Athletes for Education

AFE plans to identify 8 new schools to participate in the SG Squad Health Wellness and Fitness Program within San Diego County school districts for the 2013-2014 school year. Targeted Schools must meet the 4 measures: 75% or of the student population who qualify for the “Free and Reduced Lunch” program.
School population with 40% or higher categorized as emergent bilinguals
15% below the poverty level with family income at or below 250%.
No or minimal physical education classes provided.
The goal is to reduce obesity, early detection and prevention of diabetesand educate children on healthy nutrition habits to improve their overallhealth and reduce the future healthcare costs associated with inattention. (Two classes will be choosen from 3rd and 4th grades).
AFE will need to understand the knowledge retention for the nutritional education seminars by providing a pre- and post-nutrition quiz. That data will help enhance the quality of the content that is taught in the health seminars on a quarterly basis. The seminars and quizzes will available English and Spanish.
For the fitness portion of the program AFE will need to provide agility course sport equipment for each school’s morning walking activities and workout. For example - Agility Dots, Ladders, Strips & Rings; Balance Trainers; Drill Cones; Training Sleds; Obstacle Poles; Resistance Training; Drill Dome Cones.AFE will develop a Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire for the students to complete to accurately monitor the lifestyle changes in the students. Theoutcomes/results of the questionnaire will provide insight on the changes in wellness and fitness habits of the students: TV/ Video Games habits. Where and when do the students exercise? Students access to sports equipment, parks and playgrounds.
Baseline Glucose and Cholesterol testing and follow-up testing will be incorporated into the quarterly health screenings to track changes (positive or negative) from the test results. Early detection of diabetes and high cholesterol can be lifesaving and reduce healthcare costs.Participants will decide on their goals and be held accountable. Once successful changes to their lifestyles and fitness achievements are reached the students will be rewarded for meeting their goals.Parental guidance is mandatory.
To provide another level of education and access to medical services health fairs will be held on-site at schools during the spring semester to serve the underprivileged students and their families. For example flu shots and whooping cough vaccinations, parent focused: cookingclasses, healthy recipe choices provided in Spanish and healthy livingseminars. The health fair takes the program to the community andaffects the needs and lifestyle of the families (older and younger siblings) and not only the students. The result is: Education at school and access to healthy food and improved lifestyle home to help reduce risk of CVD and long term health problems.