Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange
Pre-Read Document
March 22, 2017
Lincoln Financial Field
(Philadelphia Eagles Stadium)
Philadelphia, PA
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Sponsor:
Table of Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Your Role. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4
Case for Collaborative Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 6
Current Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8
Framing the Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10
Measuring Success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15
What’s Needed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16
Looking Forward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17
American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) is the checkoff promotion organization funded by dairy farmers in New York, Northern New Jersey and Northeastern Pennsylvania whose mission includes acting as nutrition advocates for children throughout the marketing area.
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Foreword
The Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange herein known as “The Exchange” is an
unprecedented opportunity to explore solutions to integrate next stage readiness, social and
emotional well-being, health and wellness activity into schools to support the academic success
and happiness for all children in New York City, northern NJ, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and
District of Columbia.
You have been identified as an expert, innovator, and/or key influencer in the field, and your
experience and unique perspective will be crucial to our collective success.
The Exchange will be unlike any meeting you may have attended in the past. It will not be a typical
learning seminar or conference where, for the most part, you listen to a series of presentations
and panels. This summit will be a highly-participative, action‐focused process engaging leading
stakeholders to identify the strengths we can build on; shape a common vision for the future;
brainstorm and prototype solutions; and create action plans that can lead to measureable
improvements. By bringing together students, parents, educators, administrators, child nutrition
leaders, physical education leaders, innovative non-profits, government representatives and
other experts, we take a “system in the room” approach that can find solutions that none of us
can create on our own.
We hope you are as excited as we are to participate in this summit.
Summit Council
The sponsors would like to thank the following group of individuals that have acted as Steering
Council for this project to ensure broad representation of varied interests:
Michael Prayor NYC Department of Education Andrea Thompson American Dairy Association North East Mark Saunders Saunders Innovative Gail Street American Dairy Association North East
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Your Role Prior to and During the Summit We ask that you come to the Summit:
Having read through this document with particular focus on the “Case for Collaborative Action” and the “Framing the Opportunities” sections
Bringing your personal and organizational knowledge and interest in the issues and opportunities related to our summit task outlined below
During the Summit, your role will be to:
Actively participate in the exercises and discussions
Ensure that the perspective interests of your organization are heard
Contribute to shaping the outcomes of the Summit and the recommended next steps Summit Process
This summit is based on a model called the Appreciative Inquiry Summit pioneered by David Cooperrider, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. This summit model has been used in a wide variety of contexts to create large-scale positive change. What is Appreciative Inquiry? To appreciate means to value—to understand those things worth valuing. To inquire means to study, to ask questions, to explore. Appreciative Inquiry is, therefore, a collaborative exploration to identify and understand a particular group’s strengths, their greatest opportunities, and their aspirations for the future, and to build a shared plan of action that will help create that future. An appreciative inquiry summit is a whole-system working meeting that engages a cross-section of as many stakeholder groups as possible—constituencies that care about and have a stake in the future of the issue at hand. This means more diversity than usual in a working meeting, and a chance for each person and stakeholder group to be heard and to be exposed to other perspectives on the issues and opportunities. It is not a conference. Each of you have been selected because of your ability to contribute as innovators, decision makers, influencers or activators to create positive change. This model has been used by: The UN Global Compact to engage 500 global CEOs to make commitments around the
millennium development goals The World Council of Religions to work on interfaith communication
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Major corporations to do strategic planning, merger planning with 100 to 1000 participants.
The US Navy to create a new framework for leadership development A coalition of beverage, waste management, logistics, and container companies to create
a strategy for increasing recycling in the US The US battery industry to create a multi-stakeholder program for recycling single use
batteries Whole industry supply chains to address environmental sustainability goals You can think of Appreciative Inquiry as having four distinct phases:
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The “Exchange” is task focused, not simply an educational event or a conference. Through a highly-participative process you will explore strengths, build a shared vision, explore opportunity areas, and create a practical action plan. The outcome of the “Exchange” will be a collective commitment to action.
The Case for Collaborative Action There are several related, though seemingly contrasting, factors that play into the current reality of children and their access to health-promoting resources and opportunities to affect academically successful outcomes; however, a primary driving force behind “access” is the economic status of the children’s families, the communities they live in, and the schools they attend. Children who live in poverty or low-income areas are more likely to be hungry or at risk of hunger due to their household’s limited resources, and more likely to live in communities that don’t have fresh, affordable, and nutritious food readily available to all residents. Thus it is not surprising that childhood obesity rates are also higher in low-income areas; the food that is available and affordable in low-income areas is more often of low nutritional value. It is also important to understand how poverty and its related consequences disproportionately impact people of color. Throughout the nation, people of color experience higher rates of chronic diseases and hunger than the population as a whole. We can trace these inequitable outcomes back to the higher rates of unemployment and poverty in communities of color, and the geographical segregation that creates racialized concentrations of wealth and poverty. Unfortunately, our school systems reflect these social and economic inequities. It is critical we identify and understand the structures of inequity present in our communities, schools and food systems, so that we develop strategies that will truly change the root causes of obesity, hunger, limited physical activity, and low academic performance among students in our communities. These “root cause” strategies will result in new structures and systems that are fair and just and ensure all children lead healthy and productive lives, regardless of their social circumstances.
