ABC District Joins Project to Boost Fitness : Health: The program, involving about 500 second- and third-grade pupils, will focus on producing good health habits.

The ABC Unified School District and Cal State Long Beach are starting a program aimed at producing healthier and physically fit elementary-school students.

The project, financed by a $337,500 federal grant, initially will involve about 500 second- and third-grade pupils.

“We have chosen to focus on younger children because it is easier to develop good habits rather than unlearn bad habits,” said Irwin M. Rosenstock, director of the Center for Health Behavior Studies at the university.

Rosenstock will oversee the comprehensive school health education program, which is expected to start in September in three randomly selected elementary schools in the ABC district.

He said the program is unique because it uses a team concept that includes health educators, physical education instructors, nurses, classroom teachers, the students and their parents.

“The student will not only be given knowledge but will be taught how to apply that knowledge in everyday life,” Rosenstock said.

The students will be taught how to exercise properly and how to select nutritionally correct foods. Instruction on the pitfalls of smoking, alcohol and other substance abuses also will be included.

The parents of a student who is found to be unhealthy will be given an individualized program suggesting how to improve the student’s health, he said.

The project, which is in the planning stages, is scheduled to run for three years. The grant from the U.S. Department of Education runs for one year, and the university and school district must apply for additional funds for the next two years.

The $337,500 grant was the largest of 18 given by the federal government in 1989 for health education programs throughout the nation.

“We were looking to give money to projects of innovative and national significance that could be expanded to larger audience,” said Cindy Musick, program coordinator for the Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching, which helped make the selection and disburse the funds.

If the Cal State project is successful, it could serve as a model to other schools, Rosenstock said.

The university is in the process of selecting a nurse, physical education instructor, health expert and a nutritionist to train district teachers to work with the students.

Once the program is under way, the students will be given a battery of tests, including blood pressure, cholesterol, vision, overall physical fitness and knowledge of health.

At various times, the students will be retested to determine their progress.

The project will attempt to create a comprehensive health and education program involving several district departments and services, including food services, and health and physical education departments, Rosenstock said

University and district officials will meet in the coming months to work on specific details, he said.

ABC school district was selected because of its socioeconomic and ethnic diversity, and reported health problems among students, he said.

The district includes the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens and Lakewood. More than 68% of the district’s 21,000 students are minority, with Asians accounting for more than 31%; Latinos, 28%; blacks, 6.4%, and American Indians, 2.3%.

Forty-eight percent of the elementary students who took part in cholesterol screening during the 1988-89 school year had levels above 180, the limit recommended for these age levels by the American Heart Assn., Rosenstock said.

About 20% of the student population had chronic health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, asthma, seizure disorders and leukemia. The district reported 2,156 health problems were identified in 981 children examined in district clinics during 1988-89, he said.

But students did score above the statewide average in physical fitness tests last spring. The state test, which was given to students for the first time, included pullups, sit-ups, a mile run and sit and reach for the toes.

Statewide, only 15% of the fifth-graders, 20% of the seventh-graders and 26% of the ninth-graders met minimum state fitness requirements. In the ABC district, 27% of the fifth-graders, 38% of the seventh-graders and 38% of the ninth-graders met the state standards.

“The statewide tests show that most kids are not fit and while ABC students scored better (than the average) there is still room for improvement,” said Nancy Sullivan, state research analyst with the California Assessment Program, which administered the fitness test.

* FITNESS RATINGS

Scores for area schools listed. J4