District Administration - January 2010 - (Page 25)

program may not be possible for every district. For many districts, the key to better school lunches may well lie in learning to work with available resources and making better choices from available USDA commodity and food processing lists, something Chef Ann Cooper follows. In Baltimore City Public Schools, Food and Nutrition Services Director Tony Geraci has adopted “Meatless Mondays” to stretch the district’s food budget and help students become aware of healthy eating habits. Once a week, Baltimore’s 80,000 schoolchildren dine on baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, vegetable lasagna, pasta primavera, or vegetarian chili with rice instead of the usual suspects: Philly cheesesteak and chicken nuggets. And school chefs often remind critics that no matter how delicious the food might be to adults, it must appeal to the palate of a middle school student. Appealing to that palate is the reason behind the Healthy Schools Campaign’s Cooking up Change, an annual contest in Chicago. Fifteen teams of public high school students compete by preparing a school meal based on the same ingredients, cost restrictions and nutrition guidelines that Chicago food service directors face. e winning meal in the 2009 contest— vegetable and chicken jambalaya, jalapeno cornbread and cucumber salad created by student chefs from Tilden Career Academy—will be served throughout the Chicago schools’ district later this month and to students nationwide in late spring. ere are many paths toward building a better, more nutritious school lunch, and not all of them demand extra resources. e food police will continue their battle for the mouths and minds of children, in their quest for the perfect school lunch. However, the best school lunch will always be the one that can pass the kid taste test, the cost test, and the nutritional demands of the National School Lunch Program— because if students won’t eat it, and the costs aren’t reimbursed, the cafeteria can’t and won’t survive ﬁnancially. DA www.DistrictAdministration.com Read about the cost of switching to healthier foods. Stephanie Johns is a freelance writer based in Mountain Lakes, N.J. www.DistrictAdministration.com SOMEWHERE there, › Somewhere outOUT THERE, AN ADmINIStrAtor ANADMINISTRATOR WILL INSPIRE HER STUDENTS her FACuL INSPIre TO CAUSE AN EFFECT. StAFF to CAuSe For more than 35 years, Nova Southeastern University’s ideas, approach, and programs have inspired leaders to inspire the people around them to change the world. Here, you can advance your career and improve your abilities at your own pace with our unique training and degree programs offered online, on-site, or on campus. For more information on our degree offerings, visit us at booth # 1028. Master of ›Curriculum, Science in Education Instruction, and Technology Educational Leadership Educational Media Educational Technology Management and Administration of Educational Programs Educational Specialist ›Curriculum/Instruction Management and Administration Educational Leadership Technology Management and Administration . Education › Doctor of Leadership Educational Instructional Leadership Instructional Technology and Distance Education › › 888-857-4785 www.FischlerSchool.nova.edu / District Admin ARE YOU READY TO CAUSE AN EFFECT? Nova Southeastern University admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, and national or ethnic origin.Nova Southeastern University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, Telephone number: 404-679-4501) to award associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees. 11-156-09PGA January 2010 25 http://www.FischlerSchool.nova.edu/DistrictAdmin http://www.FischlerSchool.nova.edu/DistrictAdmin http://www.DistrictAdministration.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2010

District Administration - January 2010
Table of Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Health Update
Curriculum Update
District Profile
The Feud Over Food
Discipline Gets the Boot
Cutting Technology Costs with Refurbished Computers
Will Pensions Bankrupt Your District?
Tech Disruptions
Crisis Response
Supervisor’s Opinion
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - January 2010