Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange

Pre-Read Document

March 22, 2017

Lincoln Financial Field

(Philadelphia Eagles Stadium)

Philadelphia, PA

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Sponsor:

Table of Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3

Your Role. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4

Case for Collaborative Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 6

Current Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8

Framing the Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10

Measuring Success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15

What’s Needed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16

Looking Forward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17

American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) is the checkoff promotion organization funded by dairy farmers in New York, Northern New Jersey and Northeastern Pennsylvania whose mission includes acting as nutrition advocates for children throughout the marketing area.

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Foreword

The Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange herein known as “The Exchange” is an

unprecedented opportunity to explore solutions to integrate next stage readiness, social and

emotional well-being, health and wellness activity into schools to support the academic success

and happiness for all children in New York City, northern NJ, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and

District of Columbia.

You have been identified as an expert, innovator, and/or key influencer in the field, and your

experience and unique perspective will be crucial to our collective success.

The Exchange will be unlike any meeting you may have attended in the past. It will not be a typical

learning seminar or conference where, for the most part, you listen to a series of presentations

and panels. This summit will be a highly-participative, action‐focused process engaging leading

stakeholders to identify the strengths we can build on; shape a common vision for the future;

brainstorm and prototype solutions; and create action plans that can lead to measureable

improvements. By bringing together students, parents, educators, administrators, child nutrition

leaders, physical education leaders, innovative non-profits, government representatives and

other experts, we take a “system in the room” approach that can find solutions that none of us

can create on our own.

We hope you are as excited as we are to participate in this summit.

Summit Council

The sponsors would like to thank the following group of individuals that have acted as Steering

Council for this project to ensure broad representation of varied interests:

Michael Prayor NYC Department of Education Andrea Thompson American Dairy Association North East Mark Saunders Saunders Innovative Gail Street American Dairy Association North East

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Your Role Prior to and During the Summit We ask that you come to the Summit:

Having read through this document with particular focus on the “Case for Collaborative Action” and the “Framing the Opportunities” sections

Bringing your personal and organizational knowledge and interest in the issues and opportunities related to our summit task outlined below

During the Summit, your role will be to:

Actively participate in the exercises and discussions

Ensure that the perspective interests of your organization are heard

Contribute to shaping the outcomes of the Summit and the recommended next steps Summit Process

This summit is based on a model called the Appreciative Inquiry Summit pioneered by David Cooperrider, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. This summit model has been used in a wide variety of contexts to create large-scale positive change. What is Appreciative Inquiry? To appreciate means to value—to understand those things worth valuing. To inquire means to study, to ask questions, to explore. Appreciative Inquiry is, therefore, a collaborative exploration to identify and understand a particular group’s strengths, their greatest opportunities, and their aspirations for the future, and to build a shared plan of action that will help create that future. An appreciative inquiry summit is a whole-system working meeting that engages a cross-section of as many stakeholder groups as possible—constituencies that care about and have a stake in the future of the issue at hand. This means more diversity than usual in a working meeting, and a chance for each person and stakeholder group to be heard and to be exposed to other perspectives on the issues and opportunities. It is not a conference. Each of you have been selected because of your ability to contribute as innovators, decision makers, influencers or activators to create positive change. This model has been used by: The UN Global Compact to engage 500 global CEOs to make commitments around the

millennium development goals The World Council of Religions to work on interfaith communication

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Major corporations to do strategic planning, merger planning with 100 to 1000 participants.

The US Navy to create a new framework for leadership development A coalition of beverage, waste management, logistics, and container companies to create

a strategy for increasing recycling in the US The US battery industry to create a multi-stakeholder program for recycling single use

batteries Whole industry supply chains to address environmental sustainability goals You can think of Appreciative Inquiry as having four distinct phases:

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The “Exchange” is task focused, not simply an educational event or a conference. Through a highly-participative process you will explore strengths, build a shared vision, explore opportunity areas, and create a practical action plan. The outcome of the “Exchange” will be a collective commitment to action.

The Case for Collaborative Action There are several related, though seemingly contrasting, factors that play into the current reality of children and their access to health-promoting resources and opportunities to affect academically successful outcomes; however, a primary driving force behind “access” is the economic status of the children’s families, the communities they live in, and the schools they attend. Children who live in poverty or low-income areas are more likely to be hungry or at risk of hunger due to their household’s limited resources, and more likely to live in communities that don’t have fresh, affordable, and nutritious food readily available to all residents. Thus it is not surprising that childhood obesity rates are also higher in low-income areas; the food that is available and affordable in low-income areas is more often of low nutritional value. It is also important to understand how poverty and its related consequences disproportionately impact people of color. Throughout the nation, people of color experience higher rates of chronic diseases and hunger than the population as a whole. We can trace these inequitable outcomes back to the higher rates of unemployment and poverty in communities of color, and the geographical segregation that creates racialized concentrations of wealth and poverty. Unfortunately, our school systems reflect these social and economic inequities. It is critical we identify and understand the structures of inequity present in our communities, schools and food systems, so that we develop strategies that will truly change the root causes of obesity, hunger, limited physical activity, and low academic performance among students in our communities. These “root cause” strategies will result in new structures and systems that are fair and just and ensure all children lead healthy and productive lives, regardless of their social circumstances.

