School Nutrition Advisory Councils

I attended a meeting tonight of the School Board's Health, Safety & Wellness committee. It was the kind of meeting that I wish had more attention from the community, because it (and the several committee meetings like it) was a real opportunity to talk in depth about a subject with senior administrators... in this case about a particular aspect of nutrition in schools. In addition to four school board members we had in the small conference room:

• Superintendent Ed Hatrick
• Assistant Superintendent Ms. Sharon Ackerman
• Assistant Superintendent Dr. Mary Kealy
  
• Director of Elementary Education Dr. Mike Martin
• Director of Curriculum & Instruction Mr. Peter Hughes
• Supervisor of Food Services Jinny Demastes

At this particular meeting we discussed the Governor's Nutrition and Physical Activity Scorecard. This year 32 LCPS schools applied for evaluation under this program, which includes aspects affected both by district-wide practices and by individual school practices. One of the school-level scoring practices is the existence of Nutrition Advisory Councils... just a way of saying that the school has a way for parents to provide input to cafeteria operations.

I do get a fair amount of parent input on school cafeterias, and I'm a frequent LCPS diner myself. I'm going to make a habit of recommending to parents who provide that input that they join their school's Nutrition Advisory Council if there is one, and start one if there isn't.

Butting Heads

I came across a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning about School Boards & Boards of Supervisors, their perpetual conflict over budgeting, and how relationships have deteriorated during the recession. The School Board will discuss the future of the Joint Committee of the School Board & Board of Supervisors tomorrow night, this article is a good read in advance of that discussion.

The article cites Powhatan, Chesterfield and Goochland counties and their conflicts over the budget, which sound very familiar to folks her in Loudoun.

"Where some of our frustration comes in is sometimes when we hear -- over the last couple of years -- that they want more information about how we do our budget," Trammell said.

He said school leaders provide as much detail as possible, but feels that the supervisors sometimes approach the point of micromanagement.

"Sometimes they find themselves making a value judgment without enough information," he said. "I wouldn't know how to try to second-guess their decision on mental health and all the services they provide. I wouldn't know more than to try to make a judgment on that than the man on the moon."

Walton said that in Powhatan, the main problem is the details -- or the lack thereof.

"In a recession, where you're pulling back on funds, you need good information," he said, adding that he never felt they received that level of clarity. "If you can't get numbers that add up forwards and backwards, you're lost in the wilderness."

The article also cites the Hanover, Henrico and Richmond as examples of Boards that work well together for different reasons (an appointed SB, a good County administrator and a common enemy, respectively).

[Richmond Times Dispatch]

What I Wish For

Loudoun County School Board Chair John Stevens believes our challenges don’t all stem from budget limitations, but rather from the focus of the whole system of education. Stevens believes we need to give teachers more flexibility in how they teach; principals more latitude in the structure of the school day and year; and parents more options of schools for their children to attend.

The article includes more from me, and from the School Superintendents of Loudoun and Fairfax Counties, and the Fairfax County Board Chair.

For what it's worth, I fully endorse their wish lists too.

[I Am Modern]