Team Nutrition in action phase I, case study reports on the pilot implementation communities

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USQA Team Nutrition In Action
Phase I: Case Study Reports
on the Pilot Implementation
Communities
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. What Is the Team Nutrition Program? i
2. What Is the Team Nutrition Pilot Implementation Project? U'
3. Overview of the Process Evaluation Study Methodology..' ii
4. What Are the Key Findings? Hi
CHAPTER 1: NUTRITION: AN OVERVIEW
1.1 Background to Team Nutrition 1-1
1.2 The Team Nutrition Concept 1-2
1.3 Team Nutrition PHot Implementation Project 1-5
1.4 Team Nutrition PHot Evaluation 1-12
1.5 Structure of the Case Study Report 1-17
CHAPTER 2: DES MOINES SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE STUDY
2.1 Setting the Stage: Des Moines and the Des Moines School District 2-1
12. Planning for Team Nutrition. , 2-2
2.3 The Team Nutrition Implementation Schools. 2-4
2.4 Teacher Training W Implementing the Scholastic Modules 2-5
2.5 Classroom Implementation of the Scholastic Modules 2-6
2.6 Implementation of School-Based Core Activities 2-13
2.7 Food Service Activities and Changes 2-17
2.8 Community Activity 2-18
2.0 Community Partners 2-18
2.10 Media Events and Coverage 2-19
2.11 Parent Involvement 2-19
2.12 Leseoni Learned in Dee Moines 2-22
CHAPTERS: HAMBLEN COUNTY/MORRISTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE STUDY
3.1 Setting the Stage: Hamblen County 3-1
3£ Planning for Team Nutrition. 3-3
3.3 The Team Nutrition Implementation Schools........ 3-5
3.4 Teacher Training for Implementing the Scholastic Modules 3-6
3.5 Classroom implementation of the Scholastic Modules 3-7
3.6 ImpiementatfuiT of School-Bassd Core Activities 3-14
3.7 Food Service Activities and Changes 3-18
3.8 Community Activity. 3-19
3.9 Community Partners 3-19
3.10 Medta Events and Meda Coverage 3-20
**• ' ■ ■ ™^™ HIWHr^Wil^WK •••' •••!!•• •••••t • t3"C I
3.12 Lessons Learned in Hamblen County 3-23
/
CHAPTER 4: TULSA SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE STUDY
4.1 Setting the Stage: Tulsa and the Tutea Public Schools 4-1
4.2 Planning for Team Nutrition 4-2
4.3 The Team Nutrition Implementation Schools 4-4
4.4 Teacher Training for Implementing the Scholastic Modules 4-5
4.5 Classroom Implementation of the Scholastic Modules 4-6
4.6 Implementation of School-Based Core Activities 4-15
4.7 Food Service Activities and Changes 4-18
4.8 Community Activity 4-20
4.9 Community Partners 4-21
4.10 Media Events and Media Coverage 4-22
4.11 Parent Involvement 4-23
4.12 Lessons Learned in Tulsa 4-26
CHAPTER 5: VACAVILLE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE STUDY
5.1 Setting the Stage: Vacaville Unified School District 5-1
5.2 Planning for Team Nutrition 5-2
5.3 The Team Nutrition Implementation Schools 5-4
5.4 Teacher Training for Implementing the Scholastic Modules 5-6
5.5 Classroom Implementation of the Scholastic Modules 5-7
5.6 Implementation of School-Based Core Activities 5-14
5.7 Food Service Activities and Changes 5-17
5.8 Community Activity 5-19
5.9 Community Partners 5-19
5.10 Media Events and Media Coverage 5-20
5.11 Parent Involvement 5-20
5.12 Lessons Learned In Vacaville .5-23
CHAPTER 6: ADDITIONAL TEAM NUTRITION IMPLEMENTATION SITES (LAWRENCE,
PASSAIC, CLEVELAND)
6.1 Setting the Stage: Additional Team Nutrition Implementation Sites 6-1
6.2 Planning for Team Nutrition 6-2
6.3 The Team Nutrition Implementation Schools.... 6-5
6.4 Teacher Training for Implementing the Scholastic Modules 6-6
6.5 Classroom Implementation of the Scholastic Module 6-7
6.6 Implementation of School-Wide Core Activities 6-16
6.7 Food Service Activities and Changes 6-21
6.8 Community Activity 6-22
6.9 Community Partners 6-24
6.10 Media Events and Media Coverage 6-24
6.11 Lessons Learned in Additional Team Nutrition Implementation Sites 6-25
JL
CHAPTER 7: CROSS-SIGHT SUMMARY OF TEAM NUTRITION PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
7.1 Thoughts on Nutrition Education in the Schools and
School Food Service Programs 7-1
7.2 Challenges to Introducing Nutrition Education 7-3
7.3 Accomplishments 7-4
7.4 Initial Perceptton/Opinions of Team Nutrition 7-9
7.5 Training 7-11
7.6 Lessons Learned 7-12
TECHNICAL APPENDIX
APPENDIX A: MODULE EXPLANATIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The USDA's Team Nutrition (TN) is a school-based program that encourages children to make
healthy food choices. Team Nutrition has been adopted by over 15,000 schools throughout the
country for implementation in the 1996-97 school year. To evaluate how Team Nutrition is
implemented in a field setting and whether it can be successful in changing students' nutrition
skills, motivations, and behaviors, USDA initiated the Team Nutrition Pilot Communities Project.
Phase I of this project was conducted in seven school districts in the spring of 1996, and Phase
II was conducted in the fall.
The evaluation of the pilot program includes a process evaluation to document the extent and
nature of the implementation in the seven districts and an outcome evaluation to assess
changes among students that result from the program. This case study report presents the
results of the Phase I process evaluation. It documents in detail how the program was
implemented in the communities, as well as what factors facilitated or impeded implementation,
and how teachers, food service staff, and administrators initially reacted to TN materials and
activities. Student outcomes and a description of Phase II implementation will be presented in
future reports following the analysis of Phase II data.
1. WHAT IS THE TEAM NUTRITION PROGRAM?
Team Nutrition is intended to support the USDA's School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children.
It consists of two interrelated initiatives.
MuMfaceted nutrition education is delivered through the media, in schools, and at home to
build skills and motivate children to make healthy food choices. The cornerstone of the nutrition
education is a set of classroom modules developed by Scholastic, Inc. for administration at
three grade levels (Pre Kindergarten-Kindergarten, 1-2, and 3-5). Each module consists of
eight to nine lessons that include activities to involve students, peers, parents, teachers, and
cafeteria staff.
Training and technical assistance is provided to school food service staff to enable them to
provide appealing meals that meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The support includes
the dissemination of training standards and training materials, grants to States to develop
training programs, and a resource system to enable food service personnel to access education
and training programs.
Based on a social marketing approach, Team Nutrition assumes that behavior is influenced by
a variety of factors including intrapersonai, interpersonal, institutional, and community variables
S
as well as public policy. Thus, the program is designed to address all of these factors by
attempting to reach children through multiple sources—teachers, peers, parents, food service
staff, the media, and the community. The distinguishing elements of the program include the
focus on nutrition-related behavior change among students, the interactive nature of the
classroom lessons, and the connections made between the classroom lessons and the
cafeteria.
2. WHAT IS THE TEAM NUTRITION PILOT IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT?
The Team Nutrition Pilot implementation Project was designed as an efficacy evaluation
conducted in a field setting. It addresses the following questions: can Team Nutrition have a
positive impact when implemented as intended? The study also provides an opportunity to
systematically describe implementation, which is the focus of this report. USDA implemented
the Team Nutrition Pilot Implementation Project in seven school districts—Des Moines, IA;
HamWen County, TN; Tutaa, OK; Vacaville, CA; Lawrence, MA; Passaic, NJ; and Cleveland,
OH. With guidance from the USDA, these districts implemented the TN program in 19 local
elementary schools.
The pilot implementation called for teaching all of the Scholastic lessons in each of the relevant
grades and conducting a set of core activities designed by the individual districts and approved
by the USDA. These activities included cafeteria and school events, such as chef visits, and
community-wide events such as nutrition fairs, media coverage, and parent food tasting events.
3. OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS EVALUATION STUDY METHODOLOGY
An intensive process evaluation was planned to obtain a variety of both qualitative and
quantitative data at the district, school, and teacher levels. The objectives of the evaluation are
to:
• Document the implementation of the TN program in the seven pilot
communities.
• Offer meaningful guidance to schools beyond the pilot program that are
committed to the principles of Team Nutrition but are at the early stages of
implementation.
• Provide an explanatory context for the forthcoming student outcome analyses.
I
Data collection took place before, during, and immediately after implementation. It included
in-peraon and telephone interviews, activity logs, self-administered surveys, as well as
classroom and cafeteria observations.
Because of resource constraints, this comprehensive data collection was conducted for a
subset of the seven pilot communities — the same four districts selected for the outcome
assessment—Des Motnes, Hamblen County, Tulsa, and Vacavilla. A more limited sat of
implementation data was collected from the three remaining school districts.
The case study reports were developed through a process of compiling, reviewing, and
synthesizing infonnation collected from all of the data collection instruments. Evaluation staff
summarized information and used it to respond to a series of research questions related to:
• Describing and comparing the TN pilot communities.
• Describing TN activities in the pilot communities.
• Comparing the approaches of Team Nutrition across pitot sites
This report represents the result of the information synthesis. An effort was made to keep the
format of the case study reports consistent across an districts whila highlighting the unique
features of each district"s experience.
4. WHAT ARC THE KEY FINDINGS?
Overall, each district was successful in implementing the various components of the program,
although there were some differences in the intensity of and appioach to implementation. The
key findings, described in detail in Chapter 7 of this report are as follows:
Good nutrition habits are an Important Ufa sfcM that ean ba supported by school food
• School administrators at TN schools consistently commented that nutrition
education is an Important task.
• Ninety-nine percent of teachers surveyed prior to the start of Team Nutrition
indicated interest in incorporating nutrition artrvWee into their classrooms.
• Ninety-eight percent of teachers surveyed prior to the start of Team Nutrition
agreed that good nutrition can positively affect students'dass performances.
iii 1
Despite support for nutrition education among school food service staff, school
administrators, and teachers, the successful Introduction and instrtutJonalization of
nutrition education in the classroom face a number of challenges.
• Given the increasingly diverse messages and advertisements attempting to
influence students about health issues (e.g., tobacco, drugs, AIDS, safety),
teachers and administrators face a significant challenge in communicating Team
Nutrition's message in a way that students find meaningful, relevant, and
important enough to remember and thus modify their behavior.
• Introduction of nutrition education curriculum is made more challenging by other
competing cunicular demands and limited school resources.
In general, the schools and teachers involved In the pilot study wars able to implement
most of the classroom requirements of the pilot project.
« On average, teachers taught more than seven of the eight or nine required
lessons for each module.
• TN students were exposed to an average of 14.4 hours of TN lessons over a
2-month period.
The pilot communities exhibited a great deal of creativity In planning and conducting a
variety of echooKwkto and community nutrition events that supporter! the curriculum's
messages. Ever/ district sponsored or participated in a community-wide ev«nt that
attracted from 100 to 1,000 participants. Two examples are:
• "Fat Facts Week" during which students created posters highlighting their
favorite snacks (and their fat content) and parents and students sampled and
rated a variety of low-fat items during the school lunch.
• "Olympic Celebration" for which a TN training meal was provided and the
connection between nutrition and physical activity was reinforced.
District food service staff have been actively Involved In Team Nutrition by supporting
da—room and school wide activities and by working toward healthier menu choices for
children.
• The food service staff typically conducted cafeteria tours and provided food
samples, information, and other supplies for various classroom activities. Some
cafeterias also operated as nutrition-learning laboratories for students.
• Prior to Team Nutrition, the pilot communities were taking steps to alter menus,
food preparation practices, and procedures to produce healthier, low-fat meals.
This is an incremental process, however, which is necessarily tied to the
existing cycles for staff training and food vendor contract awards.
iv 4
'
All of the pilot districts engaged community partners to participate in school- and
community-wide events. Community partners assisted in the implementation of Team
Nutrition by donating time, food, and educational materials.
• There was a wide range of the type of organizations involved, including chefs,
Extension agents, hospitals, local health departments, wholesale food vendors,
public health organizations, grocery stores, and community service
organizations.
• Outreach to community partners was a relatively new activity for some of the
districts, but they found that organizations were willing to participate if provided
well-defined roles and responsibilities.
Although working closely with the media was a relatively new experience for the school
districts, almost every site generated TV and newspaper coverage for the school-wide
and community activities.
• USDA contributed to student media exposure by distributing public service
announcements that use the Disney characters, Pumba and Timon, to talk
about good nutrition on television.
Involving parents represented both a goal and a challenge to Team Nutrition. The
efforts to reach parents through the media, school-wide and community events, and
take-home materials appear to have been successful.
• Nearly one-half of the fourth grade parents across the four intensive process
districts had heard of Team Nutrition through some medium—usually the
newspaper (31 percent) or television (29 percent).
• Most of the parents (77 percent) reported participating in some nutrition-related
activity in the home with their child.
