Success Stories from the Field

1. Success Stories from the Field Greenburgh-Graham UFSD

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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!

12. Contact information Kelly DeVito- Western Suffolk BOCES- Student Support Services Center, kdevito@wsboces.org, 631/595-6839, http://lirsssc.wsboces.org Greenburgh-Graham UFSDhttp://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