Schools

Wellness at Schools: What do You Think?

Students, parents and school organizations all have something to say about proposed changes to the HCPSS wellness policy.

Football fans aren’t likely to buy celery sticks in the stands, and the Girls Scouts wouldn’t be the Girl Scouts without cookies. But that's where some parents are saying Howard County Public Schools are headed with the Superintendent’s proposed changes to the school system’s wellness guidelines (policy 9090, Wellness Through Nutrition and Physical Activity).

At issue for some parents is the addition of the requirement that foods available to students conform to HCPSS Nutritional Guidelines; guidelines which have not yet been spelled out. 

“Until guidelines are clearly defined,” PTA Council of Howard County President Christina Delmont-Small said at the April 11 Board of Education Public Hearing, “it is impossible for our organization or for anyone to understand what the policy will or will not do and whether or not it will achieve the goals of the school system.”

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The guidelines may not have been spelled out, but parents and school organizations already are voicing concern that whatever they are, the popular foods that bolster fundraising events won’t conform.

“Policy 9090, by default, will gravely affect hundreds of HCPSS students in scouting,” wrote Christine and Francis Dougherty in a letter to Patch. Christine is a Girl Scout Troop leader.

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From Daisy's through Seniors, we serve snacks at just about everything we do (meetings, trips, events, flag & award ceremonies just to name a few. Not to mention our primary fundraiser: Girl Scout Cookies. Boy Scouts have their Popcorn and Citrus sales as well. These events are typically held after school and on weekends, and many times on HCPSS properties. Will Policy 9090 mandate these "outside organization" functions as well?

“The simple fact is that if 9090 is implemented the funds raised by school groups will drop dramatically,” Jim Bothe wrote to Patch.  “Nobody wants celery sticks at a football game, and very few people will attend the annual “vegan dinner.” 

If the choice of foods is effectively eliminated, people will choose not to eat and there will be much less money for our extracurricular activities.  The impact of this will, at best, be diluted activities.  It will more likely be the cessation of many activities or worse, the selective exclusion of some students from participation because their families will not be able to afford the fees that will become necessary to impose.

Ironically, in a seeming reversal of roles, several students testified at the April 11 meeting that they wanted more healthy options at school.

It should seem logical that there would be healthy food choices for students, one Mt. Hebron junior testified, "But we are not given healthy food choices. All I see is sweet, processed or greasy fat foods to choose from."

Meanwhile, The School Health Council, an advisory board to the Board of Education, says the policy does not go far enough in tying wellness to physical activity and nutrition, the Howard County Times reported.

A public work session on Policy 9090 will be held Thursday, May 9, after the Board of Education's 7:30 p.m. public hearing at the Department of Education building in Ellicott City.

If you want to testify, you can sign up early by calling the Board's office at 410-313-7194. Those testifying should bring 15 written copies of their testimony.

What do you think about the proposed changes to the wellness policy? Does it go too far, not far enough, or is it too vague? Let us know in the comments. 


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