Tooele County’s Live Fit Coalition got mixed reviews on the three wellness programs it held in elementary schools this year.
One of those programs, “Start the Day with Play,” will be discontinued after this year, said coalition chairwoman Malaena Toohey.
“It didn’t turn out to be exactly what we were hoping for,” she said. “We were kind of hoping with ‘Start the Day with Play,’ more kids would walk or bike to school or ask to be dropped off early so they could play, but I didn’t really see that happen.”
Feedback from teachers also seemed to indicate the program didn’t really change students’ behavior. Of 106 teachers who completed a survey about its effectiveness, 20 said they believed the program was “extremely beneficial” for students. Seven said it wasn’t beneficial at all, and 79 had mixed opinions, according to a Live Fit survey.
On the other hand, four of five principals who completed the same survey believed the program was “extremely beneficial.” The fifth principal said it was a little beneficial for students.
“Start the Day with Play” encouraged students to exercise before school throughout the year. Students who exercised entered their names in a drawing to win prizes. Prizes ranged from free passes to All-Star Bowling and Entertainment to free bicycles or scooters.
The idea for the program came from research that suggests children are more ready and able to learn when they’re active, Toohey said last August.
Next year, the coalition will organize a different program to replace “Start the Day with Play,” Toohey said.
“Next year, we’re just going to work with one high school, one junior high and four elementary schools,” she said. “These schools will have a significant-sized grant where they will have mandatory Live Fit initiatives they’ll need to do.”
Schools other than the six chosen will also be able to apply for “mini” grants to do smaller initiatives, Toohey added.
Aside from trying out new initiatives, the coalition will continue two other programs it introduced into schools last year: “Wellness in the Classroom” and an afternoon snack program.
“Wellness in the Classroom” encourages teachers to promote healthy activities in their classrooms. At the end of each quarter, each teacher can submit a paragraph explaining how they tried to promote health. The School Fit Zone, a subgroup of Live Fit, then chooses three winners to receive $100 Visa gift cards.
Teachers came up with a variety of ideas to promote health last year, including healthy snacking, healthy class parties, “brain breaks,” having students use exercise balls in place of chairs, and taking their class on walks during the day, Toohey said.
Teachers and principals didn’t seem to like “Wellness in the Classroom” much better than “Start the Day with Play,” however. Nineteen of 100 teachers surveyed, as well as one of five principals, said they believed the program was “extremely beneficial” for their students.
Five teachers and one principal said they didn’t think the program benefited students at all, and the remaining people who responded to the survey had mixed opinions.
But despite the program’s mixed reviews, Toohey said the members of School Fit Zone wanted to do “Wellness in the Classroom” again next year.
“It’s fun to go and reward the teachers who are taking the initiative to promote wellness in their classrooms,” she said.
Of the three programs, the afternoon snack program received the most positive feedback. Two principals completed the survey about the program and both reported it was “extremely beneficial” for students. In addition, eight of the 21 teachers who participated in the program said it was “extremely beneficial” and 56 more teachers thought it would be beneficial if their school had such a program.
Live Fit chose four schools — East, Middle Canyon, Rose Springs and St. Marguerite’s — to pilot the afternoon snack program last year. As part of the program, the principal of each participating school allowed students to eat a fruit or vegetable in the afternoon, Toohey said.
“The afternoon snack program was really good,” she said. “Hopefully those who started it will continue it because they saw how it benefited their students.”
The coalition will also try to organize an afternoon snack program for the junior high and high school it works with next year, Toohey added.