In This Issue

• HSC News: Child Nutrition Action; Green Clean Awards; Cooking up Change
• Policy Updates: Education Policy & Welllness; Community Schools; Green Clean Summit
• Recent Blog Entries: Student Perspective on New School Food; Top Chef Challenge; Safe School Buildings; Health Disparities and more

HSC News

Child Nutrition Act Is Moving: Now's the Time to Speak Up
Bill Mark-Up to Begin Today

The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the federal legislation that determines school food policy and resources, is moving in Congress. The bills introduced for reauthorization include several health-promoting policy provisions but do not include adequate funding to make fundamental change for healthy school food.

The House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee will begin mark-up of the bill today, July 14. The current version of the House bill increases the school food reimbursement rate by only six cents per meal, not enough for schools to make health-promoting changes to support students' wellness and learning.

Now, representatives need to hear that the public supports increased funding for healthy school food.

If you’d like your voice to be heard on this issue, now is the time to speak up! Please take a moment to contact your representative in support of a timely and well-funded reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

At a committee hearing this month, Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified in support of a reauthorization that makes kids’ health a priority. "To state it simply, we are here today because school meals matter," he said. "Our schools are on the front line of efforts to improve childhood nutrition, our collective health, and the future of our great nation."

With the support of the administration, parents, students and advocates across the country, Congress now has a critical opportunity to change the future of school food by providing funding for healthy school meals. Add your voice to the call for kids’ health by sending a letter today.

Spotlight Your School's Green Cleaning Program!

HSC is pleased to announce the 2010 award recognizing the efforts of schools around the nation with outstanding green cleaning programs.

The Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities, presented in collaboration with American School & University magazine and The Green Cleaning Network, honors schools and their partners that embrace green principles and practices in their maintenance operations.

The judging criteria for the award are based on the Five Simple Steps to Green Cleaning outlined in HSC's Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools. Applications must be received by Sept. 10, 2010.

Don't miss this opportunity to spotlight your school's green cleaning program!

Sponsorship Opportunities Available for Cooking up Change Chicago

Student chefs prepare for Cooking up Change Chicago

2010 has already been an exciting year for Cooking up Change! On March 2, HSC hosted a day of action in Washington, DC where student chefs of Cooking up Change presented the healthy school lunch they designed at a briefing on Capitol Hill. On May 17, high school and college students traveled from across the U.S. to compete in the final round of the first National Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest.

Now, we are thrilled to make our flagship Chicago benefit and healthy cooking contest our most dynamic Cooking up Change yet!

HSC is welcoming new and returning sponsors for our flagship Cooking up Change event in Chicago. The benefit and healthy cooking contest will take place Nov. 4 at Salvage One, an architectural showcase just west of downtown Chicago. The event combines the energy of a culinary competition and the fun of a celebration with the power of HSC’s mission.

To learn more about becoming a sponsor, click here or contact Sara Klinzing at 312-419-1810.

Policy Updates

Education Policy Holds Promise to Promote Wellness & Environmental Health at School

Parents, advocates, school nurses and educators alike agree that healthy students are better prepared to learn -- to focus in the classroom, engage fully in activities and succeed at school. Yet it's rare to see education policy shaped with regard to the vital connection between health and learning.

In this era of standardized testing and No Child Left Behind, it has become difficult for many school leaders to make wellness a priority at school. Education policy that emphasizes the impact of kids' health on their readiness to learn has the potential to change that, particularly in light of the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, the act currently reauthorized with the No Child Left Behind initiative) and the nation-wide movement to end childhood obesity embodied by First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign.

HSC advocates for national education policy that recognizes the role wellness and environmental health play in learning and student achievement, including adding a "learning environment index" to NCLB and promoting health with the Blue Ribbon Schools program.

Continue reading on HSC's blog »

New Legislation Supports Community Schools, Increasing Focus on Health & Home

As Congress prepares for the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), we're seeing bills propose a variety of measures to reform the education system. The Full Service Community Schools Act of 2009 and the Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged Act both incorporate the concept of community schools, a concept that is closely linked with health, wellness and sustainability.

A community school is a public school that combines education with a range of other in-house health and social services. So kids come to school to learn, of course, but parents may also drop by the school for a dental check-up. This engagements means that community schools are often the center of neighborhood life; they are open evenings, weekends, and summers for events, activities, and appointments.

Continue reading on HSC's blog »

2010 Green Clean Schools National Summit: Join Us!
Third Annual Summit to Build Coalitions, Develop Strategy

Concerned about healthy and clean schools for students and staff? Concerned about the environment? What to be part of a national movement to promote green cleaning in schools? Register today for the 2010 Green Clean Schools National Summit!

The summit will bring together national organizations, corporate leaders, state activists and concerned individuals to develop state-specific strategies based on lessons learned from previous successful efforts.

HSC also welcomes new sponsors for the 2010 summit.

Please join us in building on this national momentum to help ensure that all children and school staff benefit from health-promoting green clean schools policies.

