Success Stories from the Field

Greenburgh-Graham UFSD

Program Overview

Accredited day and residential NYS public school district for students aged 5 to 21 years located in Westchester County, NY

330 students enrolled- about half are residential 100% Free and Reduced Lunch

Students have behavioral, emotional and learning disabilities and have varying ability levels

2 school buildings Martin Luther King Jr. High School Ziccolella Elementary and Middle School

Program Overview (continued)

Since the district is part residential many of the issues are difficult to overcome because students live on campus

Issues to address: Junk food in the vending machines & used as a reward Do not have a PE Plan developed on file with the state &

inconsistent physical activity opportunities Students are coming to school hungry Current wellness policy is in draft form and vague

HSNY objectives: developing and revising the PE Plan and a PA policy and revising nutrition elements in the local wellness policy

Quote from the Field

“We have been so fortunate to have Kelly DeVito and the Western Suffolk BOCES Student Support Services Center assist and support us during the last two school years. Due to their consistent visitations and leadership, the Greenburgh-Graham UFSD Wellness Committee members have been energized and motivated to change the landscape of our school district’s health and wellness practices. We have made many inroads and with the continued support of Kelly and others, we know we will achieve all of our goals! Thanks so much!” Andrea Loscalzo- Director of Pupil Personnel

Program Activity Description

Changes proposed: Create a PE Plan and incorporate opportunities for more

physical activity (They currently meet mandated PE minutes) Put healthier foods in the vending machines, offer healthier

foods as snacks, and stop promoting foods as rewards (i.e. Goodies with Goodman)

Update current wellness policy and have it approved by the board

It is crucial to address these areas to create a healthy learning environment and change the unhealthy social norms on campus by:

Observations & communication Administration and staff support (campus-wide) Technical assistance Policy assessments & policy change

Wellness Committee Members

Assistant Superintendent (Pupil Personnel) 2 principals (both schools) 2 PE teachers Health/PE teacher School counselor School nurse Social worker Food Service Director

Timeline of Events

Work began in September 2010 (meeting with Assistant Superintendent). Superintendent signed MOU in December 2009

Wellness committee was activated and work began monthly from November 2010 onward

School Health Index was completed in the winter of 2010-2011 school year

Goals: Develop PE Plan, wellness policy, tobacco policy, and encourage employee/student wellness

Overview of Healthy Schools NY given to all staff in March 2011 with SHI goals announced

Tobacco policy completed Summer 2011 PE Plan development and PE environmental tool launched in

Summer 2011 WellSAT assessment completed in Fall 2011 Work on PE/PA and wellness policy currently underway

Progress of Project

Students are excited to try healthier foods (taste testing) and have been getting their picture taken trying them and put on the cafeteria bulletin board (Wellness Wednesdays)

Fresh fruits are available to students throughout the day A walking club has been launched. The district has also

signed up for Fuel up to Play 60 (Fitness Fridays) PE staff work on the PE Plan during every available

professional development day Wellness policy is slowly being updated at wellness

committee meetings. HSNY objective of developing and revising the PE Plan and

a PA policy element is heading towards completion. Revising nutrition elements in the local wellness policy is underway

Key Changes & Results

Short-term outcomes: The PE staff have been trained on how to put together a PE

Plan Section 1 of the WellSAT has been looked at by the wellness

committee More physical activity is taking place on campus throughout

the day (walking, activities in the gymnasium) Unhealthy foods as snacks are slowly being taken out of the

school Staff and students are excited about this initiative and are

accommodating recent changes “I am a very healthy and picky eater. I usually don’t eat breakfast

or lunch so I need energy to stay focused. Now that we have the fruit I’ve been energized and focused in school and at my games, more than last year. If it was not for the fruit I wouldn’t be the student-athlete I am.” Student- Qur’an Bynum

Keys to Success

The school district was very interested in making healthier changes to its campus.

Administration has always been very supportive of Healthy Schools NY Teachers and counselors on the committee work hard to be the voice of

the school Open communication with the residential staff is difficult but necessary Student involvement

Lessons learned: Many small changes to the school atmosphere lead to big changes later on. The more results that the district is seeing the more they want to continue moving forward

Yes, it can be replicated! Westchester County has several residential schools that can learn from Greenburg-Graham

Future Plans

The district wellness committee is aiming to have the PE Plan developed and submitted to the state by the end of this school year (2011-2012)

A comprehensive wellness policy is being drafted to replace the current one in place (by next school year)

Opportunities for improvement will take place by getting all staff and faculty (including the residential portion of the school) on board with this comprehensive health approach

Call to Action: Recognize and publicize all of the wonderful work Greenburgh-Graham UFSD is doing to make positive changes for the campus. Get parents involved!

Contact information

Kelly DeVito- Western Suffolk BOCES- Student Support Services Center, kdevito@wsboces.org, 631/595-6839, http://lirsssc.wsboces.org

Greenburgh-Graham UFSD http://www.greenburgh-graham.org

Dr. Andrea Loscalzo- Director of Pupil Personnel aloscalzo@greenburghgraham.org, 914/613-0046

Mr. Sean Stahn- Health/PE Teacher

sstahn@greenburghgraham.org, 914/478-1106