Attend Board Meeting Nov. 10

By Anita Courtney

School wellness is on the agenda for the Monday, Nov. 10 Fayette County Board of Education meeting.

The SWAP (School Wellness Action Plan) Team is proposing that three policies be adopted district-wide.

They are: End the use of food as reward; Ensure that all elementary school students get at least 20 minutes of recess every day; Include at least 50% healthy food in school celebrations.

These policy recommendations were not arrived at lightly.

The SWAP team researched and listened to select changes that would be impactful but not too challenging for the district to implement.

Superintendent Tom Shelton has called them “reasonable and common sense recommendations.”

The Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition is ready to support schools in implementing these changes by providing toolkits and training.
(See www.tweenslex.org/school-wellness/)

If you support these policies, there are two things you can do to increase the chances that they will be adopted.

1) Call or write your school board member and ask him or her to support the SWAP policies.
(www.fcps.net/administration/board-of-education/members)

The message doesn’t have to be long and, in fact, school board members appreciate concise commun-ication.

2) Attend the Board meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at 701 East Main Street to show your support.

Let’s show the Board that these proposals have widespread support.

The likelihood that the Board will take positive action increases with the number of people in the room.

Consider coming to the meeting with a friend. Do it for your kids. Do it for all Lexington kids.

Info: Michelle Castro at tweens.schoolwellness@gmail.com or visit www.tweeenslex.org.