WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER
NEWS & OPINION

April 2010

Our mission is to provide opportunities that enrich the educational, social, and cultural experiences of students and families in our community.

620 Garfield Avenue, Lancaster, OH  43130      

740-653-5678  

740-653-2402 FAX

www.westafterschoolcenter.org

jbibler@westafterschoolcenter.org

WASC Will be a Sponsor of the Summer Food Program, Starting June 7

Plan now to take advantage of the free summer lunch program being offered Monday-Friday during the summer months, 11:30-12:30 p.m. The Summer Food Service Food Program (SFSP) is a federally funded program that provides meal reimbursement  for serving nutritious meals.   

  The objectives of SFSP are to:

· Improve the diets of children by providing nutritious meals.

· Help children develop good eating habits that will last through the years.

Again, ANY CHILD under age 18 can participate, regardless of enrollment status for the school lunch

program.

Email:  jbibler@westafterschoolcenter.org

Visit us at www.westafterschoolcenter.org

Mrs. Julie Bibler, Executive Director

Mrs. Chris Kuttler, Office Manager

Ms. Ashley Fiore, WASC CLC administrator

Mr. Moses Garcia, Cedar CLC Administrator

Mrs. Michele Ritchlin, Tallmadge CLC administrator

Mrs. Nan Rowe, East CLC Administrator

CHILDCARE OPENINGS AVAILABLE

Looking for a safe, quality program for your child’s care before or after school?  Check us out, stop by for a visit, or call and speak to one of our staff members. We open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. Child care students receive many of the same benefits as those enrolled in the after school tutoring program.  We are taking enrollments now for summer child care, June 7 through August 13.  Call 653-5678

WASC Leaders to Attend National AfterSchool Association in Washington, D.C.

             Julie Bibler, Ashley Fiore, Moses Garcia, Michele Ritchlin and Nan Rowe will be joining after school leaders from across the nation April 19-21 in Washington, D.C. when the National Afterschool Association (NAA) and Afterschool Alliance come together. They will participate in the Afterschool for All Challenge. A special event featuring Congressional visits and a Capital Hill rally.      

Volunteer Survey Results

We thank our volunteers for completing a brief survey during this past month. The results are reported by percentages. 61 of 90 volunteers completed the survey, most on-line via our computer lab, for a 67% return rate. Many others were away on vacation.

Code: SA=Strongly Agree; A=Agree; DK=Don’t Know; D=Disagree, SD=Strongly Disagree

Do Kids Gain More Weight When School Is In or Out?

Quite often, media pundits challenge the nutritional content, variety of foods, and quality of offerings of typical school lunches. The same people who chastise administrators and food service officials for the lack of variety, balance, or taste of the lunches seldom eat them. It is vogue to target the school lunch program as a leading contributor to the national childhood obesity epidemic. Also, there is often a public outcry when recess and physical education classes are cut. Schools feel the brunt for most of the problems that children experience. But what kids eat and the amount of exercise they get while at school may not be so bad after all. It may even be true that kids control their weight better when they are in day and after school programs than with their parents.

The findings from a new study being released this month in the American Journal of Public Health challenges the assumption that school lunches are unhealthy. Studying data from the National Center for Education Statistics, collected from more than 5,000 kindergarten and first grade students from 1998-2000, researchers at Indiana University and The Ohio State University discovered that kids’ body mass indexes increased during the summer months at a rate almost twice as much compared with the nine months they were in school. Growth in height and weight should be gradual, steady, and consistent throughout the year.

Doug Downey, an Ohio State sociologist and co-author of the study, wrote “trying to improve the quality of school lunches, getting the soda machines out of schools — those are still good approaches. But clearly the source of children’s obesity problems lie outside the school.” The trends noted in the report clearly indicate a summer gain in fat mass. The kids in the study were only 5 or 6, unable to purchase foods at the grocery, and reliant upon the provisions of their parents. In the summer, they were more likely to have more time for snacks and less monitoring of eating habits and exercise.

In most schools, the structure prevents time for excessive snacking. The sum of movements from one activity to another, combined with scheduled physical education classes and recess adds up to more activity than when kids are home lounging in front of the TV. Despite what the media presents, the healthy habits being promoted in day and after school programs appears to have a more positive impact than in the home. The challenge is to reach parents, provide them information and ideas, and gaining their commitment in developing healthy eating and fitness lifestyles — each day throughout the year.

The snacks and meals served at the WASC meet the standards for a balanced serving size and include items that meet the recommended daily food requirements. Students shouldn’t need a lot more. That’s the key. The overall amount of what kids and adults eat contributes to excess weight gains more than the singular types of foods consumed.

Coupled with issues about growth rates are concerns for youngsters who have little or nothing to eat at home—certainly nothing nutritious. The findings of this study, and many others like it, point to the need for schools and parents to work together to meet all students’ needs. The extended time that students spend in school and after school programs generally contributes to better health. Opportunities need to be available for all families. All kids need to ride bikes, walk, run, swim, dance, play sports, and be active each day. Everyone must work together to keep our children fit and trim and healthy for a lifetime.                                                        

Watch our Television Show on  the LSN

Channel 6 Time Warner Cable

New episodes air at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.