Students Speak Out
Roosevelt Elementary School, Fresno, CA
When Roosevelt Elementary principal Danny Teevens decided to create a School Wellness Council, he had no idea how many students would want to join.
Coming back from the Healthy Schools Forum in July, he asked fourth- and fifth-graders if they wanted to participate in the Council. He received an avalanche of responses and every student had a personal story about why joining the Council was important. Here are some of the replies:
"Diabetes runs in my family....[B]oth grandmas have type 2 diabetes and suffer from obesity. I wish to change my family's lifestyle."
"Grandma has type 2 diabetes and I want to stop it for all people."
"I want to help my health and other people. When I went to my psychiatrist I weighed 124 lbs. and I wanted to lose weight."
"My family has a long history of diabetes and I have diabetes. So, I want to help others so they don't have to get it."
"I want to help other people not get overweight, and myself."
"Grandma has diabetes and obesity. I want to help her stop using a lot of salt...more ideas from this committee will help."
"One aunt has diabetes and the other eats too much junk food. I want to learn more so I can help more." Encouraged by the overwhelming student interest, Mr. Teevens forged ahead and asked others to join the Council, as well, including teachers, parents and the director of after-school programs.
As one of three schools from Fresno's CentralUnifiedSchool District participating in the Alliance's Healthy School Program, Roosevelt serves a rural, mostly Hispanic population. Approximately 80% of the students participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program.