Federal response to childhood obesity criticized.
In a front-page story, the Washington Post (5/19, A1, Levine, Aratani) reports that, “since the alarm was finally sounded” regarding rising levels of child obesity, “the problem has been the country’s reaction: a fragmented, inchoate response that critics say has suffered particularly from inadequate direction and dollars at the federal level.” In particular, critics compare the response of the United States to countries such as France, which “mandated health warnings on televised food ads.” Similarly, “Spanish officials reached agreement with industry leaders on tighter product labeling and marketing as well as reducing fat, salt and sugar in processed foods,” while the British government “restrict[ed] food ads on TV programs catering predominantly to children and pulling sweets and sweetened drinks from schools.” In comparison, the Post notes, a U.S. study recommended that “the government…convene a high-level, interdepartmental task force to guide a coordinated response,” but “[n]o such body has been assembled.” Further, current initiatives rely on “self-regulation.”
Nutrition advocates cite obstacles to nutritional overhaul in schools. The Washington Post (5/19, D1, Marr) reports on the front page of its Business section, “For years, consumer advocates and nutritionists have said that schools should stock more healthful snacks, but schools and districts have been reluctant to make that change. Advocates say a number of obstacles have slowed efforts to overhaul the nutritional quality of snacks and drinks.” One reason is that “[b]udget-strapped principals have signed lucrative” vending deals with soft drink companies that give schools a portion of sales, which the schools can spend on unbudgeted items, such as band uniforms. According to a 2006 study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “on average schools raise 33 cents for every dollar that students spend at soft drink machines.” Other obstacles include some schools avoiding “perishables such as fruit and yogurt” because of monetary losses linked to expiration dates, as well as “the notion that schoolchildren will not eat healthful foods.”
In the Classroom
Idaho online school recruiting Latinos, at-risk students.
The AP (5/18, Bonner) reported that iSucceed Virtual High School, Idaho’s “newest virtual charter school, is expected to go online this fall, but only after a strategic campaign to recruit Hispanics and teenagers at risk of quitting or getting kicked out of public high schools.” The school’s executive director, Cliff Green, “spent the past two months stumping in juvenile correctional facilities, cities with significant Latino populations and community programs aimed at getting kids off the streets.” Also, school officials “bought ads on Spanish radio stations, advertised classes with bilingual brochures and drafted Latino community leaders to serve on its board of directors.” The goal, Green said, is “to maintain a Latino student population of at least 20 percent.” The Tribune noted that, while “online schools have historically targeted advanced students who learn at a faster pace, or those who struggle adhering to a normal class schedule,” a number of “virtual schools nationwide have shifted focus to at-risk students.”
High-profile competitions seek to raise status of math, science.
The Christian Science Monitor (5/16, Jonsson) reported that, “[a]t a time when the U.S. is desperate to halt its slide in the world’s math and science rankings,” a “growing number of