Remember: Go, Slow and Whoa When Eating

By: Jeff Engelhardt, The Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, IL)

Go, slow and whoa. Those three words are changing the culture in elementary schools in DeKalb and Sycamore as students learn the importance of health and fitness along with English and mathematics. Go, slow and whoa foods teach students what is healthy to eat all the time, some of the time and once in awhile. The philosophy has caught on in area elementary schools where CATCH programs – Coordinated Approach To Child Health – are being integrated into everyday learning.

Lisa Cumings, community health liaison for Kishwaukee Community Hospital, started integrating and supporting CATCH programs at schools last year and has helped expand it this year. Cortland, Tyler, Southeast and West elementary schools have either in-class or after-school CATCH programs. “It’s amazing to see the whole culture start to change when the kids and teachers get on board,” Cumings said. “You’d be surprised how many kids want to make the healthy choices and just need to know how.”

All the elementary schools have startup kits and curriculum needed to start CATCH, and Cumings said she hopes to get to a new school each year to implement it. The program includes an educational aspect that teaches children how to eat healthy and stay active as well as a physical aspect that emphasizes constant movement during gym classes.

The nutritional aspect has been incorporated at all elementaries in school districts 427 and 428 through vegetable and fruit bars at every lunch period. Other schools, such as Cortland Elementary, have adopted snack policies. Bill McGuire, a physical education teacher at Cortland, said students bring in “Go” food items for daily snacks and are allowed one “Whoa” food item during special holiday celebrations. McGuire said the students have embraced the healthy policies. “You see fruit trays and wheat crackers all over,” he said. “The students pick up on the terminology and get into it right away.”

The physical aspect mostly occurs in gym classes, where the days of elimination games are gone. If students go out in tag, they might do 10 jumping jacks before re-entering. If they are on the sidelines during a basketball game, they might have dribble drills. Nancy Davis, physical education teacher at Southeast Elementary, said it is important for students to stay active during the whole gym period. “I want them moving for the majority of the time they are in there,” Davis said. “They know to start walking and warming up the second they hit the floor.”

CATCH has helped change the culture of elementary schools, but there are still difficulties in bridging the gap at home. Andria Mitchell, principal of Tyler Elementary, said she sends information to parents through newsletters and at PTO meetings to promote healthy eating and activities. She also points parents to the We Can program at Kishwaukee Community Hospital for family wellness tips, and she is planning a community garden at the school that could be used by families with limited access to fresh produce. “It’s just taking that extra step,” Mitchell said of bridging the gap. “When your kids are excited, their parents will be, too.”

Cumings said the ultimate goal is for all the schools to integrate CATCH into the curriculum and make it sustainable without the hospital’s assistance.