School Assessment:

Braylee Benjamin
PPE 310: Health Literacy
Dr. Lineberry
February 7, 2016

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School Assessment:

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Assessment Results
Overall Grade: F
During School: 40%
Room for improvement. Some simple changes can have a tremendous impact on your Active &
Healthy score, from point-of-decision signage to additional physical activity after lunch.
Curriculum: 20%
Let's get to work. The Active & Healthy Schools Program is committed to creating programs that
schools can successfully implement and maintain. Let's look at some possibilities for your PE
program.
Recess / Lunch: 25%
Let's get to work. A few simple changes can encourage students to choose healthy foods over
sugary snacks, which will increase your Active & Healthy score and help students get more out
of school.
After School: 20%
Let's get to work. Take a look at a few simple changes your school can make to help create an
Active & Healthy environment, both at school and at home.
(Gopher Sport, 2016)
One of the strengths my school has is the amount of healthy snacks they have for students
throughout the day. The students have the option to pick up grab-n-go between classes that
range from different types of healthy snacks. My school also offers a lot of sports options after

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school for students to join. One weakness my school has is promoting healthy eating or activity
throughout their school. They do not display poster to attempt to keep kids active or allow
students activity breaks throughout their classes. Another weakness they face is their
involvement in students families. My school does not send pamphlets or newsletters home for
parents in order to encourage them to be active with their child. They also do not give parents the
necessary tools to help their children stay healthy.
One way I want to help change the school policy, at least within my classroom and grade, is to
incorporate brain breaks / activity breaks for my students. My students tend to get restless
throughout the 70 minutes they have to sit through math and I want to get them up and active
during my lessons. One way I can do this is adding brain breaks into my lesson that get the
students out of their chairs and moving around at least a little bit. One way I can do this is by
doing review games where they have to jump to face a certain wall when they get an answer, or
by having them solve problems posted on the walls that they must walk to during timed
rotations.
Another way I can help promote a healthy lifestyle is by having my students create posters on
healthy lifestyles through whatever math concept we are currently discussing. They could post
those poster around the school if the principal allows them and they will hopefully spark
thoughts in students throughout the school.
In the After School (Gopher Sport, 2016) section of the assessment, they asked me if the
parents are asked to be involved in the promotion of healthy lifestyles with their children, which
my school does not promote. One way I can change this is by having my students use their
knowledge of statistics to create pamphlets to send home that explain ways parents can help
promote healthy lifestyles in their homes. Another way I can do this, is by putting on a family

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night where the parents are taught ways to incorporate activity in everything their children and
themselves do on a daily basis. We can also explain how activity can help increase cognitive
growth and academic achievement.
The topic(s) I am most interested in is how activity in the classroom can help decrease behavioral
problems and/or increase academic achievement. Knowing that the school does not offer many
activity breaks could be a potential issue as to why students in these 70 minute blocks are getting
sent out constantly.
Some background on my school may be necessary in order to fully understand the state my
school is in for this issue of behavioral issues and low academic achievement. The school I am
currently students teaching at is Rhodes Junior High, a public, Title 1 school, in the Mesa School
District. Rhodes has an overall letter grade of a C. My school has roughly 1038 students
schoolwide. My school is made up of 55% Hispanic students (but only 2% are ELLs), 6%
American Indian students, 3% Asian students, 6% Black students, and 30% White students
(Rhodes Junior High School). This information can be vital when it comes to understanding the
behavioral and academic needs of my students overall, as well as why they may not be getting
the proper health education they should be.