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Running head: School Assessment

Daniel Scott
School Assessment
Health Literacy for Schools
Professor Hesse
February 7, 2016

School Assessment

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Running head: School Assessment
These are the assessment results of my school, Maxine O. Bush, in regards to how
Active and Healthy the school is according to the Active and Healthy Schools
Program:

Assessment Results

Overall Grade: F
During School: 0%
Let's get to work. The school day is the critical time for implementing the Active & Healthy Schools
Program, which can benefit students, teachers and staff. Let's look at some steps for improving your
Active & Healthy score during the school day.

Curriculum: 20%
Let's get to work. The Active & Healthy Schools Program is committed to creating programs that
schools can successfully implement and maintain. Let's look at some possibilities for your PE
program.

Recess / Lunch: 50%

Room for improvement. Help students get more out of your recess and lunch programs by providing
additional information and resources, or by rescheduling recess time for after lunch.

After School: 40%

Room for improvement. Use Active & Healthy communications (such as a newsletter) to encourage
AHS fundamentals and have a significant impact on students' activity choices.

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Running head: School Assessment

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Although Maxine O. Bush has received an F rating, there are still some
strengths to their health program. One area that is a strength is the curriculum,
which received a 20 percent. Students do attend physical education twice a week.
Also, just recently, a program called Play-works came to the school. The school
allowed one hour and thirty minutes for each class throughout the week to go
outside and learn some team building, and fun physical activities. I do not think the
assessment really took this into consideration because there was not a real way to
say this happened at the school but I found it beneficial to see some fun ways to
keep the kids moving. One of my favorite things the teachers learned was this
waiting-in-line game where students have to jump forward if they hear the word
water, jump back if they hear the word land, and jump up if they hear the word air.
Another strength the school has is their recess and lunch, which scored a fifty
percent. Students are allowed at least twenty minutes each day after lunch to do
some sort of physical activity. In fact, I have observed students playing the games
taught in Play-works. When out on duty, I noticed that there is not a lot of places for
kids to just sit during recess; all the kids are running around doing something,
whether it is just walking, or playing four square and basketball. I also see many of
the teachers on duty joining in on the fun and playing games the kids. This is
actually important to model this behavior, similar to when students are silently
reading, teachers should be doing the same. Finally, lunch is on the right track
because there is always a healthy option, and they provide a fruit and vegetable
bar.
There are many weaknesses during school time to promote and instill health
and activities. This school received a zero on the assessment, and I have also
observed many things that are unsettling. First, I do not think it should be allowed to
take a students recess time, whether for a day or an entire week. It is a part of my
teachers behavior management to do this, and it is very unfortunate for the
students. Nearly half of her class is in the classroom every day. One time I heard her
tell a student that they had lunch detention because the day before, after that lunch
detention the student was also at, he dashed across the room and knocked
something down. All I could think is, he is dashing across the room because he got
no time to let out all that built up energy, but I kept my mouth shut. Along with her
taking away student recess, she also does not allow students to move at all during
her lessons. If any student makes any slight weird movement, she calls them out for
it. These kids just need to release some energy sometime. On the other side of the
coin, she bought water bottles for all the students which I think is a nice gesture and
a way to promote kids to stay hydrated.
Finally my last weakness is their after school initiative. This school does have
sports for certain grade levels to participate in, and they also provide a free dinner
at 4:45 every weekday to students, and a dollar for adults. However I do not see
any health communication with the parents reminding them that this is essential for

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Running head: School Assessment
their kids. I think this school is very worried about test scores and homework, they
forget that the student has to be in the right mind frame to do this work to the best
of their abilities. What would be great is if parents were receiving information on fun
ways to get the children moving.
Improvement at School:
A way to improve the policies at Maxine O. Bush is to start a health initiative
with a catchy slogan to make the school performing plus health school. I think the
best way to start this is the hallways should be filled with healthy living tips and way
to keep the blood pumping during the day. There are truly no posters on the proper
things to eat, or great ways to exercise anywhere on the walls, which is really
discouraging. It should start in the cafeteria and gymnasium, then work its way
around the school .There can also be motivational quotes from famous athletes, and
possibly some fun things for the students to do while they are waiting in line for the
bathroom, water fountain, etc. I also think that teachers everyday should bring up a
dialogue with their students about health in many different ways.
The second way to improve the policies at Maxine O. Bush is to challenge
teachers to include some sort of movement activity in their lesson plans, and hold
them accountable. The administration should look at the teachers lesson plans
every week and see how they are getting their kids moving. There is so many ways
whether big or small to get kids moving in the classroom.
Engaging Community:
I think it would be great for each parent, administration, community member,
etc. to take this assessment. The questions get you thinking of ways to better off
the school. The assessment is engaging enough, but to engage even further I would
say that Roosevelt has to take advantage of what they have. Furthermore, when we
first started at the school, all of the teacher candidates explored what was around
us. One thing South Phoenix has is South Mountain. Another is a lot of parks.
Moreover, the school can host events at these places for the community to come
out and get involved in making sure their community is healthy. I also think another
great thing to do, although this is a very far stretch, but maybe the district can write
a letter to Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama has made it one of her main goals as
first lady to make sure that the youth of America are leading healthy lives. If we
could tell her our struggle and what we want accomplished, who knows what could
happen. This would mean that we would need to set goals and make sure we are
using her time wisely, so no messing around. If she came out to the schools to talk
about health, parents could come, and probably would want to.

Topic:
My topic is looking into what happens to students who have autism or ADHD
have high sugary diets. This information can help me understand how there are no

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Running head: School Assessment
resources going out to parents about what they are feeding their children, so it is
something that I can fix to help alleviate a possible issue.

School Information

School Name, District, Enrollment

- Maxine O. Bush, Roosevelt, 415 students
% free/reduced lunch
- 100 percent of students receive free/reduced lunch
Enrollment
- 415 students
Proportion ELLs
- I could not find this information
Average class size and grade levels
- K-8th, 20.7 students to one teacher ratio
Urban/rural/suburban
- Urban/ Suburban
Ethnic makeup and any demographic information of the surrounding
community infrastructure
- Racial makeup is: Hispanic (84.8%), African American (7.2%), White
(3.1%
The School Letter Grade (A,B,C etc) or AYP status if applicable
- C letter grade
Title 1 (Yes/No)
- Yes
Public/Charter/Private
- Public
Any pertinent information as it relates to your chosen topic for the Signature
Assignment (i.e. data collected on number of suspensions, absenteeism, visits to
nurse, prevention programs, health initiatives, family and community involvement
in building healthier schools, district-wide adopted programs that support
sustainability, etc.