Healthy strategies for school and community success
Educators’ efforts to connect with social agencies and the medical community can help determine how successful, productive and healthy students will be now and later in life. By Walter L. Buster
T
oday’s educational leaders need friends. It’s easy to find critics who blame California public schools for the many problems we all recognize, and are eager to place educators in the cross hairs. This is understandable
given that we are the ones who publicly report our test scores and dropout rates, serve students free meals, hire and fire employees in towns where we are often the largest employer, teach using books that some find controversial, and work in school systems governed by elected people in an increasingly divided political climate. However, we persevere because we recognize our
mission. Young people still choose to become teachers because they want to add value to the life of a child. Principals still choose to lead, believing that develop- ing positive school cultures can contribute to the good of their neighborhoods. Superintendents continue to work with governing boards with the belief that sys- tems focused on continuous improvement contribute to the greater good. But it’s tough work and we need allies who share our commitment to providing a qual- ity education for all California students. One of our most supportive friends is The California Endow-
ment, the state’s largest health foundation, whose work is based on an understanding of health that will immediately make sense to any educator who has seen students struggling with poverty, seri- ous health issues, violence and other challenges. It boils down to this: your ZIP code shouldn’t predict your chances of graduating from high school or your life expectancy, but it does. This sad fact will ring true for educators who have long known
that a school disconnected from its families, social agencies, public safety officers, and medical community will have difficulty reach- ing the academic success deserved by every child in California.
Giving every child the same chance To give every child the same chance to live a prosperous and
healthy life, The Endowment believes that we need to move the def- inition of health beyond what happens in a doctor’s office to what happens in our everyday surroundings. The Health Happens in Schools campaign recognizes that
schools play a pivotal role in the physical, social, and emotional health of California’s children. As educators, our work can help de- termine how successful, productive and healthy students will be
36 Leadership
now and later in life. For example, as we seek to meet the demands of academic testing, there is evidence that the quality of food, fresh water during meal times and the amount of physical exercise that takes place on campus can enhance academic achievement. When we are encouraged to drop physical education to make time for more academics, we can turn to The California Endowment for evidence that academic achievement is positively correlated with nutrition and exercise. We also recognize that when young people leave school early or
miss a great deal of instruction, they are statistically headed toward a life of struggle. Sadly, we know that a disproportion- ate number of students of color are being excluded from our classrooms and are dropping out. In the last year alone, California schools issued
more than 720,000 suspensions and expulsions, half of them for misconduct not related to violence or drugs. This dynamic is troubling for schools and the excluded students, whose are at greater risk of academic failure and involvement with the criminal justice system. For those reasons, The California En- dowment supports schools in finding common-sense discipline policies that hold students accountable but keep them in the classroom rather than automati-
cally expelling them for minor offenses. Although we live in complicated times, we can’t forget that
there are opportunities. Research, information and best practices are available to assist school leaders who want to pursue health as a strategy for supporting academic achievement. There are also grant opportunities for schools and districts
seeking resources to align their efforts with those of The Califor- nia Endowment’s mission to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. These grant applications could include resource applications for enhanced fitness programs, alternatives to harsh school discipline such as restorative justice, anti-obesity programs, or on-campus health services. Review the website and offerings (
www.calendow.org), identify staff and board members who can assist, and know that you have a willing partner in The California Endowment. n
Walter L. Buster is a board member of The California Endowment, co-director of the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute at CSU Fresno and a former superintendent for several California school districts.
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