year, instead of only four times a week as it is currently. There is also a bigger emphasis on wellness in the entire district. A special cafeteria program was started. There is now a food committee, composed of food services personnel and students. The committee meets quarterly to discuss cafeteria offerings, and the students participate in taste testing to assure that they are getting tasty, yet healthy choices for lunch. The cafeteria also now offers ethnic foods and theme day to raise cultural awareness. A breakfast program is being considered, as some students report to the nurse's office simply because they are hungry in the morning.

The district has a wellness committee as well. This committee is chaired by Sandy, and has representatives from the superintendent's office, teachers (including physical education and nutrition), students, school board, parents, nurses, and the principals.

Sandy states that she has seen a dramatic increase in community involvement in wellness issues since she completed the School Nurse Leadership Program with the Healthy Schools Campaign. The PTA took a strong stand on changing classroom parties and celebrations. They focused on better food choices and healthy food options, instead of the sugary snacks usually offered.

Now, some schools offer only juices and water instead of high-sugared soft drinks. Despite the higher cost, parents and the school felt that this was a better option. "The fact that the superintendent is making wellness a priority really helps to increase awareness as well," Sandy said.