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Community Forums:
Food,
Fitness, and Our Kids
Tips on Conducting Community Forums
Project
Theme:
Food, Fitness, and our Kids
This project's primary aim is
to help school decision makers understand the importance of school based
policies and practices to address the epidemic of childhood obesity.
Goals
of the Project:
-
To build a deeper awareness
amongst school leaders and policy makers about the importance of
providing healthy foods and beverages and opportunities for daily
physical activity for school aged children.
-
To share national and
state recommendations for school nutrition and physical activity
based on the best evidence/practice available.
-
To identify and
disseminate resources that support healthy school nutrition and
physical activity environments and policies.
-
To solicit a commitment
from school leaders and policy makers to develop a plan/timeline
to examine and identify ways they can begin to promote healthy
school nutrition and physical activity
environments and policies so that children are ready to learn at
school.
Desired
Outcomes of the Project:
-
School based people
agreeing on policy/practice actions to pursue.
-
Agenda item at school
board meeting.
-
Parents attending school
board meeting who are concerned about these issues.
-
“Champions for health”
on the school board.
-
Policy/practice changes.
-
Healthier, more fit
children who are ready to learn.
Draft
Agenda for Community Forum:
-
Introductions
-
The Epidemic and Its Far
reaching Consequences: Facts, Implications, and Context
-
Menu of Effective School
Based Practices and Policies
-
What Makes Sense in Our
School District(s)
Success
Factors for Community Forums:
-
Use a facilitator.
-
Provide community forum
attendees with information packets.
-
Consider a two track
policy/practice menu discussion – one focused on policy for
school board members and one focused on practice for school
administrators and staff.
-
Time the community forums
carefully.
-
End of the work day
works best (between 5:30 and 7:30) – remember school board
members often have full time jobs.
-
Summer is a tricky
time – but August might work well.
-
School Boards meet
once a month by law.
-
Pave the way for community
forums
-
SBOH will draft a
sample press release and have this available on our website.
-
WSSDA will include a
series of articles and other media
materials in their newsletter to raise awareness
about these issues and the forums.
-
The WSPTA will include
an article in their newsletter to raise awareness about these
issues and the forums.
-
Everyone in attendance
at the Advisory Meeting will put a blurb on these issues and
the forums on their websites.
-
Get the right people to
the table
-
SBOH will take the
lead in drafting a letter of invitation to both the Chair(s)
of the Local School Board(s).
This letter will be signed by WSSDA, SBOH, OSPI, WSPTA,
WSFSA, and
DOH. This letter
will not include dates for the community forums, but will
include a list of participating counties.
-
This letter of
invitation will be accompanied by a letter from the LBOH with
a specific invitation to attend the community forum.
-
Personal contacts will
be relied on heavily to reinforce the invitations.
The PTA president, principals, county commissioners,
and school lunch directors will be personally issued
invitations and also encouraged to help with attendance goals.
-
If there is a known
“champion for health” on the School Board work with this
individual.
-
Understand the broader
context
-
Get familiar with
DOH's plan on Nutrition and Physical Activity. PDF
-
Get familiar with what
else is happening in Washington State. Here is a report
put together last year as a parallel activity to the Safe
Table Forum. PDF
-
Visit the Action for
Healthy Kids website to better understand what is happening in
the national arena and in our state around nutrition and
physical activity. (http://www.actionforhealthykids.org)
- Familiarize yourself with a comprehensive resource to guide and
help you after the community forums.
- Spend
time using the Healthy Schools website (http://depts.washington.edu/waschool/)
before your community forum.
This website can help your community through every
decision and implementation step.
It is laid out for different users (students, parents,
teachers, school administrators, and school board members) and
includes resources to help users walk through important steps
to improve nutrition and physical activity.
For example for teachers and school administrators
the following steps are laid out (with references and
resources for each step):
-
The
link between academic achievement and nutrition &
physical activity
-
How
to assess your school
-
How
to make changes in your school
-
Activity
suggestions
-
Websites
for students
-
Professional
associations
-
Additional
websites
Consider using these community
resources to prepare participants for the community forums. Review PowerPoint
presentations Childhood Obesity:
Serious Consequences and Policy
and Practice Options to Consider
Who
to invite to the Community Forums:
-
School board members
-
School nurses
-
PE teachers
-
Food service managers
-
Principals/school
administrators
-
PTA
-
Health care providers i.e.
local pediatricians, nurse practitioners, etc.
-
Superintendents
-
Students
-
Parents
Also
consider inviting:
-
Parish nurses
-
Youth group ministers
-
Private school
representatives
-
Parks and recreation
coordinators
-
Sports groups and leagues
-
Service organizations
-
Daycare organizations
-
Business leaders
-
Community leaders
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