March 17, 2006
Superintendent O'Connell Releases Breakthrough
Report on Strategies to Improve Nutrition in Schools
FREMONT — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released a new report on how to get students to eat healthier at school. The report, School Nutrition … BY DESIGN!, is the culmination of work by O'Connell's Advisory Committee on Nutrition Implementation Strategies.
"We know that healthy, active, well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, are motivated, and ready to learn," said O'Connell. "This document provides straightforward and realistic suggestions on how to best improve school nutrition in any district throughout California and offers a comprehensive plan on how to introduce healthy foods in our schools."
The report includes practical voluntary steps schools can take, ranging from scheduling lunch times for when students are more likely to eat healthy food, to ways to create a school health council, to enlisting students in planning healthy and student-friendly menus. The report contains resources and examples from school districts and organizations that have already implemented successful strategies to improve the school nutrition environment.
To ensure that the ideas in the School Nutrition … BY DESIGN! report are put into practice, a copy is being sent to every district superintendent in the state. The California Department of Education is also holding workshops throughout the state to help schools learn how to implement the strategies.
The 23-member Advisory Committee on Nutrition Implementation Strategies was formed by O'Connell last May. The Committee, made up of volunteer students, school service directors, school administrators, state agencies, teachers, parents, professional associations, and advocacy organizations, was charged with making recommendations to improve the nutrition environment on school campuses.
"I am very grateful to the members of my Advisory Committee for creating this outstanding document that will help maintain focus on student health and the critical role good nutrition plays in providing every student the best education possible," added O'Connell.
A Web version of the report is available at School Nutrition ... BY DESIGN! [http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/documents/schnutrtn071206.pdf] (PDF; 1.1MB; 45pp.).