Exchange Task:
To establish collaborative leadership to address the concerns and needs of our students across the borders.
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Collaboration and creativity are critical
“Anyone can lead when there’s abundance. We need clear-headed people to work together to find the opportunities to change the system.”
“I have seen great change when you have a room full of diverse people working towards
the same goal.”
“I deeply believe the city (NY) is ready to improve nutrition and physical activity
programs.”
A holistic approach is necessary
“The core of our approach is to teach children how to be fit for the rest of their lives.”
“Everyone working with young people needs to understand how physical activity provides a better wellbeing and why it does so.” “We focus on the student’s whole universe. That means we focus on their school, homes,
and community. When we take all of this into account, we get the change we need in
the student’s achievements.”
“Our goal is to improve kids’ relationship with food through hands on program.” “Teacher education needs to go beyond simply education. It needs to inspire. Currently our need to meet all the curriculum requirements kills teaching imaginations. It is time to give teachers their imagination back.”
Transformation is already happening
“It is amazing to see the transformation in some of these cafeterias. The transformation
is so great; students don’t even realize they are eating at school.”
“It is amazing to see how some people are doing a great job and don’t even know. Now,
we have to be able to share more of these experiences and get more of them underway.”
“We can use programs that focus on providing an amazing user experience to help transform health and wellness in schools, in a similar fashion to what we are already doing in other areas.”
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Current Landscape
This is not an exhaustive list of all available resources in the school environment. We wish to draw your attention to what’s available from a policy standpoint that might be leveraged more by eligible schools and students. Federal and State Policies
NUTRITION PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Federal The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires USDA to establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools—not only in the federally-supported school meals programs. The Act increases the availability of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in the school menu, while setting specific calorie limits to ensure age-appropriate meals for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. In order to receive federal reimbursement, school meals must meet these guidelines. Additionally, local school districts may adopt policies further limiting what types of foods may be served on school grounds or for school activities (such as not allowing candy bars to be sold for fundraisers).
There are no federal requirements in place for physical education in schools, but The National Association of Sport and Physical Education does have guidelines: 150 minutes per week for elementary school children and 225 minutes per week for middle and high school students.
A recent study examined all 50 of the United States and found only six states where elementary schools followed recommended physical education guidelines. Two states followed the guidelines at the middle school level, and no states had strong enough regulations at the high school level.
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Other Resources
RESOURCE DESCRIPTION
Breakfast in the Classroom
(School Nutrition Foundation)
The Breakfast in the Classroom initiative takes the traditional school breakfast approach and improves it with one key ingredient: the classroom. The Breakfast Resource Center has a wealth of ideas to help inform and guide decision makers in making the right choices for students. http://breakfastintheclassroom.org/about-partners-for-breakfast-in-the-classroom/why-is-breakfast-in-the-classroom-needed/
Coordinated School Health
Resources (CDC)
Coordinated School Health (CSH) is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a strategy for improving students’ health and learning in our nation’s schools. Included here are the rationale and goals for CSH, a model framework for planning and implementing CSH and resources to help schools, districts and states improve their school health programs. www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/cshp/
HealthierUS School
Challenge (USDA)
This voluntary certification initiative recognizes those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Many schools find that applying for the Challenge is a valuable learning process that helps their school wellness team focus on areas needing improvement. www.fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/index.html
Presidential Youth Fitness
Program (President’s Council on
Fitness, Sports and Nutrition)
A national program that includes fitness assessment, professional development and recognition, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program helps schools assess, track and award youth fitness and physical activity. www.presidentialyouthfitnessprogram.org/
Society of Health and
Physical Educators
(SHAPE America)
This toolkit from the Society of Health and Physical Educators provides resources for physical education in schools that will help all students attain knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for them to lead healthy and active lives. http://www.shapeamerica.org/publications/resources/teachingtools/coachtoolbox/
Fuel Up to Play 60 (National
Dairy Council & NFL)
This in-school program aims to improve healthy eating and physical activity with students playing a key role. Resources include a Playbook of action strategies, a School Wellness Investigation assessment tool, rewards and recognition for students, educators and schools, and funding opportunities. www.FuelUpToPlay60.com
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Framing the Opportunities What might be possible if we work together?
