Wellness Task Force

School

Our School Committee develops and implements projects that advance opportunities for nutrition and physical activity in school environments. Such collaborative projects include research, policy recommendation, trainings, and advocacy. As the obesity prevention field continues to evolve, so do our School projects based on the need of California's students.

Physical Education Research for Kids (PERK)
PERK is the current project of the School Committee. This project aims to (1) inform and engage state policymakers about the current status of physical education/activity in California's K-12 schools and (2) develop and pilot a template Health Report Card that will allow schools to make health information transparent to parents.

To meet the first objective, the Wellness Task Force contracted with Center for Weight and Health (CWH), University of California, Berkeley to conduct an extensive literature review. We also commissioned Heather Diaz, DrPH with Sacramento State University to conduct direct research (surveys, focus groups and key informant interviews) with physical educators and teachers administering physical education throughout California. CWH then drafted policy recommendations based on findings from our research.

Policy recommendations and research findings were released at a policy briefing on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at the State Capitol. For more information, download the documents below, view the briefing agenda, event flyer or photos. You can also download a recording of the event.

PERK documents released

PowerPoint presentations at policy briefing on February 4

School Health Report Card
The School Health Report Card (SHRC) is a way for schools to share health information about their student body with parents and other community members. In 2009, the Wellness Task Force surveyed parents and then collaborated with partners and school representatives to develop a template SHRC. Now it’s time to pilot the template report card in a few California schools. If the pilot results suggest it is a useful tool for schools, the SHRC template will be made available to all California schools by 2011.

Read a one-page brief (including timeline) | View template School Health Report Card | Join the Pilot - Email Project Coordinator

Jamba Jump Day/ CAHPERD Jump Over the Record
The Wellness Task Force participated in Jamba Jump Day on February 1, 2010 to help CAHPERD break the Guinness World Record for the "Most People Jumping Rope at the Same Time."

Whitney Chamberlain, Project Coordinator for the Wellness Task Force participated in Jump Day at Cosumnes River Elementary School (CRES) in Sloughhouse, CA by video taping the event. Whitney reported, "I had the prime spot in the school to witness the fun... high atop a 10 foot ladder, scanning a sea of 400 bobbing heads and flickering rope. Some kids had such a great time, they continued to jump well beyond the ten minute mark. Cheers to Linda Black and Rebecca Wooten, CRES physical educators, for coordinating a successful event!" Whitney was particularly excited to be at CRES because it's her early alma mater and where her mother teaches second grade. She's bummed she missed out on the physical activity, though.

Click here to view VIDEO COVERAGE of this event at CRES.

Leah Cox, Executive Director, Wellness Task Force, participated at the Jamba headquarters in Emeryville as a judge. "Waking up at 4:00 a.m. to leave by 6:00 for Emeryville, CA isn't something I do every day. But today, unlike other days, was a chance to have a little fun and call it 'work,'" said Leah. "Jamba employees, Radio Disney, Heffernan Insurance Group and other business representatives joined together to do what else? Jump rope. I was especially pleased to see our working adults demonstrating their skipping skills. It was well worth the early morning drive to work with Jamba and CAHPERD to promote fitness through this event." We hope that CAHPERD and partners succeeded in getting over 80,000 people to simultaneously jump rope on February 1, 2010! Over the next few weeks, Guinness will review records and video at random from the 2,000 participating locations. Stay tuned to find out if California broke the record!

School Wellness Challenge

In 2007, the Wellness Task Force hosted a series of live webinar trainings on How to Implement a School Wellness Policy with 70 school districts. These trainings and resources are available below to download. They are useful at PTA meetings, staff meetings, share with your Wellness Committee and others.

Additional School Wellness Resources can be found on our Resources page.