The Coordinated School Health Program for Polk County Schools completed its third year last spring. The application for next year’s budget has been approved at the State Department level. School Health Teams have met in each school to establish goals for meeting their particular needs. Coordinated School Health has given schools the monetary means to help accomplish some of these goals.

Each school was given $6,300 to purchase supplies and equipment to help meet these selected goals. Each school received a 37 inch TV, WII exercise program, and additional exercise games to be used in the gym or classroom. South Polk, with the help of their PTO, purchased a concrete walking trail. Polk County High purchased PE equipment and improved their walking trail. Benton purchased playground equipment and climbing walls for their gym. Chilhowee Middle purchased a media cart and PE equipment. Copper Basin High, with the help of community partners, purchased a large 40x40 reversible gym mat. Copper Basin Elementary purchased a media cart, clinic and digital scales, dividing screen on coasters, and PE equipment.

This year schools in Tennessee developed Mental Health Policies. The school faculty will be given a flow chart to help refer students with special needs.

Classroom teachers are still working to promote more physical activity time and good nutritional habits. Physical education teachers are also working to instill good exercise habits and have recorded time it takes for students to run or walk a mile.  Elementary Students are walking 10 minutes a day with “Walking Works for Tennessee” and physical activity lesson plans paired with academic skills in the “TAKE 10” program and “Brain Gym” program. 

The Agricultural Extension agency is also in the schools teaching the need for better nutritionally balanced meals. The family resource center is promoting good physical and mental health by teaching about the hazards of tobacco usage and bullying in our schools.  High school students enjoyed “First Things First,” a program on personal relationships and also a program about Suicide and Mental Depression. Elementary teachers received training in the Michigan Model program and will receive materials for teaching these new skills.

Students in middle school took the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. This surveys records the amount of time students spend in physical activities, nutrition, hours watching T.V., use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The Coordinated School Health staff, school nurses, and school personnel and HOSA students screened students for vision, hearing, blood pressure, height, and weight.

The Center for Disease Control web site was used for calculating students’ Body Mass Index (BMI). CDC defines children who have a BMI for age that is greater than 95^th percentile as obese, and children with 85^th-94^th percentile as overweight, children with BMI of 5^th -84^th percentile as healthy, and BMI with less than 5^th percentile as underweight. However, in our calculating a student’s body frame was not considered.  Parents may go on the School Health website and calculate their child’s body mass index. Contact your physician if there is a question about your child’s weight.

The nation, with the help of Michelle Obama is working to lower obesity rates, but childhood obesity is still at an all time high, with Tennessee children and adolescents (ages 10 to 17) ranking 6th in the nation for obesity.  The national obesity rates have tripled in the last decade; most every state has a higher obesity ranking than previous years.

Tennessee ranks 2^nd  highest in the nation for obesity and second for type 2 Diabetes and 4^th highest for hypertension.  More than 75 percent of hypertension is related to obesity and more than 80 percent of people with type 2 Diabetes are overweight. Diabetes is the 6^th leading cause of death in the U.S and accounts for 11 percent of all U.S. health care costs.

It is also estimated that 1 in 4 Americans have some form of heart disease which is contributed mostly to their diet. Reports show there is also a relationship between poverty and obesity levels. Obesity rates are lowering our productivity in schools and the workforce while dramatically increasing health costs and could very well be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents.

I know there are many people that help Polk County School students throughout the year, but I would especially like to thank the following:

Volunteer Energy for the grant of $1000 to Coordinated School Health for Benton Elementary School. The Coordinated School Health Team and faculty at Benton Elementary purchased an addition to their climbing wall in the gym. Students are enjoying using thinking strategies paired with physical exercise.   We especially want to thank Mayor Jerry Stephens for his input in receiving this grant.

I would also like to thank Tim Cathy in Etowah for the school health supplies at the beginning of our school year. These medical health supplies were greatly appreciated by everyone in our school system. 

Thank you to Ocoee Marina for the Ocoee rafting tickets and Benton Florist for making our county basket one of the nicest at the State Coordinated School Health conference.

Thanks to the school’s administration, teachers, students, parents, and community for making this a great year in our school health program.  We are more aware of our need to watch what we eat, including calories and a well balanced diet paired with a lifestyle that is physically active.

Please go to www.polk-schools.com and look at the School Health web site. Information in this article came mostly from www.healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity 2008.