Exchange Task:

To establish collaborative leadership to address the concerns and needs of our students across the borders.

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Collaboration and creativity are critical

“Anyone can lead when there’s abundance. We need clear-headed people to work together to find the opportunities to change the system.”

“I have seen great change when you have a room full of diverse people working towards

the same goal.”

“I deeply believe the city (NY) is ready to improve nutrition and physical activity

programs.”

A holistic approach is necessary

“The core of our approach is to teach children how to be fit for the rest of their lives.”

“Everyone working with young people needs to understand how physical activity provides a better wellbeing and why it does so.” “We focus on the student’s whole universe. That means we focus on their school, homes,

and community. When we take all of this into account, we get the change we need in

the student’s achievements.”

“Our goal is to improve kids’ relationship with food through hands on program.” “Teacher education needs to go beyond simply education. It needs to inspire. Currently our need to meet all the curriculum requirements kills teaching imaginations. It is time to give teachers their imagination back.”

Transformation is already happening

“It is amazing to see the transformation in some of these cafeterias. The transformation

is so great; students don’t even realize they are eating at school.”

“It is amazing to see how some people are doing a great job and don’t even know. Now,

we have to be able to share more of these experiences and get more of them underway.”

“We can use programs that focus on providing an amazing user experience to help transform health and wellness in schools, in a similar fashion to what we are already doing in other areas.”

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Current Landscape

This is not an exhaustive list of all available resources in the school environment. We wish to draw your attention to what’s available from a policy standpoint that might be leveraged more by eligible schools and students. Federal and State Policies

NUTRITION PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Federal The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires USDA to establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools—not only in the federally-supported school meals programs. The Act increases the availability of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in the school menu, while setting specific calorie limits to ensure age-appropriate meals for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. In order to receive federal reimbursement, school meals must meet these guidelines. Additionally, local school districts may adopt policies further limiting what types of foods may be served on school grounds or for school activities (such as not allowing candy bars to be sold for fundraisers).

There are no federal requirements in place for physical education in schools, but The National Association of Sport and Physical Education does have guidelines: 150 minutes per week for elementary school children and 225 minutes per week for middle and high school students.

A recent study examined all 50 of the United States and found only six states where elementary schools followed recommended physical education guidelines. Two states followed the guidelines at the middle school level, and no states had strong enough regulations at the high school level.

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Other Resources

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION

Breakfast in the Classroom

(School Nutrition Foundation)

The Breakfast in the Classroom initiative takes the traditional school breakfast approach and improves it with one key ingredient: the classroom. The Breakfast Resource Center has a wealth of ideas to help inform and guide decision makers in making the right choices for students. http://breakfastintheclassroom.org/about-partners-for-breakfast-in-the-classroom/why-is-breakfast-in-the-classroom-needed/

Coordinated School Health

Resources (CDC)

Coordinated School Health (CSH) is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a strategy for improving students’ health and learning in our nation’s schools. Included here are the rationale and goals for CSH, a model framework for planning and implementing CSH and resources to help schools, districts and states improve their school health programs. www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/cshp/

HealthierUS School

Challenge (USDA)

This voluntary certification initiative recognizes those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Many schools find that applying for the Challenge is a valuable learning process that helps their school wellness team focus on areas needing improvement. www.fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/index.html

Presidential Youth Fitness

Program (President’s Council on

Fitness, Sports and Nutrition)

A national program that includes fitness assessment, professional development and recognition, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program helps schools assess, track and award youth fitness and physical activity. www.presidentialyouthfitnessprogram.org/

Society of Health and

Physical Educators

(SHAPE America)

This toolkit from the Society of Health and Physical Educators provides resources for physical education in schools that will help all students attain knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for them to lead healthy and active lives. http://www.shapeamerica.org/publications/resources/teachingtools/coachtoolbox/

Fuel Up to Play 60 (National

Dairy Council & NFL)

This in-school program aims to improve healthy eating and physical activity with students playing a key role. Resources include a Playbook of action strategies, a School Wellness Investigation assessment tool, rewards and recognition for students, educators and schools, and funding opportunities. www.FuelUpToPlay60.com

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Framing the Opportunities What might be possible if we work together?

