HSC Press Releases

For Immediate Release
Contact: Tara Kennon, 312-419-1810
tara@healthyschoolscampaign.org

Chicago Public Schools Reports to Community on Efforts to Address Childhood Obesity
Federally mandated wellness policy holds promise

Chicago, Feb. 9, 2007 -- Parents, families, community leaders and public health experts came together Jan. 25 to learn from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials how the district is beginning to implement the school wellness policy it adopted in response to federal requirements in August 2006.

The forum, presented by the Healthy Schools Campaign, comes at a time when Chicago is facing increasing health disparities that leave children in low-income Latino and African-American communities with rates of asthma and obesity more than twice the national average.

The forum brought more than 60 stakeholders to the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, where school leaders discussed measures to implement the wellness policy with what Ken Papineau, CPS director of coordinated school health, describes as a balance of universal intervention for all of the district’s 623 schools and targeted interventions for schools and communities with specific health needs. The speakers and topics included:

• Ken Papineau, CPS director of coordinated school health, discussed system-wide changes such as the adoption of a new health curriculum with online components.

• Denise Murphy-Stroud, CPS physical education curriculum manager, discussed programs such as the Having a Ball ballroom dancing program serving about 30 schools, the Get Fit with Walgreen’s program serving approximately 90 schools, and the Walk Across Illinois program serving approximately 30 schools.

• Maged Hanafi, CPS food services assistant director, discussed food service goals, nutrition education, and a pilot program that provides salad bars in elementary schools.

• Colleen Lammel-Harmon, Chicago Park District fitness senior program specialist, discussed ways that park district programming works in collaboration with the school system to make physical activity available to students and families.

Despite the number of programs available to schools, questions remain about whether wellness services are reaching the students who need them most.

“I congratulate CPS on the interesting and important initiatives they’re implementing to serve some students, some teachers, some schools -- but we need to know, when will physical activity and nutrition be available for all students in all schools? Do the children who most need these services have access to them?” asked Lucy Gomez-Feliciano of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, one of many community organizations involved in shaping and implementing the wellness policy.

Papineau discussed a commitment to matching available programs to school communities with the greatest health needs, but cited needs for principal cooperation and more complete data on student health as current problems with successfully targeting services.

“We know that health disparities are growing in Chicago, and that children in Latino and African-American communities are affected by asthma and obesity at alarmingly disproportionate rates,” explained Rochelle Davis, founding executive director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to healthy school environments. “The wellness policy gives us an opportunity to take action now and get services to the children who urgently need them.”

A recent community-level study from Sinai Health System shows dramatically higher rates of childhood obesity and asthma in Latino and African-American communities. In Humboldt Park, for example, approximately 28 percent of children experience asthma and 62 percent of children are overweight or obese. In West Town, approximately 73 percent of children are overweight or obese. This compares with a national average of 17 percent.

HSC is addressing health disparities in Chicago by bringing together Parents United for Healthy Schools/Padres Unidos Para Escuelas Saludables (PUHS), a coalition of 22 independent parent organizations representing eight Chicago communities affected by health disparities.

As a voice for parents who want healthier food and more exercise at CPS schools, PUHS were instrumental in shaping the wellness policy and are now working to organize parents to serve on school health councils and advocate for full implementation of the policy in ways that address the alarming rates of asthma and obesity in Chicago’s Latino and African-American communities.

Jovita Flores, who has four children in the Chicago Public Schools system, said that she got involved with PUHS efforts because, “in the Latino neighborhood in which I live, I see the number of kids who are obese increasing dramatically. I observed in other neighborhoods that they have a healthy lunch with more fruits and vegetables at their schools, and I realized that we don’t have healthy lunch options at our own schools. I also realized that we don’t have much physical activity in our schools, even though schools in other neighborhoods have recess and PE. I knew then I had to get involved.”

In addition to its PUHS efforts, HSC offers support to Chicago Public Schools to overcome the obstacles to ensuring that children, especially those at disproportionate risk for asthma and obesity, have access to healthy food options, nutrition education, and regular physical activity.

“We hope this forum is the beginning of an on-going dialogue about CPS efforts to implement and monitor the success of their wellness programs,” said Jean Saunders, director of school wellness for HSC. “This wellness policy offers the promise of addressing disparities, making real change in Chicago’s community health, and creating an environment that teaches students life-long lessons about healthy eating and physical activity.”

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The Healthy Schools Campaign, an independent not-for-profit organization, is the leading authority on healthy school environments and a voice for people who care about our environment, our children, and education. Our mission is to advocate for policies and model programs that allow students and staff members to learn and work in a healthy school environment.