Every sfte faced implementation hurdles—some were common to each site, others were
unique to a particular site. Hard work made the pilot implementation project successful,
but the rollout of TN will be smoother if districts heed the lessons learned by the seven
pilot project sites.
Based on observations and interviews in the pilot communities, the following themes
appeared:
• Build in more lead time for planning and development Sufficient lead time
before implementation is needed to establish communication channels between
the district and schools as well as teachers and food service staff. Schools and
staff, at least initially, need more time than was available in Phase 1 to plan and
schedule school-wide and community events as well as prepare for classroom
lessons.
1
• Establish a team management style. Management teams consisting of
representatives from food service and curriculum departments can divide the
workload and bridge any gaps that may exist between the two departments.
• Utilize consensus building. Involve teachers, principals, food service staff,
district administration, and community partners in planning activities and events
prior to implementation to generate awareness and help build consensus into
the decision-making process.
• Capitalize on established networks, contacts, and events. Many districts
have established relationships with potential partners (e.g., food vendors) and
experience with community events (e.g., health fairs) that can be used to
facilitate integration of Team Nutrition within the community.
• Provide training and/or technical assistance in areas of outreach to
community partners and the madia. District staff may not have been trained
or have had experience reaching out to community partners and the media.
Therefore, training and technical assistance on these skills may be needed.
• Focus attention on strategies to Involve parents. Greater exploration and
utilization of parental involvement In nutrition-related activities is desirable.
• Add a physical activity component, If possible. Recognizing the connection
between health, food consumption, and physical activity, districts may elect to
develop a physical activity component to link to Team Nutrition.
rrovKie coordination TOT ooiaining retevam maxenais ana supplies, oaseo
on experiences in the pilot communities, implementation of classroom lessons
and activities is facilitated by district food service staff members who provide
assistance in the coordination of obtaining materials for food-tasting activities
and involvement of school food service staff.
Although teachers, food service staff, and protect coordinators reported Team Nutrition
required a significant effort to implement, they generally agreed it was a ver/poslUve
experience for the students
• Eighty-one percent of the teachers surveyed agreed that the Scholastic
materials made it easy to teach nutrition and indicated that they would teach
nutrition in the future if the same materials were available. During interviews
with the fourth grade teachers, this kind of insightful remark was typical:
"Hearing the children talk about food labels end nutrition choices outside of
class tells me that they learned something"
• In general, the food service staff members who were interviewed were
supportive of the program and commented on changes in students' eating
behaviors. One staff member remarked, "When I first found out about Team
Nutrition, I thought, 'Oh no, I don't want to do this,• but after I saw the kids-reactions,
my attitude changed a lot. I'm very positive about the program now."
id
CHAPTER 1: NUTRITION: AN OVERVIEW
II
1.1 BACKGROUND TO TEAM NUTRITION
The USDA School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children is a comprehensive plan to ensure that
children have healthy meals at school. A major part of this plan is an update of nutrition
standards so that school meals meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Recognizing that
simply publishing a regulation is not likely to changa children's diets, USDA established Team
Nutrition (TN) to ensure that schools are able to implement the plan and that students avail
themselves of the healthier meals offered.
The mission of Team Nutrition is ...
To improve the health end education of children by creating innovative
public and private partnerships that promote food chok is for a healthful
diet through the media, schools, families, and the community.
Team Nutrition is a nationwide, integrated program that consists of two interrelated initiatives to
help implement the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children. Mulfilfaceted Nutrition
Education is delivered through the media, in schools, and at home to build skills and motivate
children to make food choices for a healthful diet. The program is built around a framework of
in-school and mass media efforts, with an emphasis on the school setting to relate to nutrition
policy changes in school meals. In-school education is provided by classroom modules
designed by Scholastic, Inc. in partnership with the USDA. The materials bring focused,
science-based nutrition messages to children in a language that they understand while
strengthening social support for healthy food choices among parents, educators, and food
service professionals.
Training and Technical Assistance is the second thrust of Team Nutrition. The assistance is
designed to ensure that school nutrition and food service personnel have the education,
motivation, training, and skills necessary to provide healthy meals that appeal to children and
meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americana. It will also provide personnel with a clear vision of
their roles in the school community and as integral team members of comprehensive school
health programs. This training and technical assistance includes the dissemination of training
standards and training materials, grants to States to develop training programs, and a resource
systom to enable instructors and food service personnel to access resources for education and
trail ng programs.
1-1 At
Team Nutrition has already been adopted by more than 15,000 local schools throughout the
country. These TN schools demonstrate their commitment to meeting the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans by distributing TN materials to teachers, children, and parents; by involving
school food service, teachers, children, families, and administrators in lively and entertaining
nutrition activities; by sharing successful strategies and programs with other sctjools; and by
engaging private and other public partners in the community to support TN activities.
1.2 THE TEAM NUTRITION CONCEPT
The concept for Team Nutrition is grounded in a theoretical framework that provides one
explanation of how individuals make health behavior choices—social cognitive theory (SCT)
(Bandura 1986). SCT is the theoretical framework most often utilized in research studies
focused on changing specific eating behaviors, such as those promoted through Team
Nutrition, including: eating less fat; eating more fruits, vegetables, and grains; and eating a
variety of foods. It stands in contrast to more knowledge-based approaches to nutrition
education wherein changes in knowledge and attitudes are the primary outcomes of interest.
As noted by Contento et al. (1995), SCT-based nutrition education programs are developed to
address multiple influences on children's behavior, including:
• Personal factors: health-related knowledge and beliefs, belief that one can
engage in specific behaviors (self-efficacy).
• Behavioral factors: current behaviors, intentions to act, existence of incentives
and/or reinforcement.
* Environmental factors: parental and peer influences and support, cultural norms
and expectations, opportunities and barriers to engage in new behaviors, and
the availability of adult and peer models.
In their review of nutrition education intervention in school settings, Contento et al. (1995),
identified 23 studies that employed an SCT-based theoretical approach. Examples include the
Know Your Body Program developed by the American Health Foundation (Walter 1969);
multiple school-based interventions developed by the Minnesota Heart Health Program (Perry
1965,1987.1988); the Children and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (Perry 1990);
the Heart Smart Program (Arbeit 1992); and Gimme 5 (Domel 1993) among others. In each of
these cases, the investigators paid explicit attention to designing programs that addressed each
of the three factors listed above and included numerous program components such as
curricula, changes in school lunches, school-wide events, family involvement activities,
messages delivered through mass media, and point-of-choice labeling of healthier food choices
1-2 /3
in grocery stores and restaurants and increased the time children spent in physical education
classes. This latter activity is particularly important as many behaviorally focused nutrition
interventions are often incorporated into comprehensive school health education initiatives.
CATCH, for instance, targeted delaying the onset of smoking behavior and increasing students'
level of physical activity along with nutrition behaviors.
In developing and implementing the TN program, USDA relied on social marketing concepts
and methods that have been employed in numerous nutrition education and public health
programs (Andreasen 1995; Lefebvre 1968). Social marketing is a planning process that
incorporates psychological theories, such as SCT, about how people make behavior choices
and then folds that understanding into program development. It has an ecological perspective
that assumes behavior is influenced by a variety of factors, including intrapersonal,
interpersonal, institutional, and community variables, as well as public policy.
Social marketing is characterized by its focus on creating programs that meet the needs and
concerns of specific groups of people—for this pilot project, these are the students, their
teachers, food service staff, district food service coordinators, and school administrators. Each
of these groups of people have differing needs and concerns relevant to the project. Students
want to learn in an active and fun environment and have lunches that taste good; teachers want
to learn basic nutrition concepts so they are comfortable teaching the curriculum while also
balancing the other curricular demands on their time; food service staff need to learn new
preparation methods and also want to be viewed as contributors to the education environment
in the school; district food service coordinators have to learn how to implement the various TN
school activities whHe balancing this responsiWIity wim their many other demarKte; and finalry,
administrators want to expose their students (and teachers) to new and innovative curricula
while also having to conserve and allocate precious resources. In developing the materials for
the pilot project, and in planning and implementing the project itself, attention was paid to each
of these groups.
The cornerstone of the social marketing approach is the development of a "marketing mix" for
each discrete group of people. The four P's of this marketing mix - product, price, place, and
promotion—ere described on the next page.
1-3 /*f
• Product. Social marketing "products" are typically behaviors rather than
tangible items that characterize commercial marketing practice. The product of
Team Nutrition is more nutritious eating behaviors among students. For
teachers, coordinators, and administrators, it is implementing the program and
participating in the evaluation activities. For food service staff, it is changing the
manner in which they plan, order, prepare, and serve school meals.
• Pricing. Pricing represents the costs of the product. Social marketing also
recognizes that adopting new behaviors, like acquiring new products, has a
number of associated "costs"—though not necessarily fiscal ones. TN "prices"
include additional curricula, classroom activities, community activities, and food
service training, each of which represents an investment of time and resources
by the individual teachers, parents, schools, and school districts, including the
food service staff and community partners. Programs such as Team Nutrition
are structured to provide classroom activities that can be integrated into existing
curricula without relinquishing time spent on core subjects. In addition, the
supporting training and technical assistance are provided to assist schools and
communities in minimizing resource expenditure and maximizing the
opportunities to leverage resources through community partner organizations.
Additional resources were given to the pilot schools to offset the costs
associated with participating in the evaluation.
• Placement. Placement involves making the product available to the consumer.
How information and materials are distributed and then implemented by TN
schools is thus the third area of planning a social marketing program. Previous
trials such as CATCH have demonstrated that school-based educational
programs involving multiple channels such as classrooms, food service,
community, and families can be successful at changing student eating patterns
in different areas of the country. The TN materials were distributed to all
schools in the pilot project as they will be, albeit in smaller quantities, in the
larger TN initiative. Trie school representatives and teachers then disseminate
the messages through the classroom, the cafeteria, and take-home activities.
• Promotion. Promotion is required to encourage use of the product as it is
placed. Therefore, the final task of planning a social marketing program is
developing the communication tools to promote adoption of the program and
behavior change. In the pilot project, promotion (or communication) tools
included curriculum, school and community-baaed activities, and PSAs using
familiar Disney characters aimed at the children to get them to adopt the
behavior. To encourage adoption of the program, teachers attended two
training sessions to learn the curriculum and also received lesson plans to aid
implementation. Coordinators received orientation materials and had biweekly
telephone calls with evaluation staff. School food service staff received the
technical assistance materials developed by the USDA and training by the
districts, and administrators received orientation materials.
A graphic model of the TN approach to effective nutrition education is provided in Figure 1a.
1-4 /T
II
FH3URE1A. TEAM NUTRmON APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE NUTRITION EDUCATION
1J TEAM NUTRITION PILOT ilPIJEMENTATlON PROJECT
To evaluate whether the TN approach rMufts In rtealthier f«>d choicee by stijcfcnts, as well as
to inform future decision-making and technical assistance for the broader TN effort, the TN Plot
Implementation Project was designed. The pMot project was designed to be implemented in two
phases—once in the springof 1996 and again in the faH of 1996. The faN implementation is
eeseneesy a repwcaoon or me spring vnptementason wan a new set or stuoerns, nowever,
pa/Hcipallng dWrtcta wW make changes in the activities conducted based on their experiences
in Phaes I. The twc-pheee dssign seives a couple of puroceee to alow repacaion of effects
dtaovered in Phase I snd to evaluaia the effects or ssotnewhatn^
I 1-6
/*
it is implemented for the second time.' In addition, students who participate in the Phase I pilot
will be surveyed again during Phase II to ascertain whether any changes that occurred in Phase
I are sustained over time.
The TN Pilot Implementation Project is designed as an efficacy evaluation conducted in a field
setting. It addresses the following question: can Team Nutrition have a positive impact when
implemented as intended? The study also provides an opportunity to systematically describe
implementation, which is the focus of this report. Because it is designed as a model
intervention, the pilot project diffe- s from the overall TN effort in several ways:
• The pilot schools received one copy of the Scholastic classroom materials for
each teacher participating in the intervention.
• Representatives from each of the pilot communities were oriented to Team
Nutrition, the pilot project, and the evaluation during a 2-day planning meeting at
USOA.
• Each of the participating school districts was provided with two teacher training
sessions (4 hours each) for all implementing teachers. The first session took
place just prior to the start of the intervention, while the second was conducted
3 to 4 weeks after the intervention began to incorporate teacher experiences.
• Each district submitted an implementation plan for the pilot and received
feedback and technical assistance from USOA in formulation of the plan.
• The coordinators in each of the pilot communities had regular contact with
USOA staff, as well as evaluation contractor staff.
• Each pilot community received a stipend to support its involvement in the
evaluation of the program. Although none of this money was to be spent on
program implementation, it was nonetheless a useful resource for the districts
and provided motivation for participation.
While the pilot communities benefited from some support that other TN schools will not receive,
they also operated under some constraints by virtue of their participation in the pilot
implementation and the accompanying evaluation. These included:
• Limited preparation time due to the need to implement the program shortly after
receipt of the Scholastic materials to accommodate implementation and
evaluation in the spring semester.
