William Saroyan Elementary School was one of only 376 schools nationwide – and the only school in the Central Valley – to receive the National Healthy Schools Award at the Bronze level.
The 720 students now choose from a healthy assortment of fruits and vegetables at lunch and no longer bring cupcakes or other sweets to celebrate classmates’ birthdays.
These are just some of the ways the school in northwest Fresno is keeping students and staff healthy and active – an effort that was recently recognized by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a national organization that works with schools, community groups and companies to combat obesity by helping children develop lifelong healthy habits.
The Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program is the nation’s largest school-based childhood obesity prevention initiative, reaching more than 17 million students by working with more than 30,000 schools. Schools were recognized for having healthy eating and physical activity programs that meet or exceed stringent standards set by the Healthy Schools Program.
“Our school was the only school in the central Fresno, Clovis to be recognized for this award.” – Patricia McCurley, Principal.
Last year, William Saroyan Elementary School began participating in the Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools program, in partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which provides resources for schools to make good health a part of everyday life for students and staff.
Saroyan Principal Patricia McCurley says through the Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools Program, they received a $5,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente and invested in fitbits for staff:
“And we knew if we started with the staff and started tracking movement through the fitbit, then we would be able to get our kids moving more as well.” – Patricia McCurley, Principal.
The plan worked. Classes competed to see who could log more steps in a day. Teachers started using an online program called “brain breaks” that provides two-minute exercise breaks every hour.
“The teachers log in to GoNoodle and the students are able to do fitness activities that are safe to do inside the classroom for the kids to have breaks for their brains in order to re-engergize themselves for their next lesson.” – Patricia McCurley, Principal.
The focus also turned to ways the school could promote healthy eating.
In the cafeteria, healthier items – such as white milk, fruits and vegetables – were offered to students first. Students also were encouraged to try new fruits, like jicama. The snack bar also was overhauled. Cheese popcorn and Gatorade were replaced with granola bars and water bottles.
Teachers also changed their eating habits. Rather than serving muffins or donuts at breakfast meetings, they have yogurt bars where they fill up bowls with yogurt, granola and fresh fruit.
And classroom birthday parties no longer include cupcakes or cookies to celebrate. Instead, activities are planned around the birthday celebrant and parents are encouraged to purchase a book for the school library in honor of their birthday child, which is then read to the class.
The school plans to continue these efforts and do even more this year. There is now a “Mighty Milers” program where students are encouraged to walk to and from school or spend their lunch recess walking around the school track. All of the miles students walk are then tracked to see how many they can accumulate.
“We’re just always looking for ways to be healthier,” – Patricia McCurley, Principal.
