Alaska PTA Wellness page

PTA was founded on the principles of advocating on behalf of children in all areas of their life…home and school. Since the beginning of the organization concerned citizens have been working to make positive changes in the health and safety of our children. As far back as 1933 PTA has taken a hard look at health and nutrition when National PTA had a special project in nutrition to provide printed information on food values.

In 2001 a PE teacher, Jay Johnson, at Aurora Elementary approached the PTA at the school and informed them the school district was talking about removing physical education from the elementary schools in Anchorage. Jay wanted to know what the PTA was going to do to stop this from happening. The PTA President, Dawn Johnson-Wenger, and Vice President, Dee Parsons, thought this was a very important issue and began researching. They then developed a Resolution that was adopted by the membership of Aurora PTA. This resolution was adopted so they could take it to the school board and advocate to keep physical education in our schools. Aurora Elementary PTA adopted the resolution The Importance of Physical Education in our Schools in March 2001.

Jay helped research and write this resolution; his belief that the PTA could make a difference resulted in Dawn presenting the resolution at the Annual Alaska State PTA Convention in April 2001, where the resolution was adopted by the voting delegates. Two years later, June 2003, the voting delegates at the National PTA Convention adopted the resolution The Importance of Physical Education in our Schools. Jay's enthusiasm to keep children active was now not only reaching the children of Alaska but all children nationwide.

The work didn’t stop there…further research showed Alaska PTA that Nutrition requirements needed to play a key part in the obesity issues that were showing up in Alaska children. In 2003 the resolution Nutrition Requirement was passed at both the Alaska PTA and National PTA conventions.
Following the passage of both of these important Resolutions, PTA’s National Council of States, which includes representative from all levels of the organization and from all states, saw these as critical issues for families and schools. A special task force was a created to address the child and family health crisis that is our nation today…Obesity.

   The Concern for Wellness

         Obesity is a significant and growing threat to our public’s health, not only in the adult population, but also among our children. Some of the impacts of obesity on health are type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, sleep disturbances and breathing problems, orthopedic disorders, and psychosocial disorders.

Our nation’s change in lifestyle over the past couple of decades has contributed greatly to this problem. The eating patterns of many Americans include fast foods that are “Super Sized” and high in fat and calories and low in nutrition. The level of physical activity adults and children engage in has decreased as screen time (TV, computer, video games, etc.) has increased.

Fortunately, there are numerous agencies and individuals who are championing the cause to inform families about the problem of obesity. School districts are creating wellness policies and plans to address improved nutrition and physical activity at school. Government agencies are supplying information and resources to interested individuals and groups. Coalitions are being formed to connect groups of a like mind in this fight to improve wellness in our communities. The Alaska PTA is one of these groups, and it is our intent to be of help to parents throughout Alaska in their efforts to improve nutrition and increase physical activity for their family members at home and in school. We will keep this website updated with new resources and information as we find both.

If you have information you would like to contribute to help in the cause, please feel free to contact us at akpta@alaska.net or the Alaska PTA Office with your suggestions.

The Alaska PTA has received a grant from the Department of Health to promote parent involvement in the creation and implementation of District Wellness Policies. The federal government has required each District in the state that receives federal funds for school lunch to create and implement a wellness policy that specifically addresses the nutritional value of foods for purchase at the schools and the physical activities available for children at the schools. With this grant, the Alaska PTA will provide grant money to individual PTA units throughout the state to promote their Districts’ wellness policies. All Alaska PTA units in qualifying school districts (districts that receive funds for school lunch) will be invited to apply to receive a Wellness Policy grant to assist the parents in their unit to become involved in their district's wellness policy creation and implementation. In addition, in April at our State Convention, representatives from two of the grant recipients will be brought in to share their experiences with all who attend the convention. Some of the grant money will also be used to train a Wellness Contact person from each of our 6 regions across the state to be a resource for all local PTA units.

Local units, be watching for your Wellness Policy Grant application to arrive in mid October. And watch this page of Alaska PTA’s website for updated information on resources that will help you in your efforts to improve nutrition and physical activity in your schools.

Some ideas for your grant proposal:

Compile and publish a cook book with healthy recipes, snacks and school lunches - incorporate reading food label information

Hold a “healthy snacks” workshop for families to come learn to make healthy snacks (your district nutrition services coordinator could have some good ideas for recipes that fit the “healthy foods” guidelines for your district)

Purchase We CAN toolkit ($20) and partner with community agencies (hospital dietitian, cooperative extension, media -other) to conduct this 6-course parent/community education program; purchase and distribute the parent handbook ($100 per 100) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/

Enhance your school web site or print a newsletter or guide for the adults in your community about the new school wellness policies

Provide a scholarship for local food service person to attend additional training on healthy menu options as for presenters, contact Alaska PTA or the State Dept. of Health.)

Pay for incentives or prizes for school wellness challenges. An excellent resource for such a challenge is Action For Healthy Kids’ “Game On!” program. http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/special_GameOn.php

Give your teachers alternative ideas for rewarding students without food. Purchase materials and make treasure boxes for elementary teachers. Print off the ideas on this web link. http://www.asdk12.org/Wellness/PDF/Alt_FoodRewards.pdf

Purchase curriculum for an after school program that teaches children about nutrition and physical fitness. A couple of excellent resources:
- ReCharge ($250) http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/WhatsIncluded.php
- CATCH Kids Club ($65 nutrition club $150 physical activity box) http://www.flaghouse.com/afterSchool.as
Encourage family involvement in nutrition and physical activity through family fun night activities. A couple of great resources: http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/catch/curriculum_home_team.htm

Alaska PTA Wellness Toolkit (CD included in monthly local unit mailing)

Purchase pamphlets and other materials for teachers and families about nutrition from the National Dairy Council. They have a variety of great resources on their web site. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/nationaldairycouncil/tools

Host a nutrition and physical activity health fair at your school. Funds could be used to provide handouts and other printed material (i.e. those available from the Dairy Council), jump ropes for a physical activity station, fees for presenters, materials for a “health snacks” station, etc.

This section will be updated as new information comes in on successful implementation of wellness practices in their schools and communities.

This section is currently under developement, Check back soon for updates. Contributions are welcome, send information to webmaster@alaskapta.org

State of Alaska Health and Social Services - The state's web page regarding wellness policy requirements and resources, including the Wellness Toolkit which has many great resources for schools and parents

The Mat-Su Health Foundation - An organization in the Mat-Su focusing on improving health and wellness, including offering grant money to non-profits to implement wellness programs

Anchorage Obesity Task Force – Gives information on the problems of obesity and some suggestions for addressing the problem; excellent articles and resources are sited.

Action For Healthy Kids – a national organization committed to helping increase health and wellness for children; many resources and information for families.

USDA Team Nutrition - The USDA's website that contains a variety of information about the challenges to our children's health, what the Team Nutrition group is working on to help out, resources for more information, and a section for children, "MyPyramid For Kids."

Alaska PTA is a Champion for Wellness