We all know that educators and schools are facing real challenges of decreased budgets, staffing
cuts, regulations that limit how they allocate scarce resources, and the pressures of standardized
testing programs. Schools are faced with difficult choices every day. In this environment, creative
leadership and collaborative innovation are critical to make the most of scarce resources, expand
and scale ideas that have been proven to work, and collaborate across boundaries to ensure that
all children have the best possible chance to learn, grow, and thrive. We may need to step
outside our own boundaries and habitual ways of thinking and find creative solutions. Our
exploration, then, begins with a question, an exploration of possibilities, an appreciative inquiry:
how might we, in our present situation, tap our strengths to find innovative ways to make sure
all children have access to nutritious food and physical activity that supports their social and
emotional well-being and their academic performance? How might we better integrate next-
stage readiness into the school experience to develop habits and mindsets that will enable all
children to lead vital lives beyond their school years into adulthood? How might we forge deep
connections between children with not just information, but firsthand experience that goes
home with them and positively influences their families and communities? How might we create
a generation of children who for example, turn the tide on obesity and the subsequent other
health challenges it can bring? How might we create systems that ensure equitable access to
opportunities for all children? In these questions, these explorations lay the seeds of innovative
thinking. And by exploring these questions with a broad group of stakeholders, across boundaries
and disciplines, we may well come up with answers that are unexpected, powerful, and
actionable.
To help jumpstart the discussions at the Exchange, we have identified a preliminary set of opportunities based on the positive examples described above and ideas uncovered from stakeholder interviews. The following set of opportunities cover ideas specifically related to nutrition and physical activity areas as well as cross cutting system-wide opportunities. The opportunities presented here merely serve as a starting point upon which to build at the Summit and in no way are meant to be prescriptive or to limit additional ideas we can explore.
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Opportunities Starter List: Health and Wellness – Nutrition
Increase Access to School
Nutrition Programs
Educate and enroll key
stakeholders (parents,
superintendents, principals)
about the benefits of school
meals and availability of
programs e.g. lunch, snack,
supper, summer meals etc.
Equip teachers with
curriculum and
instruction for the first 20
min of class while
students eat breakfast in
the classroom
Find more time to let
children eat breakfast e.g.
include Breakfast After the
Bell programs for high
school students, increase 20
min period
Provide Brunch for Lunch
Engage Families and
Communities
Expand food and nutrition
education beyond the school
environment to enroll parents
and the community, e.g.
after-school/Saturday
classes on healthy foods and
food preparation, healthy
meals on a budget,
School/PTA fundraising etc.
Introduce healthy food
options in
neighborhoods/communitie
s with lack of food choices
(“food deserts”), e.g.
Green Carts Programs,
Farmer’s Markets,
Community Gardens
Decrease the availability of
unhealthy foods in the school
surroundings, e.g. implement
a bodega Initiative to carry
healthier foods near schools,
limit sales of mobile snack
food carts near schools,
foods near schools, limit
sales of mobile snack food
carts near schools
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Opportunities Starter List: Health and Wellness – Physical
Activity
Get Active in School
Train teachers to integrate
physical activity into the
classroom, e.g. develop physical
activity modules that can be
implemented quickly in limited
spaces (e.g. classroom, hallway);
partner with state AAHPERDS to
develop curriculum and trainings
Create the physical environment
to support activity during free
time e.g. provide access to
equipment, allow use of school
facilities
Find ways to offer physical activity
choices that are inclusive of all
students from different fitness
levels and different activity
interests e.g. providing a wide
range of activities with something
for everyone.
Engage families and
communities
Involve parents and the
community on school physical
programs, e.g. annual events
where children and parents
participate together, sporting
events where parents
volunteer,
community/neighborhood
games
Develop programs to use
the city as a gym, e.g.
utilizing parks and other
publicly available spaces to
exercise
Incorporate more physical
activity into daily practices,
e.g. walking and biking to
school (when safe and
applicable), playing sports
in the neighborhood,
substituting TV with play
time
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Opportunities Starter List: Next Stage Readiness – Pre-K
through College
Academic Behaviors
Identify how positive academic
behaviors can enhance the
educational development of
students focusing on the
following behaviors:
Persistence
Time management
Study skills
Executive functioning
Reading proficiency by 3rd
grade
Academic vocabulary
College awareness and
Aspirations
College exploration
Habits of Mind (academic
behaviors)
Intrinsic motivation
Engage families and
communities
Keep an open communication
between families and schools to
create community and cultural
connections
Train in effective behavioral
techniques
Support School-wide efforts
Trainings for Parents and
Community Stakeholders
Provide guides designed to help
parents better understand
academic expectations
Resources for college bound
students
Family Resource Centers
Parent Leadership
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Opportunities Starter List: Social & Emotional Well Being
Social & Emotional Well
Being
Provide strategies to promote
self-efficacy
Teach students strategies to
help develop self-regulation
Devise strategies on how to
cultivate positive social
relationships
Offer trainings on “Emotional
Intelligence” to teach students
how to manage/adjust their
emotions to adapt to
environments
Engage families and
communities
Participate in Emotional Intelligence trainings to understand and assist students with managing their emotions
Promote a developmentally appropriate understanding of emotions, e.g. through interactions, stories, etc.