1 Although teachers and staff in Phase II will be more experienced with Team Nutrition, students
may be at a somewhat different level developmentally because Phase II takes place at the start
of the school year.
1-6 *7
• Limited time (roughly 8 weeks) to actually teach the Scholastic lessons and
conduct the corollary TN activities, again to accommodate the evaluation
schedule.
• Constraints on their ability to enlist the media to promote events due to the need
to balance publicity against contamination of the comparison schools.
• Time that might have been spent on implementation, which was instead usedto
support the evaluation effort: teacher, parent and student surveys; activity fogs;
cafeteria observations; site visits; etc.
Although somewhat distinguished by the aforementioned supports and constraints, the TN Pilot
Implementation Project was conducted in real world settings—not a laboratory environment
The pilot communities faced obstacles in implementing the program that many schools might
encounter, including com^tition for class time from other subjects and preparation for testing,
food service contract changes, and a potential teacher strike. Thus, the lessons learned from
the pilot should prove valuable to schools around the Nation that opt to become TN schools.
The next section of this report describes the district and school selection for the TN Pilot
Implementation Project as well as the requirements for participating districts. Section 1.4
presents the design of the evaluation of the pilot and the various components of that design.
1.3.1 District, School, sod Cteesroom SuktcHon
In July 1985, the USDA issued announcements through its sev@n regional offices to recruit
school rfstrkte to participate in the RW^ Eligible entities included all
public school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Thegoalofthe
recruiting was to select at least one school district from each of the seven USDA regions.
However, participation in the pilot was completely voluntary.
The applications for becoming a TN pilot c»mmunity included ariswers to a set of questkxw
relevant to the district's ability to carry out the project arxi a resume fc< the distnct's pfoposed
Team Nutrition Coordinator (TNC). Project requirements included district implementation of an
intensive forni of Team Nutrition and partition in the piktt evaluation. As part of their
applications, districts were asked to nominate at least two pairs of elementary schools (one of
which would be later randomly assigned to the treatment cwnlrticfl and the ottw to the
comparison condition) and to provide information on a set c4 variabkM for each school. They
were instructed to make sure each school had a match In the c<her pair on a number of key
variables, including the number of students, the percentage tf students elkjibte for free or
reduced-price lunches, the ethnic composition of toe schod, the extern c4 existing rurtritfon
1-7 4
education efforts, and the type of cafeteria service provided (e.g., menu choices available and
type of kitchen).
The seven TN pilot districts were chosen competrtively from the applicat^ The
selection criteria included the district's ability to cany out the project, a desire to have a district
in each USDA region, and the need to have cost-efficient access to the communities for
evaluation purposes. Applications were approved from one district in each of the seven USDA
regions.
The seven school districts participating in the pilot are:
• Des Moines, IA.
• Hambfen County, TN.
• Tulsa.OK.
• VacavWe. CA.
• Lawrence, MA.
• Passaic, NJ.
• Cleveland, OH.
The Des Moines and Tulsa school districts each nominated 4 pairs of schools; 4 districts each
nominated 2 pairs of schools, and 1 district nominated 3 schools. One-half of the pairs in each
district were randomly assigned to the treatment condition. Thus, ti»e Pilot Implementation
Project includes 9 pairs of treatment elementary schools plus 1 addrttonal treatment school (a
total of 19 schools). The random assignment ensured that each school nominated had on
equal chance of being selected as a treatment school.
Aa described in Section 1.4.2, because of resource constraints, four of the seven school
districts (CA, IA, OK, and TN) were selected to participate in an intensive process and outcome
evaluation of the TN Pilot Implementation Project. The remaining three (MA, NJ, and OH) are
the subject of a more limited process evaluation (basic process) and do not participate in the
outcome evali mtion. The four districts chosen for the intensive evaJuatton were selected
because they *2re able to meet the application deadline and demonstrated a strong capacity
for both implementation and evaluation.
1-8 1
The seven districts participating in the pilot project selected one grade for implementation of
each of the three Scholastic modules. As described below, for evaluation purposes, the four
outcome evaluation districts were instructed to implement Module 3 in the fourth grade.
1.3.2 MpflMMMHHM flMpiMMNMli
The cornerstone of the TN program is a set of classroom materials developed by Scholastic,
Inc. The TN classroom materials consist of three modules, one for each of the following sets of
grades:
• Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten (Pre-K to K).
• 1-2.
• 3-5.
Although based in the classroom, the Scholastic kits are designed to involve other students in
the school as well as the school cafeteria and parents. Each of the kits comprises a set of eight
to nine lessons and contains teacher's guides, classroom activities, videos, posters, student
magazines, and parent take-home pieces. The lessons include a number of activities that can
be integrated into existing curricula and that are designed to involve students in making
decisions about nutrition. Each lesson in Modules 2 and 3 also includes an activity that links
the la—on to the school cafeteria (Lunchroom Link).
The nine lessons in Module 1 each include several suggested activities that can be related to a
subject area such as language, music, science, or social studies. For example, the lesson on
how our senses learn about foods includes a science activity in which the kids smeH foods while
blindfolded and an art activity in which kkte plan menus invorving foods of a particular color for
each day. Modules 2 and 3 are more structured, with a similar structure of activities for each
lesson. For example, ea^h lesson includes a Getting Started sescion, two to three discrete
activities, a Lunchroom Link, and other activities. The activities in these wssons are defined in
more detail and include such things as having a fruit and vegetable taking party, setting up an
imaginary restaurant and creating menus, and planning and holding a food fair. AppendixA
provides a brief description of each of the Scboiastfc modules and the types of teesons
included.
Upon being selected for the TN Pilot Implementation Project, each district was required to
submit an implementation plan to the USDA detailing their plans for the program. Tofarilitate
development * T these plans, as wed as to c*jcate the districts on their role in the evaluation of
1-9 0
the pilot, a 2-day planning meeting was held in Washington, DC, on November 6-7,1995. The
meeting included key personnel from USDA, representatives from the seven selected pilot
evaluation communities (including the TNC), Scholastic, Inc., and evaluation contractor staff. It
included presentations by each of the seven participating school districts, an overview of the TN
components, a description of evaluation activities to be conducted, and instructions to the
seven districts on what was required of them during implementation.
As participants in the TN Pilot Implementation Project, each of the seven districts agreed to
conduct teacher and food service staff training, teach all lessons in each Scholastic module to
all classes in an appropriate grade, and implement a set of core school and community
activities, to reflect the TN concept described above. These requirements included the
following:
Teacher Training and Classroom Implementation
• Facilitate participation in training by all teachers involved in teaching any of the
lessons from the TN classroom modules. This training was conducted onsite at
each district by Prospect Associates and included one session prior to
implementation and one session 2 to 4 weeks later. It should be noted that the
actual Scholastic modules were not available at the time of the initial training
session.
• Implement all eight of the Scholastic lessons for Modules 2 and 3 and at least
eight of the nine lessons in Module 1 for the selected grade in all implementing
schools in each phase (spring and fall). Because the lessons for Module 1 are
less structured and include various numbers of suggested activities, there were
no instructions for specific activities beyond the fact that the teachers were to
conduct three activities in each lesson. For each lesson in Modules 2 and 3, »he
teachers were required to conduct, at a minimum, the Getting Started session
and each of the activities for the lesson (two or three depending on the lesson).
They were also required to complete the Lunchroom Link for at least four of the
lessons and to use the parent and student reproducibles and video as directed
by the Scholastic module for each of the lessons.
School and Community Core Activities
• Conduct at least two school-wide cafeteria events in each implementation
school in each phase.
• Conduct at least three parent contact activities in each implementation school in
each phase.
• Conduct at least two chef activities in each implementation school in each
phase.
1-10 a i
• Conduct at least one district-wide TN community event in each phase.
• Conduct at least one district-wide media event in each phase.
School Food Son/to staff Training
• Conduct at least 10 hours of food service staff training across the two phases.
• Institute menu changes to make menus consistent with the Dietary Guidelines
during the 1996-97 school year.
Plans for conducting the required activities were submitted to the USDA for approval by each of
the seven districts prior to implementation. Because some of the core activities might have
overlapping audiences (e.g., a chef activity could be a school-wide event with media coverage),
each school was required to complete at least five core activities that represented all of the
types of core activities presented above. In addition, no single event could be counted toward
more than two of the core activities.
By virtue of tneir participation In the Pilot Project, the seven districts each received the TN
Scholastic materials for each class in the grades selected for each of the three modules. In
addition, they received in-oerson training for all implementing teachers (see above), video
public service announcements for Team Nutrition, posters and other in-school cafeteria
displays, additional TN materials for distribution to parents and children, a certificate and
camera-ready logo for use on promotional materials, inclusion of TN pilot communities in
USDA's national media efforts, and an evaluation budget to reimburse the communities and
schools for expenses incurred by participating in the evaluation.
In addfSon to the pilot implementation schools, the seven pilot districts were also allowed to
nominate additional schools as TN schools. These schools received some of the same
program tools but on a more limited scale. These schools committed to the mission and
principles of Team Nutrition but they did not commit to any specifk: set of TN activities. Such
schools also dkJ not receive the same amount of materials. Since most of the activity was
concentrated in the pilot implementation schools during Phase I, further discussion on the TN
schools is more appropriate for future reports.
1-11 A*-
1.4 TEAM NUTRITION PILOT EVALUATION
The TN pilot evaluation includes the documentation of the initial Implementation (Phaae I) of
Team Nutrition in the pilot communities (process evaluation) presented in this case study
report, as well as an assessment of outcomes among students (outcome evaluation).
1.4.1 Team Nutrition Outcome Evaluation
The outcome evaluation focuses on changes in the nutrition behavior of fourth grade students
as well 8s their skills/knowledge and motivations/attitudes regarding healthy eating.
Specifically, it addresses changes among students related to the primary objectives of Team
Nutrition:
• Eat more fruits, grains, and vegetables.
• Eat a greater variety of foods.
• Eat less fat
These changes are assessed separately in Phase I and Phase II of the plot program through
several sources of data collected before and after the pilot implementation in treatment and
comparison schools in four of the seven pilot communities. The data sources include:
• Cafeteria observations of fourth grade students.
• Surveys of students.
• Surveys of parents.
• Surveys of teachers.
Preliminary analysis of the Phase I outcome data has been conducted. However, the full
analysis of these data will be completed and reported along with the Phase II data after the
culmination of the Phase II implementation and data collection.
1.4.2 The Team Nutrition Pilot Proc—a Evaluation
The primary objectives of the TN process evaluation are to:
• Document the implementation of the TN program in the seven pilot
communities.
1-12
• Offer meaningful guidance to schools beyond tne pilot program that are
committed to the principles of Team Nutrition but are at the earty stages of
implementation.
• Provide an explanatory context for observed outcomes among students.
To meet these objectives, a number of specific research questions have been posed, and data
collection efforts have been implemented to answer them. These questions include the
fottcwing:
Description and Comparison of the Team Nutrition Pilot Communities
• What is the makeup of the communities with respect to basic demographic
characteristics and initial status of nutrition education?
• How many and what kinds of schools/classes are involved in the pilot
implementation?
• What jre the attitudes of teachers in the implementation schools toward
teaching nutrition prior to Team Nutrition?
Description of Tqam Nutrition Activities in PMot Communities
• What is the nature of teacher training and teacher evaluations of it?
• Mow many of the classroom lessons are taught? For what duration? What
activities and materials are used?
• What school-based activities are implemented? How weH received are they?
• How involved are parents of students in the TN activities?
• What community events are held, and how are they implemented? How well
are they received?
• How are community partners, such as chefs, recruited and involved in TN
activities?
• How successful are the dismcts in garnering media attention for TN efforts?
• What food service changes or plans have been made in order to meet the
Dietary Guidelines? When are the changes introduced? What type of training
is provided to food service staff?
to TeOT Nulritton ACTOM Pitot Sites .
• Do the pilot communities differ in the degree to which they implement the
requirements of the TN pftdt? If so, how?
1-13 a
• In what ways are the pilot communities similar and different in the way they go
about implementing Team Nutrition?
• Do the pilot communities differ in the way Team Nutrition is received by
teachers, parents, food service staff, etc? Can these differences be ascribed
to differences in approaches to implementation?
• What lessons can be shared with other school districts based on the pilot
community experience?
1.4.3 Implementation of the Team Nutrition Pilot Process Evaluation
As previously stated, four of the districts—Des Moines, Tulsa, HamWen County, and
Vacaville—were selected to participate in the intensive process and outcome evaluation of the
pilot project. The remaining three—Lawrence, Passaic, and Cleveland—are participating in a
limited process evaluation (basic process). The differences in the intensive and basic process
evaluations are described later in this section.
As noted above, the TN pilot is being implemented and evaluated in two phases—once in the
spring of 1996 and again in the fall of 1996. Each phase includes a process evaluation
designed to answer the research questions just presented.
1.4.3.1. Selection of Schools
The districts selected for the pilot and the number of treatment elementary schools in each are
displayed in Table 1a.
