Students and teachers should see improvements in health and wellness as the result of a program now under way in the Emporia School District.
The district has been awarded a $4,500 grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Coordinated School Health Program to help with the project during this school year. Emporia is the only district in this area to receive a grant, according to information from KDHE.
“We’re going to use that to help as we develop our new three-year district wellness plan,” said Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning George Abel.
Abel said that district employees have been divided into five committees to deal with different aspects of improvement.
The nutrition committee will deal with issues relating to food service, vending machines, and snacks the students eat, as well as with nutrition education to teach them about healthy eating, he said.
“Then there’s a section on physical activity, a section on tobacco/youth education, a section on staff wellness,” he said.
Teachers are being included in the coordinated effort toward better health habits because they are, by their close association with students, role models for the youngsters, Abel said.
The air quality committee will have a significant role in the district’s overall health and wellness program, as the district focuses on removing potential pollutants from school buildings.
“The subcommittee will do initial readings,” Abel said. “Then we’re going to try and remove situations where we know there is imbedded dust in classrooms. ... If we improve our air quality, I think it’s going to improve our children’s health. They won’t be missing school because of something we’ve caused from bad air in the building.”
Groundwork for the air quality readings began recently when Assistant Superintendent for Finance Rob Scheib and Maintenance Director Curt Lanpher went to Kansas City for a session with representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Association of School Administrators. The two groups are working together on a national program to focus on indoor air quality, Abel said.
The local school district will work with the city of Wichita to have indoor air quality monitoring done here.
Kari Hess of Newman Regional Health, who is working on a master’s program, suggested the Emporia district apply for the grant, Abel said. She also will work with district employees on the health and wellness project.
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December 11, 2008 at 4:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )