Farm to School
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Building & Growing a Healthy School Environment.
Department Contacts
| Name | Contact | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Ann Rector |
626.396.3600 ext. 8829 |
Director |
| Katia Ahmed |
626.396.3600 ext. 10201 |
Project Coordinator |
The PUSD Building a Healthy School Environment project started over 10 years ago. Our partnerships and coordination did not take root until 2013. The 3-pronged effort includes Playground Improvements at elementary schools, school gardens, and strategic partnerships.
With 65% of our PUSD eligible for Free and / or Reduced Meals, there is a strong need for a coordinated wellness effort. Overweight and obesity percentages in PUSD have shown steady improvements over the past 5 years; however preliminary 2016 data shows an increase in overweight and obese students as measured in 5th, 7th, and 9th grade. Peaceful Playgrounds, a playground improvement project involving the painting of games on the blacktop, increases opportunities for physical activity during free time. Elementary students can self-select active games and participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity in an unstructured setting. School gardens provide another venue to teach healthy eating, while integrating Science through an approved curriculum. Community and parental engagement have improved at schools with gardens. Strategic partnerships in PUSD around Building a Healthy School Environment have multiplied over the years.
History
The geographic service area of the Pasadena Unified School District and Pasadena Educational Foundation encompasses Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. The demographics of the nearly 18,500 students enrolled in the district, when compared to those of general population, reveal a community sharply divided along economic, geographic and ethnic lines. For example, while officially 12% of the 200,000 residents in the district service area live below the poverty line (source: US Census), 66% of PUSD's students qualify for the federal free/reduced-price meals program.
Sixteen of the district's eighteen elementary schools receive Title I funding based on the socio-economic characteristics of their students, and more than 66% of all students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. 59% of students are Latino, 13% are African-American, 18% are Caucasian, 7% are Asian/Pacific Islander and 3% are multiracial/other. 20% are English learners, and 11% of students are served for special needs. Almost 2% of PUSD students are in foster care, one of the highest rates among all districts in Los Angeles County.
30% of children living in this area attend private school, about three times the national average. Since the majority of privately-schooled children are from middle- and upper-income families, PUSD and PEF have the additional challenges of addressing the needs of a predominantly low-income, underserved population. Among these challenges are the health and environmental issues that affect families in low-income communities, including poor nutrition, lack of access to affordable fresh food, obesity, sub-standard housing, substance abuse, violence, lack of green space, and limited opportunities for physical activity.
Obesity in children is a particularly serious issue for our schools. In 2015, only 61% of all PUSD students met the state's Physical Fitness Test (PFT) minimum requirements for body composition (sources: PUSD and California Department of Education). While this continues a positive trend -- only 55% passed in 2013 -- it is still well below where the district and its students need to be. Body composition in children and youth is the most important indicator of risk for serious health problems later in life.
Childhood obesity rates of 21% within City of Pasadena and 26% for Altadena rank in the third quartile for Los Angeles County (2012 Pasadena Quality of Life Index and LA County Public Health Department Report). Adult obesity rates are 19% for Pasadena and 20% for Altadena. There are notable differences among races and ethnicities. For example, adult Latinos (29%) and African Americans (29%) have notably higher obesity rates than their White (18%). and Asian/Pacific Islander (9%) counterparts. These trends are reflected in the student population of PUSD. PEF and PUSD have received grant awards from a number of highly competitive federal programs for innovation in education and health, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm to School planning grant in 2013 and a two-year Farm to School Implementation grant in 2015. These grants supported the design and implementation of programs that have greatly increased access to fresh fruit and vegetables for students throughout the district, expanded school gardens, and are educating students about healthier eating and promoting healthier living.
At the April 2016 conference of all current Farm to School grant recipients from across the nation, USDA officials said PUSD is a model program because of the integration of multiple departments and partners and the proven ability of the project leaders to manage an effective program with demonstrated impact. Specific innovations cited by the officials included:
- There is central coordinated leadership but most activities are site-driven, which results in more buy-in from school personnel
- The use of city rebate funds and joint-use agreements to facilitate removal of turf on school property and transform them into school gardens
- While the program is specifically designed to combat disparities in health exacerbated by socio-economic circumstances, it engages all students to encourage healthier lifestyles.
Farm to School News
- The Conservancy Awards $70,000 to PUSD for Educational Garden Projects Thanks to Donor. Generous and Loyal Contributions.
- Health & Wellness Wins Golden Bell Award
- “Celebrating Educational Excellence in Los Angeles County”
The Conservancy Awards $70,000 to PUSD for Educational Garden Projects Thanks to Donor. Generous and Loyal Contributions.
Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy awarded $70,000 in grants to the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) to support school gardens to improve family health and nutrition, enhance science education, and help increase parental involvement in the schools.
The funds, awarded via the Pasadena Educational Foundation, will be used to support two new school-based gardens, at Pasadena High School and Franklin Elementary School, and to create a new full-time consultancy position at PUSD for a certificate-holding Master Gardener to coordinate the district’s school gardens. The individual serving in this position will be known as the “Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy Master Gardener.”
In addition, the grants include funds to enhance the Madison Elementary Garden & Orchard, which was built with PCGC’s support in January, enabling the garden to comply with California health regulations so that fresh produce grown at Madison can be served to children in the school’s cafeteria.
Once the gardens are completed, The Conservancy will be supporting four community and school gardens, and a full-time Master Gardener, for underserved children and families the Northwest Pasadena-Altadena community. This achievement is due to the dedication of PCGC’s loyal and generous donors – families and individuals who want to help their neighbors to grow their own healthful, nutritious food and enjoy longer and healthier lives.