Table 1 a. Number of Treatment Elementary Pilot Schools in Each District
School District
Plot
Schools
Des Moines. IA 4
Hamblen County, TN 2
Tulsa. OK 4
Vacaviie, CA 2
Lawrence. MA 3
Passaic, NJ 2
Cleveland. OH 2
TOTAL 19
1-14
AT
I
I From the matched pairs of schools nominated by each of the 4 districts, 1 pair was randomly
assigned to the treatment condition, and 1 pair was assigned to the comparison condition.
Thus, for each phase of ihe pilot, there are 12 treatment and 12 comparison schools in these 4
communities. Of the remaining 3 districts, Passaic and Cleveland include 2 treatment schools
each, while Lawrence includes 3 treatment schools. These districts are expected to implement
the TN program to the same degree as the other 4 districts, although their participation in the
process evaluation is more limited.
As noted above, each district except Massachusetts implemented each of the three Scholastic
modules at one grade level. The grades selected by each district and the number of classes in
each are displayed in Table 1b below.
Table 1b. Grades Selected and Number of Classes for TN Implementation by Each
District
Module
Module
1
(PK-K)
Module
2
(Grades 1-2)
Module
! 3
(Grades 3-5)
School District
>MXt» • ol (bad*
SjlMMd CkHN
Qnda
SatscMd
• ol
DesMoines, IA K 10 1 11 4 11
Hambien County, TN K 6 1 5 4 6
Tulsa.OK K 11 2 10 4 11
Vacaville, CA K 7 2 8 4 9
Lawrence, MA - - - - 5 7
Passaic, NJ K 4 1 9 5 8
Cleveland, OH K 4 1 5 3 6
1.4.3.2 Intensive Process Evaluation
The process evaluation was designed to measure the nature and magnitude of the TN effort in
the pilot districts. To answer the research questions posed above, a number of data collection
efforts were implemented as part of the intensive process evaluation. These included the
following for each of the four intensive process communities:
• Planning diaries completed by the district TNCs
1-15
ti
• TN Core Activity Logs filled out by the person responsible for directing each
school-based or community activity.
• TN Teacher Activity Logs filled out by all implementing teachers for each
Scholastic lesson taught.
• An initial site visit to each district to interview the district TNC as well as the
school principal in each implementation school.
• Regular (biweekly) telephone interviews with each district TNCtomcnitor
; of the implementation.
• One classroom observation of each fourth grade implementing teacher to
assess fidelity to the Scholastic lessons.
• A 3-4 day site visit at the end of the intervention, including the following:
— an extended interview with the district TNC regarding the various
components of the intervention and how they were carried out.
— interviews with selected community partners to anew the nature of their
relationships with the school districts.
— interviews with fourth grade implementing teachers to probe in depth their
experiences with Team Nutrition.
— interviews with cafeteria managers and line workers in each cafeteria to
determine their impressions and experiences with Team Nutrition.
— observations of cafeteria food preparation practices to identify any changes
that might affect student food selection and consumption.
• A Community and School Information Form to catalog information on the
community and schools.
• District TN implementation plane and quarterly prop/so* reports.
In addition to these instruments designed specifically for the process evaluation, several of the
outcome evaluation instruments—the parent, teacher, and student surveys included several
items designed to aid in the process evaluation. Because the outcome evaluation la focused on
fourth grade students, the parent and student surveys were conducted exclusively among
parents of fourth graders in the four intensive process communities. However, the teacher
surveys were conducted among all implementing teachers in each of the seven pilot
iiMmapaieamMae^maaaQaioi—n aHi5s^ttn«lcrAts«.
1-16 *7
The parents of fourth grade studente were surveyed by telephone before and after the Phase I
TN intervention to assess home nutrition practices, parental attitudes and knowledge,
perceptions of children's nutrition habits, awareness of and involvement in TN activities, and
reactions fo Team Nutrition. Their involvement in TN activities is profiled as part of this case
study report
The teachers implementing Team Nutrition in their classrooms completed self-administered
surveys that were conducted in group settings before and after the intervention. The
questionnaires assess their nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, as well as their
attitudes toward teaching nutrition. The teacher surveys also provide useful information on
teacher involvement in TN activities and perceptions of TN materials, which could also serve to
explain differences in the intensity of implementation across the pilot sites.
In addition, the fourth grade students completed surveys in their class; ooms before and after
the intervention. The teachers were provided instructions and scripts for administering the
surveys to the students as a group. The student survey primarily addressed skill-directed
nutrition knowledge, motivation, and behavior but also included a few items on recall of TN
activities and the Disney PSAs.
t.4.3.3 Basic Process Evaluation
The three non-outcome districts participated in the basis process evaluation, which included the
following:
• Completion of core and teacher activity logs.
• Telopnone interviews with district TNCs during the intervention and upon
completion.
• Extant data on school and district characteristics as weN as project
implementation plans and progress reports.
• The ahove-mentioned surveys of all implementing teachers.
1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE CASE STUDY REPORT
This case study report is designed to provide answers to the research questions outlined above
for each of the districts participating in the pilot. In addition, it describes how each district
participating in the pilot project attempted to influence students' skill-directed nutrition
knowledge, motivation, and behavior through the variety ofchannelsdepK^ed in Rgure 1-1
M7
Pf
(Sectk>n1.2). Because they were the subject of broader scrutiny, each of the four intensive
process evaluation districts is profiled in a separate chapter (Chapters 2-5). The activities in the
three basic process districts are described in Chapter S. Each of these five chapters is
organized around the following topics:
Background information on the school district as a whole.
Planning for the TN implementation.
Information on the participating treatment schools.
Receipt of and reactions to the teacher training.
Implementation of the classroom-based activities.
Food service changes and staff training.
Conduct of school-wide activities.
Community-wide activities.
Community partners.
Media efforts.
Parent involvement and reactions.
Lessons learned from the implementation.
In Chapter 7, a synthesis of the findings from across the seven districts is presented, including
a summary of the lessons learned. Finally, the technical appendix describes in detail how the
process evaluation was conducted.
The analyses in the remaining chapters of this report draw on all of the data sources mentioned
above to tell the story of Team Nutrition as It was initially implememed in the pile* corwruinitJes.
A large portion of the information comes from the many one-on-one im^rviews conducted
during site visits and over the telephone with TNCa, teachers, and ethers ir»vo»ved in the TN
effort. In addition to this qualitative data, the report draws on rrwre structured data from the
activity logs, teacher surveys, and parent surveys to document level ri implementation as well
as the relevant opinions and experiences of teachers and parents. Some of the quantitative
data presented, especiaHy from the teacher surveys in incWiduaJ districts, arc based on very
small numbers of respondents. Therefore, the report examines them to discern general
patterns of responses rather than to focus on specific numbers. Thus, readers should exercise
caution in interpreting these data.
1-18 V
p*f.iuy
1
CHAPTER2: DES MOINES SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE STUDY
* -4
11
II $
Wii*^^,.^,. ..<~,^L± ^,* ..-.. . V-,.*,.!^..^ ..-P.-. tt - - -'•
2.1 SETTING THE STAGE: DES MOINES AND THE DES MOINES SCHOOL DISTRICT
Table 2a. DM MOIMS Public Schools
EwfTMntary IrIaIIuMmKoAvVr w*|t p%- — —. nlf
1 IILMII O! Pwcont of Existing Food
School Etonwntary Elementary Elementary NubMoil Service
Population O—fc- ——i^ School Student School Education Staff 1
Population Student* • Curricula in TraJnadln
uompoMQ or Rocetviny, tha District Dietary
Minonty Free/Reduced GuldeJin«
Students Mvala
15,367 44 23.6 47 Yes Yas
Table 2a contains information on the demographics and status of nutrition education and food
service training in the pilot community prior to the introduction of Team Nutrition. Information in
this table was drawn from an application submitted to USDA by school districts interested in
becoming pilot communities and is useful for understanding the environment into which Team
Nutrition was introduced.
Located in the heart of Iowa, Des Moines (population 195,000) is the economic, cultural, and
political capital of the State. Although the city's economic past was agrarian based, Des
Moines now boasts a number of other industries, including biotechnology, telecommunications,
financial services, publishing, and one of the world's largest insurance centers.
The Des Moines school district serves 15,367 students in 44 elementary schools (see Table
2a). Forty-seven percent of the elementary school students have applied for free or reduced-priced
school lunches (a proxy for sotioeconomic status). Among the elementary school
population, 76.4 percent of the students are Caucasian, 14 percent are African American, 4.4
percent are Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.3 percent are Hispanic, and 0.9 percent are Native
American.
Prior to the introduction of Team Nutrition, Des Moines' district-wide nutrition education
curricula consisted of a 3-4 week unit for fourth graders as part of a Growing Healthy Program
and a 4-6 week unit for seventh graders as part of a Family and Consumer Science class in
elementary and middle schools, respectively.
District food service staff received training in implementing the Dietary Guidelines during the
Iast2years. According to the district's original application, approximately 50 percent of school
food service staff also received training in recipes and preparation procedures during an
inservice program.
2-1
»\
2.2. PLANNING FOR TEAM NUTRITION
Z2.1 Applying tor the USDA Team Nutrition Pilot Implementation Profit
The superintendent of schools for the Des Moines Independent Community Schools forwarded
information on the USDA TN Pilot Project to the Food and Nutrition Management (FNM)
Department. The superintendent suggested thtt applying for the project would be beneficial to
the school district. Both the superintendent and the FNM Department believed that the project
was consistent with other district initiatives, that it would provide an opportunity to improve
relations between education and food services, that it was something positive tor the children,
and that it had potential for being implemented on a long-term basis.
Although there were only a few days left until the application deadline, FNM and the
superintendent decided to apply. The application briefly addressed the project's proposed
structure and established that the project's management team of project coordinators—the
director and assistant director of FNM and the supervisor of family and consumer
sciences/health—would coordinate curriculum implementation, menu and food service
activities, and media relations.
2JL2 Planning tor Protect Implementation
Selecting and Recruiting the Schools
The project coordinators reviewed the student population data of every elementary school in the
district to identify those that most closely matched the overall school population with respect to
racial/ethnic distribution and percentage of children applying tot free or reduced-priced school
meals. Schools representing different geographic areas within the district also were selected.
With the approval of the elementary school directors, the TN project was presented to principals
during a meeting in the fai- The criteria for selecting study schools were discussed, and the
principals were asked to volunteer. Many of the principals in attendance returned to their
schools to discuss the project with their staff and obtain their approval before volunteering. AN
were supportive of encouraging students to make healthy food choices.
Some of the schools that were initially nominated by the district had to be replaced by schools
that matched more closely on certain demographic characteristics. This time-consuming effort
2-2 3tu
delayed development of the project's fin«! implementation plan. School participation was
finalized in early December.
oencong Acovnes ana oumMng LfOmtuOrmovm nmaoonmnips
Once the schools were (elected, the coordinators began the process of developing the
implementation plan. This critical process helped them formulate aH of the details of the project,
make decisions, and develop an organizational structure for the project. Subcommittees and a
planning committee were established. The planning process was completed at subcommittee
meetings In January.
uunng me planning process, potential community partners were contacteo, inctuomg wie
president of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and several local organizations and
businesses, among them a representative from the USDA extension and a representative from
a wholesale food vendor. The chefs were asked to participate in school-based activities, and
the businesses and other oraanizasons were asked to oerticiDate in the district-wide event The
planning process produced the fotowing activities:
• Displays at Capitol Square A dstriot wide activity and media event ID be held
at Capitol Square in downtown Dee Moinee involving displays supporting the TN
project, including displays developed by project partners and students.
• Chef breakfast—A school-based cafeteria and parent involvement activity.
• Chef snacks—A schoot-beeed chef activity.
• Fruits and Vegetables weeks—A school beeed cafeteria and parent Involvement
activity.
D**topk)gR9ktk>nsHpeWHhth0Schook
After the schools were selected, a mealing wae held with tne pnhdpitts of the TN
implementation schools to deems project detail* ami identify a echoo! contact
wc>uldborooponel>loforworldngwimtrw
2-3
S3
2.3 THE TEAM NUTRITION IMPLEMENTATION SCHOOLS
Table 2b. Teem Nutrition Implementation Schools
School
School
Population
Pcroant of
Student
Population
Minority
rWvOTH
Rooolvtng
Fraamoouood
MMIs
Type of Kitchen
HOWE 331 10.3 36.5 SateWte
MITCHELL 308 11.0 42.9 Satellite
WILLARD 445 24.5 27.9 CofnbraNon
WOODLAWN 460 32.4 59.0 Combination
The four selected implementation schools were Howe, Mitchell, Willard, and Woodlawn. The
grades selected for implementation of the Scholastic materials were kindergarten (Module 1);
first grade (Module 2); and fourth grade (Module 3). Demographic and food service-related
information for each school are provided in Table 2b. As shown, there was a high level of
variability between the schools with respect to minority population and the percentage of
students receiving free or reduced-priced meals. One of trie schools had a notably higher
minority population and higher proportion of studants receiving free or reduced-priced meals
than the other implementation schools.
Two of the elementary schools had all of their lunches prepared at an offsite kitchen (located in
either a middle or high school) and delivered. The other elementary schools prepared a portion
of their meals on site, with the remainder prepared at a satellite kitchen. Consequently, the
elementary school food service directors had little direct involvement in food preparation or
training in food preparation.