Recent Blog Entries

HSC's staff experts discuss news stories and new developments every week at the HSC Blog. Stop by and leave a question or comment. And while you're there, enter your email address for automatic delivery on days when a new blog entry has been posted. Here's a look at some of our recent posts:

Student Perspective: Making the Change to Healthier School Food| by Christine Andersen
Five years ago, my middle school changed its school lunch program, and the outcome was unforeseen. My elementary school had a standard lunch program that allowed students to pick one of three hot lunches, along with milk. Many of my fellow fourth-grade classmates agreed that the choices were rather mysterious, and we all looked forward to entering fifth grade, where we could choose from the infamous a-la-carte menu. When fifth grade rolled around, we were very excited to move to our new, seemingly enormous school that had food described by our upperclassmen as far “better.” . . . Read more

Advocates, Students Challenge Top Chefs to School Food Cook-Off -- With a Little Less Lunch Money
Wednesday’s episode of Bravo’s "Top Chef" featured a challenge that high school students nationwide take on each year in the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest, and which food service directors face daily in schools: to create a healthy, tasty lunch on a tight budget. But the budget that the students and the food service staff face is much tighter -- about a third of that given to Top Chef contestants. Can the lunches that Bravo's Top Chefs create stand up to those created by high school students with an even smaller food allowance? . . . Read More

Solution for Students & the Economy: Healthy, Safe School Buildings | by Mark Bishop
I constantly read and hear stories about schools cutting services, teacher and staff layoffs, deferred maintenance, reduced investment in after-school programs. A recent report by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) encapsulated much of what I've been hearing and reading, and it made the case for the dire economic conditions of our schools, with a particular note about the deteriorating condition of school buildings. . . . Read more

Boys Night: The Strawberry-Banana Salad Edition | by Mark Bishop
As good an eater as my son is, he has never really been into salad. He eats spinach tacos, brussel sprouts, beets... The list goes on, but he hasn't embraced salads. Maybe it's too much to expect for a four-year-old? But then again, maybe not. Maybe I just have to approach it differently. . . . Read More

Go for the Gold Resource Spotlight: Chicago Run | by Rosa Ramirez
When Chicago Public Schools, Healthy Schools Campaign and the USDA Midwest announced the Go for the Gold campaign to support schools in meeting the HealthierUS School Challenge championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, Chicago Run was one of the initial supporters. Alicia Gonzalez, executive director of Chicago Run, explains her readiness to join the Go for the Gold team: "The better we establish our relationships with our schools –- teachers, principals, and school staff –- the greater the impetus to improve the health of our kids. I see [Go for the Gold] as doing just that." . . . . Read more

Opening a New Book; Opening Kids' Minds to New Foods | by Mark Bishop
At the library the other week, my son Henry told me that he wanted to bring home the book Two Eggs Please. It's a beautifully illustrated book by the same artist who wrote one of my favorite children's books, Click Clack Moo. The story is a simple one: different animals approach a diner and order two eggs in various manners -- over easy, scrambled, poached -- all different, but the same. For the record, Henry hasn't ever like eggs other than hard-boiled egg whites, but that didn't affect his excitement for this book -- he loved it! It kept him mesmerized at bedtime for two weeks straight. . . . Read more

"Our first taste is with our eyes:" Promoting Healthy Eating with Food Presentation in the School Cafeteria | by Jean Saunders
In her recent Washington Post article, Jane Black points out just how much presentation matters when it comes to food. She references researchers such as Brian Wansink, Director of Cornell's Food and Brand Lab, who showed that changing the lighting and the way the food was presented in school cafeterias could increase fruit consumption by 54 percent. Chefs and home cooks alike understand that our first taste is with our eyes. This is just as true in the school cafeteria as it is at home or in a restaurant. . . . Read More

Relying on Healthy School Food All Summer | by Cassie Yarbrough
School is out for the summer, and while children enjoy long, sunny days without class, many parents, caregivers, and educators worry that children will go hungry without access to a free or reduced-price lunch during the day. While nearly 19 million children depend on free and reduced-price school meals for nine months out of the year, only 2.3 million children participate in the Summer Food Service Program. As U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said on a recent trip to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, "Too many kids in our country go hungry over the summer months.". . . Read more

How Will Public Policy Strategies to Reverse Childhood Obesity Address Health Disparities in Communities of Color? | by Rosa Ramirez
The epidemic of childhood obesity is, for the first time, a major topic of national conversation. And big strides are being taken in understanding the causes and implications of childhood obesity. As we move forward as a nation and craft public policy to address this epidemic, it is important that we keep in mind the great disparities that exist in obesity rates, particularly in Latino and African-American communities, and that we look to existing initiatives that have been successful in combating childhood obesity in communities of color. . . . Read more

"When you think about the skills you need as an adult to work alongside others, all of those skills I don't think came as a result of work on math, work on a writing project. They came in your interactions with other people."
- Seattle principal John Miner on why he values recess, as quoted on KUOW-FM.

Rooted in Community Conference | Durham, NC | July 21 | More

Green Clean Schools National Summit | Washington, DC | Sept. 20 | More

Children First: Promoting Ecological Health for the Whole Child | San Francisco | Oct. 1 | More

Cooking up Change | Chicago | Nov. 4 | More

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Symposium | Washington, DC | Nov. 4 | More

Hosting a relevant school health event for the HSC calendar? Let us know!

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Carol M. White Physical Education Grant
Deadline: July 19, 2010
To initiate, expand, or enhance physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade | More

Peaceful Pathways Grants
Deadline: Rolling
Matching grant programs for new, community-based projects that improve health and health care for vulnerable populations | More

Green Across America Grants
Deadline: July 30, 2010
Grants of up to $1,000 to help implement innovative activities or lessons to excite students about going green | More

Jordan Fundamentals Grants
Deadline: July 30, 2010
To recognize outstanding teaching and instructional creativity in public schools that serve economically disadvantaged students | More

Project Learning Tree Garden Grants
Deadline: Dec. 1 , 2010
Grants to teachers and students participating in PollinatorLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure. Apply for funding to create pollinator gardens in the schoolyard or community. | More

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Awards
Deadline: Oct. 8, 2010
To recognize schools and districts that have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving children's health by promoting good indoor air quality | More

Healthy Sprouts Award
Deadline: Oct. 1, 2010
To support schools or organizations that plan to garden in 2011 with at least 15 children. | More