Currently browsing Health, Nutrition, Fitness
Despite federal ban, tobacco ads continue to lure teen smokers
Despite decades of efforts to keep the tobacco industry away from children, tobacco companies are successfully promoting their products to nine out of 10 middle and high school students in the U.S., according to the study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control. What’s more, the dramatic decline in tobacco use among California high school students appears to have flattened out, a troubling development both because of the health effects and because tobacco use is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Reporting & Analysis
Districts pocketing school lunch money for other expenses
A report commissioned by the state Senate has exposed a little-noticed problem that investigators suspect could be a prevalent scam: school districts improperly siphoning school meals revenue to cover other expenses. According to the report by the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, some districts have cut corners on the federally subsidized school lunch and breakfast programs – by operating rundown facilities, serving processed instead of fresh food, going shorthanded in the kitchen – in order … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Reporting & Analysis
Forbidden fruit roll-ups: USDA plans to restrict school snacks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing regulations to keep the nation’s students from buying gummy bears, fruit roll-ups and cheese puffs from vending machines and at campus snack bars during the school day. But it would allow high school students to buy 12-ounce sports drinks and 20-ounce diet sodas. The rules would apply only during the school day, allowing candy sales and other fundraisers to continue during non-school hours (half an hour after the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Reporting & Analysis
Big city districts, including Los Angeles, join forces for healthier school meals
Los Angeles Unified and five other major urban districts are banding together in an effort to provide healthier school meals at lower prices, the Los Angeles Times reported. Together, the six districts serve 2.5 million meals daily and spend $530 million annually. Districts in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Orlando, Fla., joined L.A. Unified in announcing last week that they will work together to make wholesome food and eco-friendly practices, such as biodegradable trays and utensils, a national standard. Each district has been assigned a specific project. New York, for example, is working on lowering prices for organic, free-range chicken. Los Angeles is in charge of communications efforts. The new Urban Food Alliance is responding to concerns about the growing rates of diabetes and obesity among youth that are attributable to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Quick Hits
San Francisco Unified freshens up its school menu
This week San Francisco Unified chose Revolution Foods as its new school meals vendor, moving away from frozen entrées to fresh breakfasts and lunches made with produce purchased locally. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Parent Activism, Quick Hits
Rural district serves as model for offering healthy meals
By emphasizing partnerships with community nonprofits and businesses, taking advantage of statewide grants and making good nutrition a financial priority, rural Fort Bragg Unified has continued to provide healthy food and nutrition education to its primarily low-income students, despite budget cuts. The state Department of Education has recognized Fort Bragg as a model for Northern California under its Stepping Up to the Challenge, Creating A Healthy School Environment program. Pilar Gray, the district’s nutritional services director, does trainings … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Poverty, Reporting & Analysis, Students, Values and Habits
Life expectancy plummets for whites without a high school diploma
New research dramatically shows the value of an education: The more you have, the longer you are likely to live. Research has shown that people without a high school diploma have higher mortality rates than those who graduate from high school. That was particularly the case for African Americans, whose life expectancy has lagged far behind both whites and Hispanics. But a compelling new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago, reported in the New York Times, shows that the life expectancy of whites without a high school diploma has plummeted by four years between 1990 and 2008. The decrease in life expectancy was greatest among women: an extraordinary five years. As the Times article noted: The latest estimate shows life expectancy for white women without a high school diploma was 73.5 years, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Quick Hits
Clovis Unified sued for giving inadequate sexual education
Two parents, a physician’s organization, and a “gay-straight” activist group are suing Clovis Unified, charging that the district is not providing high school students with adequate sex education because it relies primarily on a textbook that offers abstinence as the only way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The lawsuit charges that the Fresno County district is violating California law, which requires schools to teach about abstinence and “medically accurate information on other methods … Read entire article »
Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Reporting & Analysis, Values and Habits
Summer programs turning struggling students into readers
When “The Hunger Games” became the hottest ticket in town, about 350 middle school students in Fresno already knew how the movie would end. They had spent the previous summer reading the post-apocalyptic book by Suzanne Collins that the movie was based on as part of Fresno County Office of Education’s efforts to keep kids reading after school is out. “We want to be the leaders and not the followers in what we’re delivering to kids,” said … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, After School, Extra Time, Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, K-12 Challenges, Interventions, Reporting & Analysis, Students, Summer Programs
California nearly last in children’s well-being
California is doing slightly better by its kids but still has a long way to go, ranking 41st out of 50 states in the overall well-being of children. The 2012 Kids Count report, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, measures how well children are faring on 16 different indicators in education, economic well-being, health, and family and community. California showed improvements in 10 of the 16 categories, including education. The brightest spot is health, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Data, Equity issues, Featured, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, High School Completion, K-12 Challenges, Interventions, Poverty, Poverty, Race, Ethnicity, Reporting & Analysis
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