We all know that educators and schools are facing real challenges of decreased budgets, staffing

cuts, regulations that limit how they allocate scarce resources, and the pressures of standardized

testing programs. Schools are faced with difficult choices every day. In this environment, creative

leadership and collaborative innovation are critical to make the most of scarce resources, expand

and scale ideas that have been proven to work, and collaborate across boundaries to ensure that

all children have the best possible chance to learn, grow, and thrive. We may need to step

outside our own boundaries and habitual ways of thinking and find creative solutions. Our

exploration, then, begins with a question, an exploration of possibilities, an appreciative inquiry:

how might we, in our present situation, tap our strengths to find innovative ways to make sure

all children have access to nutritious food and physical activity that supports their social and

emotional well-being and their academic performance? How might we better integrate next-

stage readiness into the school experience to develop habits and mindsets that will enable all

children to lead vital lives beyond their school years into adulthood? How might we forge deep

connections between children with not just information, but firsthand experience that goes

home with them and positively influences their families and communities? How might we create

a generation of children who for example, turn the tide on obesity and the subsequent other

health challenges it can bring? How might we create systems that ensure equitable access to

opportunities for all children? In these questions, these explorations lay the seeds of innovative

thinking. And by exploring these questions with a broad group of stakeholders, across boundaries

and disciplines, we may well come up with answers that are unexpected, powerful, and

actionable.

To help jumpstart the discussions at the Exchange, we have identified a preliminary set of opportunities based on the positive examples described above and ideas uncovered from stakeholder interviews. The following set of opportunities cover ideas specifically related to nutrition and physical activity areas as well as cross cutting system-wide opportunities. The opportunities presented here merely serve as a starting point upon which to build at the Summit and in no way are meant to be prescriptive or to limit additional ideas we can explore.

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Opportunities Starter List: Health and Wellness – Nutrition

Increase Access to School

Nutrition Programs

Educate and enroll key

stakeholders (parents,

superintendents, principals)

about the benefits of school

meals and availability of

programs e.g. lunch, snack,

supper, summer meals etc.

Equip teachers with

curriculum and

instruction for the first 20

min of class while

students eat breakfast in

the classroom

Find more time to let

children eat breakfast e.g.

include Breakfast After the

Bell programs for high

school students, increase 20

min period

Provide Brunch for Lunch

Engage Families and

Communities

Expand food and nutrition

education beyond the school

environment to enroll parents

and the community, e.g.

after-school/Saturday

classes on healthy foods and

food preparation, healthy

meals on a budget,

School/PTA fundraising etc.

Introduce healthy food

options in

neighborhoods/communitie

s with lack of food choices

(“food deserts”), e.g.

Green Carts Programs,

Farmer’s Markets,

Community Gardens

Decrease the availability of

unhealthy foods in the school

surroundings, e.g. implement

a bodega Initiative to carry

healthier foods near schools,

limit sales of mobile snack

food carts near schools,

foods near schools, limit

sales of mobile snack food

carts near schools

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Opportunities Starter List: Health and Wellness – Physical

Activity

Get Active in School

Train teachers to integrate

physical activity into the

classroom, e.g. develop physical

activity modules that can be

implemented quickly in limited

spaces (e.g. classroom, hallway);

partner with state AAHPERDS to

develop curriculum and trainings

Create the physical environment

to support activity during free

time e.g. provide access to

equipment, allow use of school

facilities

Find ways to offer physical activity

choices that are inclusive of all

students from different fitness

levels and different activity

interests e.g. providing a wide

range of activities with something

for everyone.

Engage families and

communities

Involve parents and the

community on school physical

programs, e.g. annual events

where children and parents

participate together, sporting

events where parents

volunteer,

community/neighborhood

games

Develop programs to use

the city as a gym, e.g.

utilizing parks and other

publicly available spaces to

exercise

Incorporate more physical

activity into daily practices,

e.g. walking and biking to

school (when safe and

applicable), playing sports

in the neighborhood,

substituting TV with play

time

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Opportunities Starter List: Next Stage Readiness – Pre-K

through College

Academic Behaviors

Identify how positive academic

behaviors can enhance the

educational development of

students focusing on the

following behaviors:

Persistence

Time management

Study skills

Executive functioning

Reading proficiency by 3rd

grade

Academic vocabulary

College awareness and

Aspirations

College exploration

Habits of Mind (academic

behaviors)

Intrinsic motivation

Engage families and

communities

Keep an open communication

between families and schools to

create community and cultural

connections

Train in effective behavioral

techniques

Support School-wide efforts

Trainings for Parents and

Community Stakeholders

Provide guides designed to help

parents better understand

academic expectations

Resources for college bound

students

Family Resource Centers

Parent Leadership

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Opportunities Starter List: Social & Emotional Well Being

Social & Emotional Well

Being

Provide strategies to promote

self-efficacy

Teach students strategies to

help develop self-regulation

Devise strategies on how to

cultivate positive social

relationships

Offer trainings on “Emotional

Intelligence” to teach students

how to manage/adjust their

emotions to adapt to

environments

Engage families and

communities

Participate in Emotional Intelligence trainings to understand and assist students with managing their emotions

Promote a developmentally appropriate understanding of emotions, e.g. through interactions, stories, etc.