“PUSD will make dramatic gains with this money,” said Ann Rector, PUSD Director of Health Programs. “This grant will provide us the opportunity to have a Master Gardener work with students and teachers during the school day. Thank you believing in this program,” she added.
“Our small foundation is privileged to help expand and strengthen PUSD’s exemplary school-garden program,” said Beth Hansen, Chair of The Conservancy’s Board of Directors, in announcing the grant awards. “Pasadena’s school gardens are not just growing, they are showing true progress as a means for teaching entire families about healthier lifestyles. We are proud that PUSD’s efforts embody our own foundation’s motto: planting ‘seeds of transformation’ in our city’s underserved neighborhoods.”
Ms. Hansen noted that PUSD recently determined, through a five-year longitudinal study of student health, that students’ average weight in three grades had dropped 11% because of targeted family nutrition-and-health programs, which include school gardens.
“I’d also like to extend our thanks to the wonderful team at the Pasadena Educational Foundation, who have encouraged and advised our small foundation and helped direct our philanthropy, and to the PUSD Board of Education,” she added.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy, a wonderful community organization providing school gardens that teach important life long learning outside the classroom,” said Patrick Conyers, Executive Director of the Pasadena Educational Foundation, upon receiving the $70,000 in grant funds.
PCGC was founded in 2012 by longtime community volunteers Brooke Garlock and Eileen White Read, who gathered 30 individuals and couples interested in improving the health of children and families living in Northwest Pasadena through support for community and school gardens. Currently, the Board of Directors includes Marco Barrantes, Bea Bennett, Adele Binder, Cheryl L. Kopitzke, Donald Hall, Stephanie Hall, Jill Hotvet, Susan Osen, Christopher Pelham, Charles C. Read, and Charise Stewart. Chuck Bakaly and Jessica Korzenecki are Emeritus Directors.
Health & Wellness Wins Golden Bell Award
The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) has been chosen as one of 56 recipients of the state’s leading educational honor, the Golden Bell Award. The Golden Bell Award, now in its 37th year, is sponsored by the California School Boards Association (CSBA). The award recognizes public school programs that are innovative and sustainable, make a demonstrated difference for students and focus on meeting the needs of all public school students. Pasadena Unified is being recognized for its Building a Healthy School Environment program, which improves student health and wellness.
“I am both honored and proud that Pasadena Unified’s health and wellness programs are recognized with the Golden Bell award for excellence. With the innovative and collaborative leadership of PUSD’s Health Programs and Food and Nutrition teams, every student who attends PUSD will graduate with a healthy mind, body and spirit ,” said Superintendent Brian McDonald. “With school gardens in 11 schools,a master gardener on board, orchard gardens expanding, and committed partners, PUSD’s focus on the whole student is leading to outstanding health outcomes for students and their families.”
Pasadena Unified will receive its award at a recognition ceremony to be held on Saturday, December 3 from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show in San Francisco at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis located at 780 Mission Street.
The Building a Healthy School Environment program increases students’ physical activity on campus; access to healthy foods at school; knowledge about healthy eating through experiential learning in school gardens; student engagement and training through paid high school internships; and the number and depth of community partnerships.
The program includes Peaceful Playgrounds, a project at elementary schools that involves painting games on school blacktops to increase opportunities for physical activity during free time; the Catz K-5 PE program, which trains elementary school teachers to deliver fitness-based physical education and team sports with youth development strategies; school gardens at 18 PUSD campuses that repurpose lawns for school and community gardens while saving water; an award-winning K-5 Farm to School curriculum that integrates activities in school gardens and classroom instruction; purchasing of fresh, locally-sourced produce for use in school meals by PUSD’s Food & Nutrition Services; Muir Ranch, a two-acre urban farm that offers paid high school student internships and provides weekly fresh fruit and vegetables to 200 local families; and partnerships with the City of Pasadena and County of Los Angeles to provide assistance to district families enrolled in SNAP, Market Match and other nutrition programs, including summer meals for youth. PUSD’s joint use opportunities with the City of Pasadena are resulting in outstanding athletic venues for students to play while moving adults and community members into better fitness after school.
Experts from school districts and county offices of education made up the 16-member judging panel that reviewed the written entries and made the initial recommendations for the awards. On-site validators assessed the programs in action. This year’s awards are presented to school districts and county offices of education helping students achieve through after school programs, mentoring, instructional interventions, use of data and other innovations.
“California’s K-12 public schools continue to produce some of the nation’s best and brightest students, and our Golden Bell recipients are a reflection of that excellence as well as the spirit of innovation which is so characteristic of this state,” said CSBA CEO and Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “The Golden Bell Awards recognize the quality and the determination of school leaders from across California in meeting the needs of California's students through award-winning programs and services.”
CSBA is the non-profit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards and district and county office administrators to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children. Learn more at www.csba.org.
“Celebrating Educational Excellence in Los Angeles County”
We are pleased to share with you our Golden Bell Awarded program Building Healthy School Environment DVD produced by Los Angeles County Department of Education (LACOE).
LACOE hosted a special dinner to honor our school and the 13 other Golden Bell awardees in Los Angeles County, “Celebrating Educational Excellence in Los Angeles County”. During the evening LACOE created this profile video to introduce and highlight our innovative and successful program.
Curriculum
Procurement
The Administrator of Child Nutrition will work with his counterparts at a minimum of two other local school districts to establish a new procurement coop focused exclusively on purchasing locally grown fresh produce. Fruit and vegetables grown in PUSD school gardens will become part of the locally-sourced fresh produce used in taste-testing in classrooms and cafeterias, using the safe handling protocols already established and in use by school districts in Chicago and Ventura, California. Prior to implementation, these procedures will be reviewed and approved by the City of Pasadena Public Health Department.