In interviews conducted prior to project implementation, all of the principals indicated that their
participation in the project was voluntary, that it was important for schools to provide nutrition
education, and that the current level of nutrition educate in their schools was not satisfactory.
In general, nutrition programs were covered as part of the health curricula and left to the
discretion of the teachers to implement.
One principal decided to serve as the school contact person and believed that her job was to
disseminate information in a timely fashion and participate in the school-based core activities.
The other principals assigned a teacher as the contact person. In these schools, principals
perceived their role primarily as one of "cheerleader," although they did feel it was their
responsibility to ensure that calendar conflicts did not impede implementation.
2-4 4?
At the time of these interviews, the principals had little knowledge about the pilot project
•valuation. Although they knew that an evaluatron would oe conduct jd, they were not aware of
what would be required of the teachers and students for the evaluation.
2.4 TEACHER TRAINING FOR 5MPLEMENTING THE SCHOLASTIC MODULES
2.4.1 Daacflptlon of0M Daa MHRM fVMMMJ
Each teacher training session was held over 2 days in two daily sessions during school hours.
The sessions were split because of a lack of substitute teachers to cover for all of the teachers
involved in the project at one time. The TNC and the supervisor of family and consumer
sciences/health coordina.ed the training with the principals of the implementation schools. The
teachers did not contribute to the scheduling or content of the training.
Almost all of the teachers who were to implement the curricula received training (a total of 36
teachers were trained: 9 kindergarten teachers, 11 first grade teachers, 11 fourth grade
teachers, and 5 special resource teachers who covered ad of the grades).
2.4J2 Taaehar Evaluation* and Perceptions of Ota Training
Table 2c. Teacher Opinions of Training for Implementing the Scholastic Modules
Percent ol Teachers Agreeing That: %
The training was relevant to teaching the lessons. 100
The training was necessary to teach the lessons. 80
The training improved your ability to teach the lessons. 70
N (number of teachers completing questionnaires) (30)
As shown in Table 2c, the teachers' opinions of the training generally were positive. All of 1
teachers feft that the training was relevant to teaching the lessons, and moat (79 percent)
thought it improved their ability to !«ach nutrition. However, only 80 percent felt that the training
was ns&LMCt to teach the lessons. Moat of the teachers felt that the secondmelon was
more useful than the first because they had already conducted several leeeons and therefore
had the opportunity to share information with teachers fran the other echools about
implementing the Scholastic lessons. They also pointed out that the curriculum was not
available at ihe first training.
2-6
S/
Several teachers indicated that trainers with more classroom experience and a greater
understanding of the demands on teachers in the classrooms would improve the training. One
of the coordinators suggested that this issue might be resolved if someone from the district
could be involved in providing trainers with more sensitivity to the district and to the teachers'
workloads.
2.5 CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHOLASTIC MODULES
2.5.1 Teacher Opinions of Nutrition Education
The teachers in Des Moines were highly motivated to teach nutrition education in their
classrooms prior to the implementation of the classroom curriculum. As shown in Table 2d,
teachers were almost unanimous in their interest in teaching nutrition, their desire to incorporate
nutrition activities into the classroom, and their plans for actually doing so. Al believed that
teaching nutrition in the classroom is appropriate, and nearly al (96 percent) said their students
like nutrition as well as other subjects. Fewer, but still a majority (59 percent) of Iowa teachers,
stated that they try to influence the food choices of their students outside the classroom.
HDii za. iMcnci MOtrvnton Knoc 10 intpMHnonunion (ITVIMI rtrciniaQwj
"-»'—*■ ■ ** - eWUUVeTlKMMI VeVfTW %
Percent ndtoMRQ interest in IsachinQ nutrition 93
rsfcent indicating merest in incorporating nutrition activities wno tnetr classrooms 100
Percent indicating that itudenti s\s nutrition subjects as waB as other subjects 06
Percent indicating that they try to influence the food choices their students make outside
school
SO
rercent indicating mat tray plan 10 incorporate nutrition more often into metr classroom 89 i
activities
Psfcent indicating that the claairoom Is an apfin^amjMo9lolmtt\9ttMimU about nMion 100
N (number of teachers completing Questionnaires) (28)
The Des Moines teachers also recognized the benefits of nutrition education. As shown in
Table 2e, nearty all agreed that it helps children choose healthier foods, that it complements
other subjects they teach, and that good nutrition can affect class performance.
2-6
#
Table2e. P«rc©nt of Tochers Aflrwing With Stataments on th« Benefit* of Nutrition
Education (Pretest Percentages)
Potential benefits of nubWon education %
Nutrition education in the classroom will help children choose healthier foods to eat. 96
Teaching nutrition will help reinforce other subjects that they teach. 96
Good nutrition can positively affect students' class performances. 96
2.SJ2 Adhrmtce to Curriculum
As described in Chapter 1, the Scholastic kits comprise nine lessons for Module 1
(Pre K - K) and eight lessons each for Modules 2 (Grades 1 -2) and 3 (Grades 3-5). During
teacher training for the pilot. Module 1 teachers were totd they should complete at least eight of
the nine lessons and that they should conduct three activities per week, with no explicit
instructions as to which activities. The teachers for Modules 2 and 3 were instructed to teach at!
eight lessons, complete the Getting Started session and each of the activities included in the
lesson, complete the Lunchroom Link for at least four of the lessons, and use the student and
parent reproducibles as directed in the Scholastic less is. Adherence to the curricula was
measured by the number of times the teachers reported completing the recommended lessons,
activities, and Lunchroom Links, as welt as the degree to which they used the materials as
directed. Because mere were no explicit activities required for Module 1, the data on activities
and materials are not used in measuring adherence for this module.
As shown in Table 2f, most of the teachers in Des Moines reported teaching almost all of th e
Scholastic lessons. The kindergarten teachers taught, on average, 7.7 of the 8 required
lessons, while the first grade teachers and fourth grade teachers taught 7.6 and 7.4 of the 8
lessons in their respective modules. The average duratjor of the lessons taught was just under
2 hours for each of the three modules, and the cumulative duration of the lessons was 13 hours
for kindergarten, 12.5 hours for first grade, and 12.2 hours for me fourth grade.
2-7
2>n
Table 2f. Classroom Implementation of Scholastic Modulo
Module 1
(Kindergarten)
Module2
(Grade 1)
Modul»3
(Grade 4)
All
Modules
• of Scholastic Lessons (per module) 9 8 8 25
Avg. # of Lessons Taught' 7.7 7.6 7.4 7.6
Avg. Duration Per Lesson Taught
(Hrs)'
1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7
Avg. Planning Time Per Lesson
Taught (Hrs)'
1.8 1.6 1.2 1.6
Cumulative Duration Per Class (Hrs)1 13.0 13.5 12.2 12.9
'Aveiages reflect cumulative totals divided by the number of teachers/sections.
'Averages reflect cumulative totais divided by the number of lessons taught in each module.
As shown in Table 2g, the Des Moines teachers report completing most of the recommended
activities in the Scholastic lessons. The exceptions are the Getting Started session, which was
only conducted for an average of 5.2 of the 8 fourth grade lessons, and the Lunchroom links,
which were conducted an average of about 2.5 times by teachers in both grades rather than the
required 4 times.
Table 2g. Average Number of Times Activities Were Conducted Per Class
Module 2 (Grade 1) Modules Grade 4)
Lesson Recommended/
A reliable
Conducted
at ea-e-a-mwmHmDm
Conducted
Getting Started 8 6.7 8 5.2
Activity 1 8 7.0 8 7.4
Activity 2 8 7.2 8 7.0
Activity 3 2 1.6 2 1.4
Lunchroom Link 4 2.5 4 2.4
Home Connection 7 3.5 6 2.0
Exercise Connection 0 1.2 1 0.6
Wrap ft Up 8 4.3 8 2.1
Taking It Further 8 1.9 8 2.8
Most of the fourth grade teachers indicated that they used their own discretion when decking
which activities to use. Some of the fourth grade teachers taught the activities as prescribed by
the training and described in the lesson plans; others went beyond the activities for some of the
lessons in which the students were most interested. Scheduling conflicts restricted the number
of activities some of the teachers included. Some adapted the activities to the maturity and
2-8
?/
intellectual levels of the students. And others said they did not do Lunchroom Link activities
because they felt the lunchroom staff was already overburdened and it was unfair to add to
their workload. Table 2h indicates that the materials in the Scholastic lessons were used slightly
less often than recommended.
Table 2h. Average Number of Times Materials Were Used Per Class
Module 2 (Grade 1) Module 3 (Grade 4)
»»-- - ■■> MNMHU neoommended Used neoommended Used
Parent Information Sheets
(reprooudUw)
7 5.8 7 4.5
Student Information
Sheets (reproductolea)
8 5.0 7 5.9
Student Magazine 2 1.3 6 3.4
video 4 1.7 5 2.5
The project coordinators listed earlier indicated that implementation was highly successful,
despite the time constraints. Along with the teachers, they noted that they looked forward to
implementing the curriculum in the future without the time constraints experienced during this
implementation. One coordinator indicated that the district FNM's assistance in coordinating
the procurement of food for lessons and activities facilitated classroom implementation.
One of the coordinators noted that the comprehensive approach of classroom lessons
supported by school and community-wide promotional events was "extremely effective but it
[was] time consuming to get it all into place." She felt that after the first time, it would be less
time consuming, but it would always need someone who is respcnsiWe for owrall coordination.
Another project coordinator remarked that although communications tended to be challenging,
the schools remained positive throughout the project. As one cordinator noted,
"Communication between principal, teachers, and food service staff is essential."
The key challenge in implementing the Schdastfc rmxlule, apart from the time cc
finding resources. Numerous resources (e.g., books, food) were needed to supplement the
Scholastic module. Teachers spent additional time shopping for food and copying
reproductoles. Concern also was expressed over the volume of reproducibles, whk* strains
available school resources. However, it was noted that with advanced planning, schools would
be able to budget tor the necessary resources accordingly.
2-9
Si
The coordinators indicated that integrating the curriculum with other subjects proved difficult
because of the schedule. The health curriculum including nutrition had already been taught in
the fall; in the spring, the Scholastic curriculum was actually displacing other curricula.
Coordinators indicated that during future implementations, the Scholastic curriculum will be
integrated as part of the health curriculum.
The g neral consensus was that the project, despite the timeframe and the pressure, was
"worth it for the kids" and "really fun for them." One coordinator said that she had heard
teachers talk about how students are discussing what they eat and how they need to change
their eating behaviors. The hands-on activities were judged to be the most effective,
particularly those involving food tasting.
Implementation Methods
Each of the 11 fourth grade teachers taught the entire Scholastic curriculum in his or her self-contained
classroom. Most of the teachers presented the curriculum as a separate unit on
nutrition because they felt the schedule did not allow for integration. However, the teachers
indicated that whenever it was appropriate, they integrated the Scholastic activities into other
subjects. Three of the teachers integrated some of the activities with language arts, particularly
the daily digest activity. One used part of the sensational foods lesson as a language arts
lesson on adjectives. Two teachers integrated some of the activities with science (food chain)
and math (graphing). Most of the teachers felt that the curriculum was most appropriate as part
of a health curriculum and planned to teach it as part of the health unit in the fall.
2.5.3 Teacher Attitude* Toward Scholastic Materials
Table 2i presents the attitudes of teachers in all three grade levels toward the Scholastic
modules. Ninety percent of the teachers in this district were satisfied with the Scholastic
materials overall, although there was considerable variation regarding what they liked and dd
not like about the curriculum. Most of the teachers considered the Scholastic materials
appropriate for the developmental (86 percent), educational (86 percent), and cultural (97
percent) backgrounds of their students. Fewer were pleased with the time it took to prepare (52
percent) and teach (55 percent) the lessons. Most thought that the content did provide
sufficient background for teaching (86 percent) and that the activities were appropriate for the
classroom (83 percent), but fewer felt the activities met their nutrition-related teaching needs
(63 percent). Almost all thought that the Scholastic materials made it easy to teach nutrition (93
2-10 ¥0
percent) and that they would teach more nutrition in the future if they were able to use the
materials (89 percent). Three-fourths thought the Scholastic materials were better than other
nutrition materials they had used.
Tab*e2i. Teachers' Attitudes Toward Scholastic Materials
■i■Hu■ mUwHnLoIL nre«vnpnorni«vruf Ti hraant Tihrwauy Unu|..i.i GJ^UlmIItItImNil MftflMMIt Socunlmolmwulhc InSanMnM^MMWi 90% |
Percent of Toscnors Wno Agree or Strongly Agree Tnet:
The Scholastic materials were appropriate for a.1ffovetopmsntsl level of the students in my
class.
86
The Scholastic materials were appropriate for the educafonal levels of the students in my
class.
86
The Scholastic material! ware cultursiyapproprlarefcy the students in my class. 07
The time required to prepare to teach the Scholastic lessons was reasonable (considering, that
they were new to me).
52
The time required to teach the Scholastic lessons was reasoneble. 55
The content of the Scholastic materials did provide sufficient bw^ground for nw nuMtton-retaieo
weerung neeas.
