The first meeting of the district’s newly-formed Commission on School Nutrition and Physical Activity is at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 30 in the first-floor Board Room of the DPS administration building, 900 Grant St.

In January, the Board unanimously passed a resolution that launched the new commission, which is co-chaired by Board member Elaine Gantz Berman and Dr. Reginald “Reggie” Washington, a prominent pediatric cardiologist from Colorado who, among many other regional and national appointments, is co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Task Force on Obesity.

“Clearly students spend a good part of their day with us...and we need to make sure students know the difference between good nutrition and poor nutrition and the importance of physical activity,” said Board member Berman during the January discussion. Denver Public Schools, she added, will lead the nation in exploring how schools can make changes to lower obesity rates, which have doubled in Colorado over the past decade.

In December 2004, the commission will propose recommendations for 1) nutritional standards and their implementation for all food and beverages in DPS schools and facilities; 2) nutrition education for DPS students; and 3) appropriate outcome measurements. The commission also is charged with reviewing and revising as necessary DPS standards and implementation for physical education and determining the feasibility of its own recommendations as they pertain to costs, funding and sustainability.

Members of the commission are: James O. Hill, Ph, D, Director, Center for Human Nutrition and Professor of Pediatrics and Nutrition, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Rick Metz, past president for the Colorado Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (CAHPERD); Melissa Parker, Ph.D., Professor, University of Northern Colorado, School of Kinesiology and Physical Education; Darryl Moore, Executive Director, Colorado Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness; Peggy Vigil, Physical Education & Health Supervisor, Colorado Springs School District 11 and CAHPERD Board Member; Mary Lou Miller, PE Coordinator, Jefferson County Public Schools and Executive Director for CAHPERD; Dr. Evie Dennis, Past Vice President of the US Olympic Committee and former DPS Superintendent, 1990-1994; Dr. Sandy Stenmark, M.D., Pediatrician, Kaiser Permanente; Dr. Nancy Krebs, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Head, Section of Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC)/ Children’s Hospital; Cathy Romaniello, MPH, RD, Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition, UCHSC; Andrea Dunn, Cooper Institute, VP Behavioral Science Research Group; David W. Kaplan, M.D., M.P.H., Professor Of Pediatrics, Head, Adolescent Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital; Paul Melinkovich, M.D., Director, Denver School-Based Health Centers, Denver Health; Jillian Jacobellis, Ph.D MS, Director, Prevention Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE); Tami Anderson, Western Dairy Council, School Marketing Director; Donna Wittrock, Executive Director, DPS Food and Nutrition Services and President, American School Food Service Association (ASFSA); Marilyn Day, Dietitian, Shape Down Program, Children’s Hospital; Happy Haynes, former Denver City Council member and Mayor’s liaison to City Council; Lisa Perry, Senior Consultant for Physical Education, Colorado Department of Education; and Angela Baier, Marketing Director, City and County of Denver, Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

Superintendent Jerry Wartgow has said the effort would directly support district goals - setting high expectations, improving the performance of all students and closing the gap between better and poorer performing students. “We know that healthy children learn better,” he said.

The Board of Education resolution is available online at http://www.dpsk12.org/board/meetings/agenda_archives/1-22-04/III-B.pdf.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.