Encourage caring and respectful

relationships at home, in school and in the community

Use a variety of instructional techniques to cater to different cultures, life and learning styles

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Imagining and Measuring Success The right measures are key to tracking progress in any change effort, and ambitious goals can help inspire innovative thinking. We like to work with goals in the context of a summit in two ways. First, we ask ourselves, what are the aspirational goals that represent complete success in achieving our task? These aspirational goals then become north stars, guiding all our efforts, keeping us focused, and helping us get beyond incremental thinking to envision boldly what might be possible. For this Interstate Leadership Learning Exchange, we propose the following aspirational goals for our dual focus on nutrition and physical activity:

These aspirational goals may seem daunting and hard to measure, but we believe that we can all agree that they would be great outcomes for our students and would go a long way to contributing to their overall health and academic success. They also serve to get us thinking–how might we actually accomplish those goals? What would it take? And that’s exactly the function of aspirational goals. As you prepare for the summit, we invite you to dream big and let your creative imagination explore those questions. They’re not impossible goals–they don’t require violating any laws of physics to accomplish them. They don’t require technological innovations or new legislation. So let yourself ponder them and explore that appreciative inquiry question How might we . . .? In our experience, commitment to accomplishing these bold goals is a powerful force to drive positive change. Underneath these two aspirational goals we might nest a number of sub-goals that would be more specific, that would contribute to progress toward these two north stars. Under physical activity we might have goals around:

Schools meeting physical education recommendations

Students participating in voluntary, after school physical activity programs

Students participating in community based physical activity programs

Integration of physical activity across the curriculum Under nutrition, we might have goals around:

Students participating in ‘breakfast in the classroom’ program

100% of Students in Target Districts

Have 1 hour of physical activity before, during or

after school every

school day

Eat a nutritious breakfast, lunch and

dinner every school day

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Students participating in other school breakfast programs

Students participating in after school meal programs

Schools with school garden programs

integration of nutrition and healthy eating information across the curriculum We might decide to have goals that combine physical activity and nutrition, such as student participation in programs, like Fuel Up to Play 60. During the summit, as we explore the opportunity areas and focus on action that we can take together, we will frame stretch targets around the relevant sub-goals. A stretch goal is a specific, measurable target that is challenging but achievable. As we prepare for the Learning Connection Summit, think about what goal or goals would inspire you to action?

What’s Needed It is apparent that nutrition and physical activity are essential levers to improve health and increase academic performance. What drivers and synergies can we identify across our areas of expertise that will impact these levers? What might we accomplish if we all came together, crossing over our geographical area's to identify the best in our communities, ourselves and had the freedom for one day to explore new ideas? How might we find ways to share what’s working, create new partnerships, and collaborate to combine our strengths in ways that make our limitations and constraints irrelevant?

What might be possible if we identify the evidenced-based practices working within and across

our cities and scale up excellence and work together to create an environment where the learning

connection with nutrition and physical activity are embedded into our day to day practices,

curriculum and families and communities; where social and emotional well-being and next stage

readiness, generate better focus, fewer absences, more resilience in the face of challenges, and

more success in school and in life?

To achieve success, significant policy and environmental change is needed to give children the

opportunity to lead a healthy life. There is no magic bullet for solving this crisis, and everyone

has a role to play.

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Looking Forward This pre-read material is by no means all-encompassing. We look forward to engaging with you

in a thoughtful and innovative manner at the upcoming summit, in an action-oriented, results-

focused environment.

We are bringing together an extraordinary group of leaders from across the ‘system’ we call K-

12 education in New York City, northern NJ, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and District of

Columbia and students, parents, teachers, administrators, service providers, non-profits,

academics, civil servants. We are inviting the best exemplars of innovative solutions, the best

researchers, the most committed activists and change leaders. Not just to sit and listen to each

other talk, though listening and talking are important. To roll up our sleeves, to engage, to create,

and commit to taking action. We are using the best collaborative whole-system-change process

we have found in over 25 years of experience, and we guarantee it will be an experience you will

remember and appreciate.

Margaret Mead famously said, “Never underestimate the power of a small group of individuals

to change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has.” Indeed. Join us. Bring your ideas, your

passion, your commitment, and help us create an inflection point in the relationship between

food, physical activity, and learning. It’s quite possible it will change your world, and the world of

our next generation of leaders, for good.

We look forward to working with all of you this March 22, 2017 and beyond.

Further Reading

About the Appreciative Inquiry Process Appreciative Inquiry Commons http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

For more information, contact: TheExchange@milk4u.org