Below is a wonderful reflection on the Girl's on the Run Program at Jones Elementary through the School Based Health Center. We appreciate this partnership and the impact it has on our students.
Embarking on year two of implementing a School Based
Health Center, known as The Wellness Center at Jones Elementary School in
Springdale Arkansas, the Physician’s Assistant and Licensed Clinical Social Worker
looked for an educational outreach venue that would support both physical and
mental health. The students at Jones are overwhelmingly the children of poverty
and speak English as a second language; they lack financial, social and
transportation resources to participate in organized sports or extracurricular
activities. Living a few miles down the
road from Bentonville Arkansas, the home of Wal-Mart, the students live in the
shadow of wealth. As a complement to the
Wellness Center at Jones and in efforts to improve access to physical activity
and to address the childhood obesity epidemic, the personnel at Jones applied
for and received a Joint Use Agreement (JUA) grant from the Arkansas Department
of Education in 2010. With the $10,000 awarded in JUA funds the school district
purchased supplies and materials to build a quarter mile trail on school
grounds. The City of Springdale agreed to provide the manpower and equipment
needed to install the trail. The JUA trail at Jones Elementary is now available
for use by students, faculty and staff when school is in session and by the
community at other times. The staff from the Wellness Center in recognition of
the resources provided through the Wellness Center combined with the facility
provided by the Joint Use Agreement trail decided to use the Girls on the Run
program. The program is ideal because it addresses the physical, emotional and
social needs of the child. Girls were invited to join the Girls on the Run Team
and were provided with generic running shoes through the district’s social
service fund. They participated in physical training for six weeks as well as
bonding exercises, self esteem building activities, anti bullying curricula and
art projects. The entire process was a great success. Girls expanded their
physical activity parameters, explored character traits and positive pro social
interaction and experienced enhanced self esteem through feelings of
accomplishment and through recognition provided by classmates, parents and
community members.
On the morning of the race, the Jones Jaguars Girls on
the Run Team was transported via school bus the twenty or so miles to
Bentonville Arkansas. Running side by side with the Physician’s Assistant, Licensed
Clinical Social Worker and Administrative Assistant from the Wellness Center at
Jones Elementary, the girls competed in a 5 K run. The festive atmosphere, balloons, food and
thousands of cheering spectators provided for an over the top exciting
experience for the team. Parents proudly watched and waved hand-made signs. The
pride of accomplishment achieved through training for and completing a 5-K run
is one that would not have previously been within reach for the girls from
Jones.
To add icing to the cake, the Principal at Jones
arranged a surprise victory run-through for the girls when they returned to school.
Students from each classroom decorated signs and the entire student body stood
cheering in the hallways as the girls ran a lap through the building. Their
accomplishments uplifted the students, faculty and staff and provided an
example and incentive for future participants.
The Girls on the Run Program optimized the use of the Wellness Center
and Joint Use Agreement grant funds to educate and support wellness in a
proactive manner. The Wellness Center at Jones Elementary serves the school and
students in ways that are above and beyond just treating the sick students and
providing wellness checks, although those are important aspects of
service. As a part of the school’s
family of adult employees, the Wellness Center Staff have a unique view of the
lives of their students. They are able to observe both social interactions and
classroom dynamics and to come to informed decisions about the needs of the
students and families that they serve. The looks on the faces of the girls,
PRICELESS!
