School-Based Initiatives: An Overview

We were very pleased to recently hear from the Charleston County School District Superintendent, Dr. Nancy McGinley, about her experience in working with the Boeing Center for Children's Wellness/The Lean Team!  Check it out!

Wellness in Schools: Boeing Center for Children's Wellness School Championship and Healthy Schools Checklist

The Wellness Championship was developed in 2010 by the Lean Team (now the Boeing Center for Children's Wellness) as a resource for school wellness committees in order to provide incentives and ideas for improving the health environment in their schools. The checklist was broken down into 5 categories, with a variety of potential changes listed within each category. Each change was awarded a point value based on the perceived extent to which that change would positively affect the school. As a result of generous funding from the Boeing Corporation, the Boeing Center for Children's Wellness was able to provide financial incentives to those schools that earned a certain number of points on the wellness checklist. School earning the most points win money to go towards the continuation of wellness initiatives in their schools. Last year in Charleston County School District, 53 schools participated. LEARN MORE

School Foodservice: Recipe Contest(s)

In 2010, the Lean Team partnered with CCSD and students from Burke High School to submit a healthy recipe to the Healthy Recipes for Kids challenge, a national contest to promote the incorporation of healthier items into school foodservice menus. This year, CCSD foodservice director, Walter Campbell, wanted to run an in-house contest for all of the schools within CCSD that mimics the national Healthy Recipes for Kids challenge. Each school is encouraged to form a team consisting of at least three members (one foodservice employee, one student, one parent/staff/community member). The team must then develop a healthy entrée that meets current USDA nutrition standards and submit that recipe to the Lean Team for judging. Submitted recipes will be judges on a variety of criteria including taste, nutritional quality, incorporation of nutrient dense foods, presentation, and creativity of name. From the submitted recipes, 10 schools (5 elementary and 5 middle/high) will be selected as semi-finalists. Each semi-finalist will conduct a tasting at their school where the recipes will be judged and presented to students for tasting. Judges will pick two winners (one elementary, one middle/high) to receive a $500 prize, a special chef-coat for the foodservice employee, and a plaque to be hung in that school’s cafeteria. LEARN MORE

Physical Activity and Action-Based Learning (Written by Dave Spurlock, )

Over the past five years Physical Education in Charleston County School District has undergone radical changes.  Physical Education in many of our schools is now based on the latest brain research that shows that when bodies move there are neurological changes that occur.  These neurological changes create better pathways in the brain that allow for a more focused and attentive learner in the classroom.  The PEP Grant ( $850,000 ), awarded to CCD in 2011, has provided the funding for eight schools to change the normal Physical Education offerings into a brain based activity.  This new approach is being embraced by teachers of all disciplines and school administrators. There are Action Based  Learning Labs in several of our schools.  These labs provide physical developmental skill acquisition that translates into literacy skills.  The future of our students health and learning may well begin in the gym.

Check out the resources page to find out more about getting your school on a healthier path.