District Administration - June 2009 - (Page 40)

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS community, and buying local supports vegetable beds that consisted of beans, our local economy,” says Giovanna Ven- zucchini, and cucumbers that we used in ditti, director of finance of the Central our school lunch program,” says Boutin. And composting programs have Falls (R.I.) Public Schools. “Best of all, the kids get fresh, nutritious and deli- grown. Forestville (Calif.) Union School District’s composting and recycling procious Rhode Island grown foods.” Some school districts are getting down gram saved the district $160 a month over and dirty by tilling their own school the last three years by reducing the numgardens. In 2007, the Los Angeles Uni- ber of garbage dumpsters at its schools. fied School District Board of Education approved encouraging schools to plant The Cost Factor gardens to promote healthy nutrition Regardless if a school district chooses to habits among students. The LAUSD food prepare its meals from scratch, grow its service program, which is self-operated own vegetables, or partner with a food and serves 700,000 meals a day, tries to service provider, overcoming cost is a get most of its fresh fruits and vegetables challenge. The USDA reimburses schools $2.57 for each meal served in the National from the Central Valley. Back in Oregon, Auburn High School Lunch Program (NSLP), which School’s garden is about an acre and a half provides meals to more than 30.5 million and is located between the high school children each school day. “Our business and elementary school. “We are really is in pennies. You have $2.57 to prepare excited about our garden this year. Last a whole meal, and that is not just food year, we planted 45 fruit trees and raised costs. That is labor costs, paper supplies, CEHS FastTrack08 4.75x4.75:CEHS FastTrack 4.75x4.75 11/17/08 2:29 PM uniforms for staff, gas for your trucks, and you also get charge backs from school districts for utilities, custodial, cafeteria supervision, etc.,” explains Mechura. “We can barely afford to put an unhealthy meal in front of our children for $2.57, and then, when you are trying to add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, it becomes very, very challenging,” adds Brayley. But relief is coming, as President Obama announced a $1 billion-a-year increase for child nutrition, which includes the school lunch and breakfast programs. An additional $100 million in the economic stimulus package is designed to upgrade school cafeteria equipment. And later this year, Congress is expected to reauthorize the federal child nutrition programs, which could include funding for school meal reimbursements and reassessing national school Page 1 nutrition standards. DA www.DistrictAdministration.com Read more on Farm to School programs. Brian D. Wallace is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. SPECIAL SECTION A FAST TRACK TO A TRADITIONAL ED.D. Seton Hall University’s nationally recognized, accelerated doctoral program will allow you to complete your studies in just 10 weekends and two, four-week sessions over two years. In fact, more than 200 K-12 administrators in 26 states and five foreign countries have already successfully earned their degrees and achieved career advancement. “Starting this program from Canada and finishing from Singapore was possible only because of Seton Hall’s deep commitment to its students. The culture of positive thinking prevails to make possible what sometimes seems impossible.” Glenn Odland, Ed.D. ’08 Head of School Canadian International School, Singapore ResouRces ARAMARK www.aramark.com Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/ childhood Center for Science in the Public Interest www.cspinet.org Chartwells www.eatlearnlive.com Children’s Garden Network www.childrensgardennetwork.org Farm to School www.farmtoschool.org iHealth Center for Integrated Wellness www.ihealththerapies.com Kids First www.kidsfirstri.org Revolution Foods www.revfoods.com Sodexo www.sodexousa.com Now accepting applications for the April 2010 cohort. Loans are available to cover the entire cost of the program regardless of financial need. 400 South Orange Ave. • South Orange, NJ 07079 • www.shu.edu Sustainable Food Systems www.sustainablefoodsystems.com USDA www.usda.gov College of Education and Human Services 1-800-313-9833 For more information e-mail execedd@shu.edu or go to www.shu.edu/go/execedd 40 June/July 2009 District Administration http://www.DistrictAdministration.com http://www.aramark.com http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/childhood http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/childhood http://www.cspinet.org http://www.eatlearnlive.com http://www.childrensgardennetwork.org http://www.farmtoschool.org http://www.ihealththerapies.com http://www.shu.edu http://www.kidsfirstri.org http://www.revfoods.com http://www.sodexousa.com http://www.shu.edu http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com http://www.usda.gov http://www.shu.edu/go/execedd

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2009

District Administration - June 2009
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Stimulus Monitor
District Profile
Admin Profile
Crisis Response
Tech Disruptions
A Deeper Shade of Green
The New School Lunch
Business Brings Sustainable Lessons to School
A Netbook for Every Student
Vision Videos Empower Students
New Books
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Online Edge

District Administration - June 2009