By KATIE TELLER
America is in the midst of what has been called an obesity epidemic. But children at Ladysmith Primary School in Caroline County are being guided toward healthy lifestyles.
In June, the school received a bronze medal from the state for teaching prekindergarten through second-grade students good health habits. The school was one of six of Virginia's 1,800 public schools to be recognized.
The bronze medal came from Gov. Mark Warner's office as part of the Healthy Virginians initiative. The initiative promotes healthy living in Virginia's schools, as well as in homes and workplaces.
To compete for the award, elementary school administrators filled out an online scorecard about how the school is promoting healthy habits.
"When we initially looked at the types of questions that were being asked, we really had a good feeling that we had a good chance at this, just because of the programs that we were already doing," Principal Harold Pellegreen said.
The questions on the scorecard asked specifics about snack times and calorie counts, as well as physical activity and its integration into classroom curriculum.
Pellegreen said the school has its students take part in a number of annual physical-fitness programs, in addition to regular physical education classes. The annual events include Jump Rope for Heart, Relay for Life and an annual field day.
The school also participates in a program called ACES, or All Children Exercising Simultaneously--in which, on one day of the year, all students in participating schools exercise at the same time.
Also, this summer, the school sent home a program to keep the kids active while they weren't in school. Physical education teacher Susan Huffman called it a "walking program," in which students and parents recorded time they spent walking.
These programs helped the school win its bronze medal, Huffman and Pellegreen said.
Noreen Crowley, Virginia's assistant secretary of education, praised the award-winning schools such as Ladysmith for going the extra mile when it comes to teaching healthy habits.
"They knew this was a priority. and they knew this was something important," said Crowley, a former Stafford County School Board member.
The Healthy Virginians program was created to combat rising obesity levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 58 percent of Virginians are overweight or obese, and 23 percent do not exercise on a regular basis.
The obesity rate in Virginia has risen faster than in any other state--10 percent in the past decade, according to the CDC.
But the students at Ladysmith Primary don't know about obesity rates or state initiatives--they just have fun participating in events that keep them moving.
"Kids and play, it's totally natural," Pellegreen said. "They're not really cognizant that we received this award."
Five other elementary schools in the state received awards. Along with Ladysmith, Carver Elementary in Henrico County and Lyles-Crouch Elementary in Alexandria received bronze medals. Walker Upper Elementary in Charlottesville and Madison Heights in Amherst County both took silver, and Mantua Elementary in Fairfax won the gold.
"We're looking to go gold next year," Pellegreen said.
To get the gold, the school plans to launch even more programs and build on existing ones, such as its new summer walking program. In that program, children and their parents record on a calendar each time they walk for 15 minutes.
"There's always improvement you can make," said Huffman, the physical education teacher.
Huffman said she hopes the efforts will have a lasting effect on the children.
"That's what my goal is: Teach kids at a young age to have good habits for life," Huffman said.
Since kids spend so much of their time at school, a state official says it's a good place to learn healthy habits for life.
"We certainly can't blame schools for problems with childhood obesity," said Crowley, the assistant secretary of education. "But they certainly are in a position to educate about nutrition and to promote exercise."
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