86
The classroom activities met my nutrition-related teaching needs. 63
The activities sugges *J in the Scholastic rraesriais were expropriate for my dassioom 83
Having the Scholastic rraasrials makes it easy to teach about nutrition. 93 !
1 wi teach more about good nutrition in the future if 1 can use the Sdwtsetk: materiels again. 60
The Scholastic materiate are better than ()ther nutrition teaching niateriais 1 itave used. 76
H(nuntmcttmch9natMiMtyqtMfonmto) (29)
In personal interviews, all of the fourth grade teachers indicated that the Scholastic materiala
were significantly better than the curriculum they had been using and that iney sijpported the
themes of the lessons adequately. They particularly liked the number of hands-on activities and
the Food Works Magazine. Teachers noted that they often relied on their own teaching
experiences and knowledge of their students to si^plemem the ajrricukjni actrvities.
One fourth grade teacher was most satisfied with the field irto to the base kitchen where the
school's food is prepared. Sh*» said that one student told her. "Now that I know where my
lunch is made, I'm going to eat every bit of H" During that visit, the children were told that they
could plan a menu with the Wtchen staff and that this menu wouW be preoered for the school on
a specified day. She felt that this was the highlight of the whole program for the foijfth grade
students. Teachers were also satisfied with the sequencing of sssons, ihe cardboard food
models (which sites were encouraged to purchass from the Dairy Council ratfw than create
2-11
efJ
their own), the lesson pians (described as well written and presented), the student and parent
reproducibles, and the video (although this was described as "too brier).
In general, the teachers agreed that the students liked anything that involved tasting foods and
analyzing their own diets. One teacher said that the children liked keeping track of what they
ate and comparing it with the pyramid. She noted: "The children came right out and said they
weren't eating enough vegetables."
The teachers were least satisfied with the time it took to prepare and implement the lessons,
particularly lessons that required a great deal of xeroxing or assembling food and materials.
One teacher felt that "a tot of ideas were good, but it was not realistic to get them all done in the
given timeframe." Teachers also commented that the student worksheets were extraneous and
there was a lack of supportive materials such as a poster of the food pyramid and general
information on nutrition.
2.S.4 Chanot* kt Tieecher SenaWore
Three of the fourth grade teachers indicated that their involvement in the project had changed
their own behaviors and the way they used food in the classroom. One teacher indicated that
she has become more aware of different foods and will be more Hkery to give healthier birthday
treats in class. One ieacber noted that she decided to stop giving tootsie pops to her students
as rewards. Another teacher reported that she provides tow-fat snacks and points out
differences and alternatives to candy. This teacher said that she has been eating more fruits,
vegetables, and grains since her involvement with Team Nutrition.
2.5.5. /nvo/vemenf of Catwtorta Staff
The cafeteria staff interviewed after project implementation were very pceWve about the project,
despite the fact that they reported it greatly increased their workloads. A frequently otted
example was the additional time required to cut up the fresh fruits and vegetables for the tasting
activities.
The involvement of food service staff varied across the schools. At the high end of
involvement, the food service coordinator at one of the schcois rK)t or>ly coordinated all of the
school-based activities and ensured that supplies were available and the displays set up, but
also gave preschool and fourth grade students a tour of the kitchen at a middle school and let
«
them design their own menu according to the food pyramid. She promised to prepare that
menu for their school as a special treat
The elementary school food service coordinator talked to children about fruits and vegetables,
visited the kindergarten classes, and participated in the chef breakfast, chef snack activity, and
fruits and vegetables week. She took classes on nutrition from the district in the spring so she
could answer children's questions about the food. She indicated that "the kids are eating a lot
more of the fruits and vegetables in the cafeteria sack lunch and not throwing as much food
away."
The food service manager at another school indicated that being more involved in the planning
process would have made her feel more of a participant. Although she was very involved in
preparing food and displays for the school-based activities, she did not conduct any tours. The
onsite food service coordinator at this school also indicated that she wanted to be more
involved in planning classroom activities and knowing what the children were doing in the
classroom. She asked one of the teachers if she could copy some of the curriculum materials
so she would know what the children were learning. Although she said she was most involved
with the first grade classes, she also helped prepare the sample foods for the fruits and
vegetables week.
The elementary school food service coordinators at the other two schools were involved in the
school-based activities but not in any classroom-initiated activities. The onsite food service
workers at one school said they went into the classroom to bring food but otherwise were not
involved. Onsite workers at the other school reported that they gave kitchen tours and
discussed the fat content of lunch menus with the children.
2.6 IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHOOL-BASED CORE ACTIVITIES
Figure 2a displays a timeline of the implementation of the school and communtty-wWe activities
All four schools in this district conducted the blowing schcol-based activities:
• Chefs breakfast.
• Chef's snack.
• Fruit week.
• Vegetable week.
• Positive parenting workshop.
2-13 0
Overall, the teachers and food service staff were very positive about these events and believed
that they successfully conveyed their nutrition messages and engaged the students' interest.
The food service staff indicated that the activities involved a great deal of extra work for them,
but it was worth it for the students. The teachers liked the school-based activities because they
felt that "everyone was working together at the district and buHding levels." Moat teachers felt
that the activities improved the relationship between food service staff and school staff.
2.6.1 Chef ActlvM—
The chef breakfast and chef snack activities were conducted by volunteer chefs from the local
AFC interested in the TN project because Team Nutrition complements a similar project the
AFC is conducting (described later in this case study).
Food service managers were involved with the initial planning of both chef activities and met
with chefs to discuss materials and the agenda. The TNC gave a presentation on Team
Nutrition and showed the Great Nutrition Adventure video at an AFC meeting. For the chef
breakfast, two chefs came to each school and helped prepare and serve breakfast to the
students. Although school lunch is the focus of the majority of school food servk» programs,
many schools provide extensive breakfast programs for their students. It was felt that
encouraging healthy food activities at breakfast wc<iM be covered by the mission of Team
Nutrition and provide an opportunity to involve those working parents who might not be able to
participate in the lunch programs.
For the chef snack activity, chefs came into the fourth grade classrooms and taught the
students about low-fat snacks. The chefs helped prepare a healthy bagel snack served on a
Frisbee for all the students. The students then helped serve these snacks to other classes in
the school. All of the fourth grade teachers were involved in the chef snacks activtty and feH
that it was a very positive experience for the children. One teacher felt It was important
because "at fourth grade, kids begin to make some food choices and have some money to
spend on snacks. This helped them think 'before I buy that candy bar, what are my other
choices?- At one school, the teachers noted that the chef who came to their school was also a
teacher, and this really helped in working with the students.
2-14 *i
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The challenges to implementing these activities included purchasing the food and supplies,
communicating with the chefs, and building trust between the chefs and food service staff. As
one coordinator noted.it was difficult to ensure that the chefs would meet their commitments
during the established timoframes.
The teachers commented that the chef breakfast appeared to have a positive effect on the
students who attended. One of the coordinators, however, was not sure whether the breakfast
activity was successful in conveying any nutrition messages, although the students did enjoy
seeing the chefs.
All food service staff were involved in the chef activities and indicated that they were very
successful and that the students enjoyed them.
2.9J2 Fruit and Vogaiabh W—ka
Each day of fruit week and vegetable week students sampled a different fresh fruit or vegetable
in trie school cafeteria. A display consisting of fruits or vegetables and educational materials
was set up in the cafeteria. Each day that week, TN classrooms received samples of the
featured fruit or vegetable for the students to taste. A produce company helped secure the
produce and educational materials.
The teachers and food service staff reacted positively to this activity. Both noted that the
students really liked the fruits, especially the kiwi, but that the vegetables received mixed
reviews. Some of the teachers thought that serving the vegetables without anydipwasthe
reason many of the children did not like them.
One project coordinator notad that the fruit and vegetable weeks effectively transmitted the
intended messages because they were vw^ focused: "The message was exactly what was
provided."
Parents were invited to eat lunch at the school during the fruit and vegetable weeks. Not many
parents participated, but feedback from those who did was positive.
2.6.3 PoaWv Pannting Workshop
A total of approximately 100 parents and 50 others from various community organizations
attended a workshop reinforcing the nutritional goals of Team Nutrition. The workshop
discussed with parents the importance of healthy food choices and provided a display of TN
2-16
%
matsrtafc and information. Nutritkxwl snacks w«ra alto available to* the paints to sample. Al
four Implementation schools participated in the aw* and the TNC wa» plaaaed with the
2.7 FOOO SERVICE ACTtVmES AND CHANGES
2.7.1
Proiect oxxxlnitorc fait their existing menus «wa ctoM to meeting the revised Dietary
Oddsanee. Thay ware planning on using the USCA-fecommerided nutrient anaJyaie software,
Nu Menus, to analyze a subeet of menus for the next school year. However, it was a very tjme-and
labor-intaneive project Involvement in Team Nutrition had aped up their tknelne for
conducting the analysis.
School cafeteria staff who were interviewed were not aware of any menu changes, but they did
note that thay had boon using teas butter and Sal in cootdngprtor to TN implemented. One
caiessna manager menooneo mat may rtneeo grouno Deer; anotner menoonea mai iney naa
stopped frying anything and started serving more pacta; and a third noted that they had a
rectos for maldna areen beans without ssJt No other chanoes were noted reaaidina menus or
general food preparation.
2.7Jt QDewrvsooiv or Food Praparawun
Obeervers of food preparation todfcated that it was highly ccf^aittent wHh rectoee (e.g., no extra
ingredients were added).
2.7.J UMat Ssnsae gas* ThaWng
Awtmwfmalstv J00 food aarvirjs workora acmes ttis raslikl nailiisaaaal hi ■ raatik I wirte
siaafitca trainina that addreeeed the (Setarv auideitoe J standardized rarinas and the role of
i Mam nuvnvon. rooo awrvm managcri recmvw •pproxiciwitfy a nourt o» woomtonm i r#-
rotatid training Mriy in tht ■unifMf.
uufwig sasrvwws wan eetecaKi jcoa service personnel si Die impNjmenniaon ecnooa, orsy one
indtoated that she had received any training oaring the spring and that it was more of an
informalton session on Team NutrMion than a training. Al food service managers indicated that
they expected to participate in a 2-oay toeervice training the first week of June.
M7 f)
2.8 COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
The community activity doubled as the project's main media event. The project planning
committee developed an idea to establish displays by implementation schools, commodity
groups, and community and business partners at Capitol Square in downtown Des Moines.
The displays supported the themes of Team Nutrition and stressed the importance of eating a
wide variety of foods for health. The materials were displayed during the lunch hours and
included * food pyramid game developed by the students.
One coordinator thought the event was "excellent" but was disappointed that only about 300-
*00 people visited the displays. The coordinator attributed the low turnout to the location
Parents, teachers, administrators, and select students participated in the school exhibits and
were contestants in the game competition.
Two news broadcasting celebrities participated in the pyramid game with the students during
the community event
2.9 COMMUNITY PARTNERS
As stated in Section 2.2.2, community partners were irwtted to partk^te in a planning group
(discussed earlier) that was convened in early January. Familiarity with potential partners and
development of partnerships was facilitated by the TNC's involvement in a Healthy People 2000
planning group within the community. Involvement in that group provided the TNC with a
working knowledge of the organizations and their representative*.
During the advisory group meeting, Team Nutrition was presented and ideas for community and
school-wide events were discussed. The TNC went to meetings of local oruarxzattons such as
the American Culinary Foundation to make presentations on Team Nutrition. This process
provided the partners an opportunity to have an active voice In aslscUng the acUvWea and
deciding on me extent of their participation. Overall, partners contributed the following: the
ACF organized teams of two chefs to go to the schools for the breakfast and snack events, and
vendors assisted in the development of the fruit and vegetable week events and volunteered
time and materials to organize the community event
Interviews conducted with selected community partners, including a chair of the local American
Culinary Foundation, two commodity group representatives, and a representative of the USOA
Extension office, revealed a high level of enthusiasm for the project and satisfaction wrth their
experience participating in Team Nutrition.
2-18 V
Setsfaction with the experience wee facilitated by the professionalism of the management
teem. All of the community partners commented that the project was extremely well organized
and that they had clearly defined roles and responsibilities This facilitated their involvement and
made the experience more eniovabJa.
2.10 MEDIA EVENTS AND COVERAGE
There was newspaper and radio coverage of the community event and television coverage of
the fruit-tasting activities at one school and the chef "s breakfast at another. Teem Nutrition also
was discussed in a PTA newsletter, a Department of Education newsletter to school
employees, and commodity newsletters.
The TNC and supervisor of family and coneumer services appeared on "Classroom
Connections," a cable TV enow on which guests discussed nutrition education and Team
Nutrition.
USDA-disseminated Disney PSAs using the charactars from "The Lion King" to ta* about good
nutrition represented another effort to get the TN irweeage c<it through the medta. When
eurveyed in the classroom, two-thirds of the Dee Moinee fourth graders recalled eeeing the
Disney characters Pumba and Timon ta* stMffe^flate^«lli*Mm(aB|«M^f«BM
it many times end 26 percent at least once).
