A Superintendent Who's Leading the Charge Dr. Janice Cooper, superintendent of the Lake Worth Independent School District, strongly believes that superintendents should play a leading role in fighting obesity and improving the overall health of their students.
"It's not the school's problem that our children are overweight, but we can educate the children," she said. "We have a big responsibility. We have to step out there and make sure that we not only have nutritious meals but also physical activity."
Dr. Cooper brought that message to the Governor's Conference on Children's Obesity in Texas last year, urging her fellow superintendents to be catalysts for change in their districts.
"Superintendents can start the process by educating staff members and the public about the childhood obesity crisis," said Dr. Cooper. For example, one side effect of obesity is diabetes. Many people are unaware that children born in Texas after the year 2000 have a one-in-three chance of developing diabetes, which is the leading cause of amputation, kidney failure and blindness.
To reduce these and other frightening obesity-related statistics, administrators can advocate such basic steps as eliminating access to sugary snacks and drinks and including daily physical activity in the students' schedules.
Dr. Cooper also encourages schools to conduct acanthosis nigricans screening, as her district does, to identify children at risk for diabetes.
Last year, screening revealed that 9 percent of third-graders, 14 percent of fifth-graders and 18 percent of seventh-graders in the district were at risk, according to Dr. Cooper.
As Dr. Cooper has demonstrated, sometimes it's necessary to innovate to meet student needs. In addition to providing free breakfast and lunch during the school year, the district goes a step further during the summer to ensure that its students have a healthy diet year-round. Free meals are delivered daily to 12 remote areas, serving children who couldn't otherwise participate in the program. It's the kind of proactive role that Dr. Cooper believes schools need to play.
"We acknowledge the fact that we are the best resource that many of our families have in terms of health and education," said Dr. Cooper.