Encourage caring and respectful
relationships at home, in school and in the community
Use a variety of instructional techniques to cater to different cultures, life and learning styles
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Imagining and Measuring Success The right measures are key to tracking progress in any change effort, and ambitious goals can help inspire innovative thinking. We like to work with goals in the context of a summit in two ways. First, we ask ourselves, what are the aspirational goals that represent complete success in achieving our task? These aspirational goals then become north stars, guiding all our efforts, keeping us focused, and helping us get beyond incremental thinking to envision boldly what might be possible. For this Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange, we propose the following aspirational goals for our dual focus on nutrition and physical activity:
These aspirational goals may seem daunting and hard to measure, but we believe that we can all agree that they would be great outcomes for our students and would go a long way to contributing to their overall health and academic success. They also serve to get us thinking–how might we actually accomplish those goals? What would it take? And that’s exactly the function of aspirational goals. As you prepare for the summit, we invite you to dream big and let your creative imagination explore those questions. They’re not impossible goals–they don’t require violating any laws of physics to accomplish them. They don’t require technological innovations or new legislation. So let yourself ponder them and explore that appreciative inquiry question How might we . . .? In our experience, commitment to accomplishing these bold goals is a powerful force to drive positive change. Underneath these two aspirational goals we might nest a number of sub-goals that would be more specific, that would contribute to progress toward these two north stars. Under physical activity we might have goals around:
Schools meeting physical education recommendations
Students participating in voluntary, after school physical activity programs
Students participating in community based physical activity programs
Integration of physical activity across the curriculum Under nutrition, we might have goals around:
Students participating in ‘breakfast in the classroom’ program
100% of Students in Target Districts
Have 1 hour of physical activity before, during or
after school every
school day
Eat a nutritious breakfast, lunch and
dinner every school day
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Students participating in other school breakfast programs
Students participating in after school meal programs
Schools with school garden programs
integration of nutrition and healthy eating information across the curriculum We might decide to have goals that combine physical activity and nutrition, such as student participation in programs, like Fuel Up to Play 60. During the summit, as we explore the opportunity areas and focus on action that we can take together, we will frame stretch targets around the relevant sub-goals. A stretch goal is a specific, measurable target that is challenging but achievable. As we prepare for the Learning Connection Summit, think about what goal or goals would inspire you to action?
What’s Needed It is apparent that nutrition and physical activity are essential levers to improve health and increase academic performance. What drivers and synergies can we identify across our areas of expertise that will impact these levers? What might we accomplish if we all came together, crossing over our geographical area's to identify the best in our communities, ourselves and had the freedom for one day to explore new ideas? How might we find ways to share what’s working, create new partnerships, and collaborate to combine our strengths in ways that make our limitations and constraints irrelevant?
What might be possible if we identify the evidenced-based practices working within and across
our cities and scale up excellence and work together to create an environment where the learning
connection with nutrition and physical activity are embedded into our day to day practices,
curriculum and families and communities; where social and emotional well-being and next stage
readiness, generate better focus, fewer absences, more resilience in the face of challenges, and
more success in school and in life?
To achieve success, significant policy and environmental change is needed to give children the
opportunity to lead a healthy life. There is no magic bullet for solving this crisis, and everyone
has a role to play.
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Looking Forward This pre-read material is by no means all-encompassing. We look forward to engaging with you
in a thoughtful and innovative manner at the upcoming summit, in an action-oriented, results-
focused environment.
We are bringing together an extraordinary group of leaders from across the ‘system’ we call K-
12 education in New York City, northern NJ, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and District of
Columbia and students, parents, teachers, administrators, service providers, non-profits,
academics, civil servants. We are inviting the best exemplars of innovative solutions, the best
researchers, the most committed activists and change leaders. Not just to sit and listen to each
other talk, though listening and talking are important. To roll up our sleeves, to engage, to create,
and commit to taking action. We are using the best collaborative whole-system-change process
we have found in over 25 years of experience, and we guarantee it will be an experience you will
remember and appreciate.
Margaret Mead famously said, “Never underestimate the power of a small group of individuals
to change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has.” Indeed. Join us. Bring your ideas, your
passion, your commitment, and help us create an inflection point in the relationship between
food, physical activity, and learning. It’s quite possible it will change your world, and the world of
our next generation of leaders, for good.
We look forward to working with all of you this March 22, 2017 and beyond.
Further Reading
About the Appreciative Inquiry Process Appreciative Inquiry Commons http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/
For more information, contact: [email protected]
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