2.11 PARENT INVOLVEMENT
2.11.1 Pmrmrt Awareness ofTeem Nutrition
Perents of the TN students were potentialty irM)rved through the media, through echool-wide
and ccnwunJty-wide activities, W*1m^WBmmwmiMmmm91**&mt*tm,
The telephone interviews with fourth grade perents eeeeeeed the clegree d trteee verious types
of involvement.
At shown in Table 2j. 40 percent of tie parents of the tojrth grade etudents hed heard arjout
Team Nutrition through televieion -' 9 percent), the newspaper (23 percem),c>r radio (13
percent). Almost a* (90 percent) were eware of either a TN claeeroom (88 percent), school-wide
(56 perr^rrt), or ccmmuriity (37 percent) event. Onry 19 percent, however, hed actually
perticipeted in e TN event
2-19
fl
Table 2j. Parent Awtranm of Team Nutrition
rerceni oi pounn WMt HHMHi ntpomnj i ney. %
Heard of Team Nutrition through any media (Net) 40
Heard of Team Nutrition on the television 29
Heard of Team Nutrition on the radio 13
Heard of Team Nutrition in the newspaper 23
Heard of any TN event (Net) 90
Were aware of a TN community event 37
Were aware of a TN classroom event 86
Were aware of a TN school-wide event (outside of classroom) 56
Participated in a TN activity 19
N (numoer or parents compteung questionnaires; d«1) |
2-11,2 Nutrition Education Activtth* In tt* Horn*
Seventy-three percent of the parents surveyed reported some type of nutrition activity in the
home (Table 2k), such as family nutrition projects (42 percent), other nutrition homework (40
percent), and family reading materials (45 percent).
i awie £*.. rercefn or rounn uraue rarema neponmg ranicipauon HI nutnoon
Activities in the Hotftt
fc^MMaA *etfwtt^faft %
Conducted any home activities 73
Fernly nutrition projects 42
Other nutrition homework 40
Family reading materials 46
Other activities 20
N (number of perents completing questionnaires) (181)
Two-thirds of the Des Moines parents said they completed at least one of the eight TN parent
information sheets (reprorJudbies), with MMmm**9^*to+**<**1***<P+**)-
Relatively few parents recalled receiving the parent newsletter (12 percent) or seeing the
children's magazine (23 percent); only 10 percent said they used these Items wrrii their child.
2-20
^
I
I
Table 21. Parent Use of Take Horn* Tom Nutrition Material*
Percent competing any of eight parant information sheets (raprodudbiat) 87%
Mean number of parant information sheets (reproductot—) used (30)
Percent receiving a copy of Take Out," TN newsletter for parents 12%
Percent whose cnHd received "Foodworks," TN children's magazine 23%
Percent spending time with child using Take Out" or "Foodworks" 10%
N (number of parents completing questionnaires) (181)
The parents who used the parent Information Sheets (reprodudbles) expressed very positive
attitudes toward them (Table 2m). However, just 64 percent said there was enough time to
complete them. While few parents remembered the Scholastic parent newsletter, "Foodworks,'
those who dkJ almost unanimously said it was understandable and provided useful information.
Table 2m. Parent Opinions of Take Homo Team Nutrition Materiale
fl. ■ i i ■■■■ n§ nmm ■ ■■rwwni or rHMi!u■ A M grvw*ng—o—r A* gren■■n- g-■ offulBwiiauny^iiyi Yiln»^n^«. %
Parent information sheets (reprodudbles) were interesting to chid 96
There was enough time to complete parent information sheet (reprodudbles)
activities
64
The parent Information aheets (reprodudbles) were important to the chid 83
The child had fun doing parent information sheets (reprodudbles) 90
Parent was able to understand information sheets (reprodudblee) 98
Sheets gave parent other ideas to practice good nutrition 86
rwi^^m 01 porwns WHO MHO MI or mow 01mpoiwn ■nonTMuun 85
N (number of parents completing questionnaires and using parent information (119)
Percent of Patents Aoreeina or em—inn fitronceV TtMt *
Take Our provided useful information 96
Parent could understand information in Take Out" 100
N (number of parents comptoting Questionnaires and receiving Take Out") (20)
Teachers concurred with the results In general, the teachers felt that parent involvement was
the weakest link. Many activities relied on home support that often was "just not there." For
example, children were to bring in recipes from home. But despite giving the children plenty of
time, very few of them ever brought in any recipes.
241
//
The PTA was involved in planning the community event and contributed ideas about how to
inform and involve parents.
2.12 LESSONS LEARNED IN LES MOINES
The experience in Des Moines provided useful information for future TN implementations. The
following key factors were unique to this district and perceived to be critical to successful
implementation and management:
• Establish a Team Management Style. Recognizing the amount of effort
required, the district established a team approach to task completion early in the
project. The three representatives divided responsibilities for coordkiatJng
classroom activities, food service activities, outreach, and management This
approach allowed them to provide comprehensive support according to their
areas of expertise. Their team-building approach carried through to the
planning committee established st the initiation of the project.
• Utilize femsermm BuNding. The management teem in thk« district took s very
methodical approach to consensus building and planning. During this phase of
implementation, they spent a great deal of time introducing the program to the
schools, teachers, the administration, and comnnsTity partners to generate
awareness and obtain "buy-In" from key stakeholders. As a result, they
established a raooort with the schools and several communrtv uaitners mat wW
neip mom vnegraie i earn Nutrroon inJO tneir OJSOTCI ana ensure as conenuance
beyond the pilot implementation project However, more time was needed to
involve food service managers in the planning process.
• Generate Media Coverage. The management team felt that it was important to
capitalize on community partner involvement to assist with the effort to generate
media coverage.
• Recognize Time Conetieinta. Sufficient time is need*) to establish
communication links between teachers and food services. Time also is needed
to buHd working relationships with chefs, meola, and business ootnmunity
partners.
* Add Physical Activity Component Recognizing the connection between
health, food consumption, and physical actrvity, me TNC aixi c<her project
ccordtoaeore encouraged other diamct staff to dsveky s physfc^ actvky
component to link to Team Nutrition. It was felt that the physical activity
component together with Team Nutrition would provide a wof rounded
curriculum.
2-22 J%_
CHAPTER 3: HAMBLEN COUNTY/MORRISTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT
CAM STUDY
m
f
'«*■.-
Pj
MHMMIMHHHHWH iMMMHWI A^-^- •M^MM '
3.1 SETTING THE STAGE: HAMBLEN COUNTY
Table 3a. Hamblen County
Elementary nUfTUMn OI Porcontof nvcMH OI Existing Food Service
School Elementary Elementary Elementary Nutrition Staff Trained
Population Schools School School Education In Dietary
Sludant Studanta Curricula in OuldaMnss
* Population
l^OfnpoMO or
■M ■!i■n■ o■■nMryn
Studanta
Recervinjj
Free/Reduced
lAaaaaJal
the District
4,583 12 10 43 No Yea
Table 3a contains information on the demographics and status of nutrition education and food
service training in the pilot community prior to the introduction of Team Nutrition. Information in
this table was drawn from an application submitted to USDA by school districts interested in
becoming pilot communities and is useful to understanding the environment into which Team
Nutrition was introduced.
Situated in a valley surrounded by lakes and mountains, the city of Momstown (population
22,000) in Hamblen County is approximately 40 miles east of Knoxville, Tennessee. There are
12 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, and 2 senior high schools, with a cumulative
enrollment of 9,000.
Prior to this project, there were no district requirements for nutrition education in elementary
school classrooms (although the State requires that all ninth graders receive a lifetime wetness
curriculum that includes a nutrition component). Any nutrition education the elementary school
students received was typically incorporated into the health, home living, consumer
homemaking, or physical education curriculum and left to the teacher's discretion to implement
For example:
• Kindergartners covered the food guide pyramid, wise food choices, and a
tasting party over a 1- to 1%-week unit.
• Rrst graders covered the basic food groups in conjunction with a science unit
over a 1 - to 2-week period.
• Fourth graders received a unit in health that encompassed nutrition and
included discussions on nutrients and maintaining a healthy body.
3-1 J?
These lessons were supplemented by nutrition activities conducted by the School Nutrition
Program (SNP) snd the Nutrition Advisory Council. Examples of the supplementary activities
• Puppet snows on healthy snacks and the Food Guide Pyramid.
• An American School Food Service Association Poster Contest.
• A Heart Feet at the school sponsored by the American Heart Association.
• Annual Nutrition Fairs in the elementary schools.
• An annual Wetness Feat in the middto schools.
• Periodic prsaentaboni by the SNP Supervisors in tie classrooms,
• Annual inservioa training sessions for teachers.
The school lunch program's office for Hambten County la housed in the school district's central
offices, where a staff of three is responsible for coorolnatTg menus, centra* purchasing, food
service training, and the hiring of food service staff. The SNP takee a very active role in
nutrition education in the district, has received Nutrition Education and Training (NET) grants for
the last 4 years, and has bean involved in teaching nutrition education In the classroom for 17
years.
This district was uniaue amona the oiiot imnimtaatim nmiart communittea becauea of the
activity and viability of the Nutrition Kfimon, Comm^ (HAC), t *bx^ counc* rwtocmiy
tp<m»ortbytohm*km8€*ia6lFood8m*aAMarMon. The Morrietown NAC has at
least 20 members from mtdtfls and high schools. In addWon to conducting nutrition activities in
dassrooms and the community |)M0B**MMlfml»ttftBll^rtHi»«9ferM
service/menu choices.
Ha*w*1m*6m&mlmm*&iml0QmAim^lmm*tm§a§9mut*i ThedMary
guidelines were the focus of the training for the 3 years prior to implementation of Team
Nutrition.
The supervisor of School Nutrition Proqwn*<k>UHrimW*T9mnHi*monCoor*i+or(JHC)
for the implementation project in Hambten County schools. Her support team included the
superi-Ttwdent of schools, the supervieor of instrjcson fw grades K^, extended contract
teachers, principals, school contacts, media representr- Jvea, and school nutrition managers.
3-2
3.2 PLANNING FOR TEAM NUTRITION
3.2. 1 Apptylno tor fne USD A Teem Nutrition Pilot knpionwntttion Profoct
When the announcement for the plot implementation program was disseminated, the State
NET coordinator contacted the SNP supervisor and urged her to apply becauae of her watt-known
Inters* In schoot-bastd nutrition education and carter staixj^ NET grant actrvities.
To gamer the support of the staff and schools, the SNP supervisor discussed the program with
the rest of the food service staff and with the superintendent of schools. After gaining initial
support to apply for tie project, the SNP supervisor contacted the elementary schccl principals
and the elementary school supervisor.
i ne OMOTCI s ongwiai appscason stateo max me reasons ror apprymg ror me project were K> irain
and make nutrition education maleriaJa svailable through the SNP office. Atthattime,
i and funolng did not permit the TNC to visit claeerooms as much as she wanted. It
was hoped that the project would enable the district to train and involve the school food service
managers in nutrition education activities and present the food service staff as a resource for
nutrtion education in the schools.
When the program was initiated, neither the detrict nor treatment school menus had been
analyzed for nutrient content using a USOA-approved software program. Lack of staff
rseourcae and t^ time to trato staff and run tie ccnipu^
oompteong nutnent analysis.
MM planning was conducted after to appecatiw was submittsd. However, after attending
the planning meeting in Washington, D.C.. tr>« TNK: aixl tf< e^enwrtary scfxx-supervieof
resized tot much work remained to be done in devetoptog the impierr«ntation plan and
recruiting support for the activities. Though the TNC was primarily responsible for developing
the plan (at times, 100 percent of her time was spent developirig me irr^jlerrwntation p^), ahe
and the elementary schooi supervisor bom feH they needed st least 3 to 6 nx)nths prior to start-up
to adequately plan for implementation.
3-3 j£
Selecting and Recruiting the Schools
Although selection of the schools was driven by the USDA criteria for identifying pairs of
schools that were matched on key criteria, the TNC also looked for schools where the
principals, teachers, and cafeteria staff were committed, enthusiastic, and flexible. Any school
recruitment and selection problems were solved by providing incentives to staff and regular
communication between the TNC and the principals. Final selection of schools was completed
by the end of November 1995.
Selecting Activities and Building Collaborative Relationships
The following activities were included in the final implementation plan submitted to USDA:
• Nutrition Fake—one held at each treatment school.
• Breakfast with the Stars—a promotional radto event featuring school breakfast
• Chefs Go Back to School—a chef event in each school featuring celebrity chefs
from TV and local/regional restaurants.
• Five-A-Day Promotion existing Five Alive teams scheduled to promote the
Five-A-Day Program, as weN as the goals of Team Nutrition.
• Parent support solicited through participation in aN of the activities and parent
contacts in newsletters.
• Media coverage of si events supported by an advisory group.
