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Barrington Schools

With obesity levels at a record high and a heightened concern for addressing the wellness needs of children in the schools, Illinois acted at the state level and began the process of requiring changes within the school system. Interestingly, many schools in Barrington Community Unit School District 220 were already looking at the very same issues, so they were ready to take on the challenge.

Eva Detloff RN, MEA, IL/NCSN, is the nursing supervisor for the district, and she says that the first step in creating a new health and wellness policy was a thorough, district-wide assessment. Because the schools examined in detail all of the current practices and potential ways they could improve their situation, this part of the process went slowly. “It took a full year for us to develop all of the pieces,” says Detloff.

Some of the overall goals of the new health and wellness policy are teaching nutrition and physical activity, meeting set nutrition guidelines and partnering with parents to support healthy choices for their children both at school and at home. Once the overall direction was set, things began to move much more quickly. “We have given the schools ownership of how they implement their own programs,” Detloff says.

The new wellness policy was launched in school year 2006-2007. Schools began doing things such as eliminating soda in the vending machines that are available to students, providing fruit and veggie bars in the lunchrooms, and changing the way that birthdays are celebrated to include more healthy options.

Here, some of the nurses at area schools ring in to give examples of what they have been doing to support the initiative at their facility:

Joanne Owen RN Woodland School Owen says that many of the families at her school have participated in the parent program titled “WE CAN.” “We have noticed a great change in parents being more concerned about eating healthy and providing healthier snacks for their precious preschoolers,” she says.

Mary Anne Wesoloski RN, IL/NCSN Countryside School “We put in the walking path which includes activity stations which exercise all muscle groups and are used by the PE classes, recess students and staff,” says Wesoloski. In addition, the school asks that all of the snacks that are brought in are healthy ones. “Food items such as pop, fast food, high processed sugar treats are not allowed,” Wesoloski says.

Paula Lichtenstein RN, IL/NCSN BMS Station Campus Programming such as an after school wellness program for kids and a yoga class for staff are some initiatives that have been implemented at this school. They also hold a Fast Food Confusion class from Partners in Prevention/Alexian Brothers which is included in the 7th grade Health Education curriculum.

Kitty Lynam RN and Christine Wise RN Roslyn Road Party snacks have to be healthy and include food choices such as trays of fruit and veggies. Also, on Valentine’s Day the school no longer has parties with treats. Instead they give students time to pass out valentines.

Naomi Tuggle RN Sunny Hill School This school has been involved in the CATCH PROGRAM (Coordinated Approach to Total Children’s Health) for more than four years. Gym participation at the school has increased for all grades to four to five times per week, and more extracurricular physical activities are now offered after school.

Jennifer Boldt RN, IL/CSN A. Lines School “Next year, we will begin the year with a Wellness Week, which will involve a walk-a-thon fundraiser,” says Boldt. In addition, with the help of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, the school has been able to provide free EKGs to staff members.

Lynn Lightfoot RN Barbara Rose School The school has a new program scheduled to begin in the fall that includes both physical education classes and nutrition pieces to complete in school and at home. In addition, the second grade has been piloting the curriculum "The Great Body Shop,” which will be extended to the primary grades next fall.

Cheryl Jellovitz RN Hough Street School A wellness poster and visual display is set up in this school several times a year, showing such things as as how much fat McDonald’s chicken nuggets contain, and the 11 teaspoons of sugar that are in just one can of orange soda.

This is just a small sampling of the many new things that have been going on at Barrington area schools in support of the new policy. With the wellness councils now in place and everyone working together, the district will undoubtedly continue to make great strides in improving the health of their students well into the future.