Area Teachers Get on Board with the CATCH Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2011
Contact
Nikki Hillier, Program Coordinator
(217) 531-2914
Amy Roberts, Public Relations
(217) 531-4264 /
Area Teachers Get on Board with the CATCH Program
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Helps Teachers to Model Healthy Behaviors for Students
Champaign, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is helping schools in Champaign County implement CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health). The CATCH program is a multi-component program that promotes positive healthy behaviors in students and emphasizes the need for a healthy lifestyle to improve both living and learning. A coordinated approach to promoting wellness involves modeling healthy behaviors. In order to model those behaviors, area CATCH schools have challenged each other to change their behavior for the better. Fisher Grade School, Thomasboro Grade School, Unity West Elementary School, and Carrie Busey Elementary School are competing in the first-ever CATCH Staff Challenge: A New Year A New Beginning.
The premise of the challenge is that students can not be expected to make healthy choices if the staff is not. In an effort to encourage healthy behavior change as opposed to weight loss, behaviors are rewarded, and people are on the honor system. Participants earn points for their school as they drink water, engage in physical activity, and eat their GO foods: fruits and vegetables. Each week, participants turn in their logs; points are tallied, and posted. “Some of the teachers are really into it. One of them went down a jean size. You should see the jug of water she carries around,” said Roxann Nuss, Teacher at Fisher Grade School.
“We’re getting great feedback. One participant has been working on weight loss for a while, and said the thought of checking off boxes gets her out of bed to keep moving. She carries around a before and after picture of herself. It’s amazing,” said Nikki Hillier, Program Coordinator for Wellness and Health Promotion at CUPHD.
For more information about CUPHD's programs and services, visit www.c-uphd.org.
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