The TNC had experience implementing many of the activities selected tor sicluston m the
impJ^entabon plan such as the nutrition fairs and BfeeJdast With the Stars. BybuMngon
previously existing program events, the TNC felt that she could better use resources and
achieve the objectives of the program within the narrow timed erne for implementation
Other activities, such as the chef events, were developed to fluM USDA program requirements
but also helped the SNP meet a need for outreach wtthin fiat community. The SNP hoped that
the events would teach the food service staff to season food dfferentty and develop practices to
help reduce fat
uevetoptng nemuOnsnpm rritn me ocnoom
Communication with proposed treatment schools was rebated prior to the final ■election of
schools and development of the implementation plan. After final selection, the TNC met wtth
3-4 S7
the principals, teachers, and food service staff in the schools to review program goals and the
expectations for their Involvement During a series of meetings with the school representatives,
school contacts were selected, and teachers and principals were offered the opportunity to
participate in the decision-making process for selecting activities and scheduling teacher
training.
3.3 THE TEAM NUTRITION IMPLEMENTATION SCHOOLS
Table 3b. Team Nutrition Implementation Schools
School
Population
Percent of
Student
Kopuisuon
Percent
neoelving
rree/nsduced
Meals
Type el
Kitchen
RusseHviNe 486 <1 39 Production
John Hay 271 4 37 Production
Selected characteristics on each of the treatment schools are provided in Table 3b. In addition
to being similar in student makeup and structure, the schools were located within a short
distance of each other.
The implementation school principals were interviewed during an initial site visit just prior to the
start of implementation. Each of them reported feeling involved in the dsdekxnrialdng process.
Once they agreed to participate, they discussed the program with their staff. Both of the
principals were very satisfied with the school food lunch program and felt that they received
good support from the food service central office.
One of the principals was very impressed that students could take as much of the lunch Kerns
as they wanted, but desired to see the school breakfast program Improved by lowering the fat
content This principal's active involvement in the food service program has resulted in the
addrbonofasaiadr*randanapptojuice^>as^
get an afternoon snack.
The principals OK) not question the importance of teaching nutrition but felt that the curriculum
to what the teachers must teach to prepare their students for the Tennessee
set. They fert that expectations about what a school must teach students
a limited timetrame should be realistic.
3-5 St
The principals hoped that nutrition education in the classroom would help students make better
food choices but fett that there were no guarantees. When interviewed, one of the principals
had not seen the TN module and felt he could not comment thoughtfully on it However, he felt
that nutrition education would assist students in making better food choices "similar to the
relative success achieved with smoking and drugs."
In both of the treatment schools, coordination for the project activities rested with a fourth grade
teacher who served as the school contact. The teachers, selected for their enthusiasm and
organizational skills, were to serve as liaisons between the district, school food service, and
other teachers. The principals viewed their role as that of a "supporter" serving to keep spirits
high, handle problems, coordinate with the district office, and respond to any parent questions.
The structure of food service in both of the treatment schools was similar. Each school had an
onsite kitchen with menus provided by the district office. Salad bars hava been introduced to
some of the schools within the past few years, including one of the two treatment schools.
Students are encouraged to take an entree and a salad and to finish what they select
One school maintains a separate cafeteria area, but in the other, students eat in the classroom.
Nutritional posters and bulletin boards describing the food guide pyramid are displayed in the
cafeterias and classrooms.
The principals had little knowledge about the evaluation or what would be required of their
schools for the evaluation. Additional information about the evaluation was provided to the
principals during the initial project interviews.
3.4 TEACHER TRAINING FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SCHOLASTIC MODULES
3.4.1 D—crlption of the Hsmbfn County Training
All of the teachers scheduled to implement the curricula participated in the training: six
kindergarten teachers, five first grade teachers, and six fourth grade teachers.
Because the training sessions were scheduled after the regular class day and took longer than
anticipated, the main challenge was to keep the participants engaged. Although the teachers
chose to schedule the training after the school day (to save the money that would have gone to
pay for substitute teachers), it was difficult to keep them from fading during the final hour of
each of the training sessions. The scheduled start time of the first session was delayed
3-6 A
each of the training sessions The scheduled start time of the first session was delayed
because it conflicted with several teachers' responsibilities to provide after-school supervision
of students boarding buses.
3.4.2 T—chwr Evaluation* and Perception* of the Trainings
Table 3c. Teacher Opinion* of Training for Implementing the Scholastic
Percent of Teachers Agreeing That: %
The trefciwiu wee reJevant to teaching the leesont. 88
The training wee neceeeary to teach the leeeoni 47
The training Improved your abaty to teach the lessons. 44
N (number of teachers comotetina tiieotinnnairei'l (17)
Although teachers at all grade levels felt the training was relevant to teaching the lessons, less
than one-half thought the training was necessary to teach the lessons or that it improved their
ability to teach the lessons (Table 3c).
In interviews, teachers revealed that some of the negative views of the training were based on
reactions to the scheduling. In general, teachers felt that the length of the training was
excessive and the timing inconvenient. The teachers agreed that:
• The training provided the necessary tools to teach the TN module.
• The training provided sufficient opportunities to ask questions, give input and
share experiences.
• The training materials were clear and supported the objectives of the program.
The teachers found the opportunities to get input and share kteas with other teachers the most
useful aspect of the training; however, they were frustrated with the length of the training
session and by not being able to review the training arxJ Scholastic rrodules in advance of the
sessions.
3-7
4
the classroom is an appropriate place to teach nutrition and that students like it as much as any
other subject. Fewer teachers (69 percent) were less willing to say that they try to influence
children's food choices outside the school. As shown in Table 3e, the teachers were also in
near complete agreement in their recognition of the benefits of nutrition education.
Table 3d. Teacher Motivation Prior to Implementation (Pretest Percentages)
1n1ullulllv!■iu■!uIIiIMI ■!i !n*■p»n■ 1i %
Percer' indicating interest in leeching nutrition 100
Percent indicating interest in incorporating nutrition activities into their
dessrooms
100
Percent indicating that students Hke nutrition subjects as well as other
jubjecla
100
Percent indicating that they try to influence the food choices their
students make outside of school
60 1
Percent indicating that they plan to incorporate nutrition more often
into their dessroom activities
100
Percent indicating that the classroom « an appropriata place to teach
students about nutrition
04
N (number of teachers completing questionnaires) (17)
Table 3e. Percent of Teachers Agreeing With Statements' Regarding the Benefits of
Nutrition Education (Pretest Percentages)
ruWulil UMWIIIS Of NUWrlKMl COUCaWKJfl %
NuWIkw education in the dsssroomwWheto 04
Teaching nutrition wtf help reinforce c4her subjects that they teach. 94
Good nutrition can positively affect students' dees performances. 100
3.5J Adtwtoco to Cunicutum
As described in Chapter 1, the Scholastic kits are a>mpos«d of rone lessors for Mockie 1 (Pre
K -K)and 8 lessons each for Modules 2 (Grades 1-2) and 3 (Grades 3-5). During teacher
training for the pilot, Module 1 teachers were told they srxwW o>rnr^te at least ekjht of the nine
lessons and that they should conduct three activities r*r week, wim rw explicit instructions as to
which activities. The teachers for Modules 2 and 3 were instructed to teach all eight lessons,
complete the Getting Started session and each of the actrvities induct in ^9 lessee, complete
the Lunchroom Link for at least four of the lessons, and use the student and parent
reprodudbies as directed in the Scholastic lessons. Adherence to lie curricula was measured
3-8
Q
by the number of times the teachers reported (through activity logs) completing the
recommended lessons, activities, and Lunchroom Links, as well as the degree to which they
used the materials as directed. Because there were no explicit activities required for Module 1,
the data on activities and materials are not used in measuring adherence for this module.
Table 3f. Classroom Implementation of Scholastic Module
(Kindergarten)
Module 2
(Grade 1) (Grade 4)
AI
# of Scholastic Lessons (Per module) 0 8 8 25
Avg. f of Lessons Taught' 7.8 7 8 7.85
Avg. Duration Per Lesson Taught
(Hrs)*
1.37 2.39 4.19 2.69
Avg. Planning Time Per Lesson
Taught (Hrs)T
0.73 1.48 1.88 1.36
Cumulative Duration Per Class (His)1 10.73 16.73 33.52 20.53
' Avenge* reflect cumulative totals dMded by the number of t
*Averages reflect cumulative toteJs dMded by US number of I i taught in each modi**.
As shown in Table 3f, the teachers in HamWen County completed almost el of the lessons in
the three modules. The kindergarten teachers reported completing an average of 7.8 of the
required 8 lessons in Module 1, while the first grade teachers presented, on average, 7 of the 8
lessons in Module 3. The fourth grade teachers were inMcompserice. wlm each teacher
completing all 8 of the lessons. The average duration of the lessons taught was 1.37 hours for
the kindergarten lessons, 2.39 for the first graders, and over 4 hours for the fourth grade
students. The average cumulative exposure per class was almost 11 hours for Module 1, just
under 17 hours for Module 2, and over 33 hours for Module 3.
Teachers in Hamblen County displayed a high level of adherence to the curriculum (Table 3g).
This is partJculariy true of the fourth grade teachers, who conducted aJmoat aJI of fite required
activities. The teachers were somewhat less faithful in their use of the materials (Table 3h) but
still used them the majority of the time as recommended.
3-9
6>P
Tabte3g. Average Numberof Trmes Activtttee WereConducted PorClaae
Moduli a (Grade 1) Module 3 (Grade 4)
mm
AAMVeaWJi^Krlf^
Conducted
Available
CamluiiMd
Gating Started 8 5.8 8 7.8
AdMlyl 8 6.6 8 7.6
Activ*y2 8 58 8 7.5
Activity 3 2 1.4 2 1.8
4 2.8 4 4.3
Horn Connection 7 4.4 6 4.3
CcMxAeBrMcIiAMA uf^oILrMnl ne, -■c—foL# IoJT-nft 0 0.0 1 0.2
Wrap It Up 8 4.0 8 5.2
Taking it Further 8 2.4 8 22
TabteSh. Average Mumbef of Tlmee Materials Ware Uaed Par Claea
Moduli 2 (Grade 1) Module 3 (Grade 4)
■ Ill mcewawanaad Uaed nsoommsndsd Uaed
Parent InionnsUon
stneeis
7 5.6 7 5.8
Student Information
Sheets
(reproducibies)
8 4.6 7 6.3 I
Student Magazine 2 0.8 6 4.0
Video 4 IJ 5 u
OveraJI. the coordinators of the TN effort at the district levd fett that the two schools did an
"outetarK*ngMj<*icTH>fement^ According to the TNC,
the teachers could be counted on to foltow through completely on aH aspects of the project.
Noteworthy were the fourth grade teachers, who spent an average of over 4 hours per tesaon
and taught aH eight of the lessons m the module, resulting in a cumulative duration per class of
over 33 hours. The order of the lessons presented was modified slightly to coincide with a
school-wide activity being conducted at the schools.
3-10
&
The supervisor of the elementary school programs viewed the informal networking and sharing
between teachers as facilitating factors in the completion of the lessons. As she commented,
there was no need to "reinvent the wheel."
The TNC's assistance in obtaining materials for the lessons and distributing the materials to the
teachers relieved some of the burden from the teachers and enabled them to focus on lesson
implementation. The TNC commented that some of the materials reauired for the les&ons were
difficult to find. She had to make many calls to local vendors and farm stores to find mung
beans for a plant-growing activity in the fourth grade module.
One of the challenges for the TNC was facilitating communication between the teachers,
administrators, and food service staff. The principals' cooperation with the TNC contributed to
a smooth implementation. The TNC also felt that having realty good teachers played an
essential part in communicating the nutrition messages to the students. However, the TNC
would advise other schools to plan ahead and work closely with teachers and food service staff
if they are considering implementing the TN modules.
Implementation Methods
The implementation method was consistent in the two treatment schools. The teachers
collaborated on approaches to lessons and activities and shared ideas and materials but taught
the curriculum to their own classes.
The teachers presented the Scholastic materials aa a separate health or nutrition curriculum.
Some of the teachers selected and modified activities based on how appropriate they felt the
activities were for the educational levels and r^ersonalities of their students. For instance, one
teacher said that an activity was a "disaster with her class because it required students to
interact as a large group; however.it would not be a problem with a different set of students.
The independent evaJuators who observed selected lessons and activities reported a consistent
and high degree of adherence to the lesson plan among fourth grade teachers.
The teachers also displayed a great deal of enthusiasm for the lessons and seened
comfortable with the curriculum content. Their ease was reflected in the observers* written
comments on the classrooms:
• "Good participation. Students demonstrated mastery of the food pyramid
knowledge."
3-11 Mf
• "Students seem very interested end seem to understand the concepts very
• "Good open discussion and comments from students.'
• "Students were attentive end had some very good questions. They really know
thepyramioT
3.5.3 TmdmAfWude* Toward Sohoimtic Itatorlsft
The HamWen County teachers also expressed very positive opinions of the Schoiastic
materials, with 88 percent saying they ware somewhat or very Mtisllad with them (Table 3i).
Almost all of the teachers said the materials were devetopmentalry (88 percent), educationally
(88 percent), and culturally (100 percent) appropriate for their students. The teachers were less
positive about the time required to prepare (66 percent) and teach (53 percent) the lessons.
Most agreed that the classroom activities were apprcpriate for their dassrc<)m (76 percert) snd
met their nutrition-related teaching needs (82 percent), and 59 percent said the content of the