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ED's OSHS PREVENTION NEWS DIGEST Office of Safe and Healthy Students AUGUST 31, 2012 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 33 In This Issue 1. ED Secretary Announces 2012 Cross-Country Back-to-School Bus Tour 2. ED to Release The Carol White Physical Education Program Project Implementation During Year 1 of the Grant Brief 3. Youth Are Invited to Enter Stop Bullying Video Challenge 4. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service Launches Back to School Campaign to Raise Awareness About Healthier School Meals 5. Study Explores Influence of Peers and Friends on Children's and Adolescents' Eating and Activity Behaviors 6. EPA Smart Growth Webinar: School Siting The opinions expressed herein may not reflect the views of the Office of Safe and Healthy Students or the U.S. Department of Education. The availability of information from a variety of sources does not constitute and should not be considered as an endorsement of those sources by the U.S. Department of Education. We hope that you find this information to be useful. If you think ED's OSHS PREVENTION NEWS DIGEST would be helpful to a friend or colleague, please send them to this website<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/listserv/preventioned.html> to: self-enroll, change information, or unsubscribe. Contact Us: OSHS website<http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/index.html> If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Sharon Burton Editor ED Secretary Announces 2012 Cross-Country Back-to-School Bus Tour U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and senior leaders from the U.S. Department of Education will push the message that "Education Drives America" in its third annual back-to-school bus tour this fall. In a series of events from coast-to-coast, Department officials will engage communities in conversations about school reform (P-12), college affordability and completion, and the link between education and jobs. "America's future is directly linked to the quality of education that we provide our children, young people and adults," Duncan said. "It is the key to a vibrant middle class, strong national security and our global economic competitiveness." The bus tour will begin on Sept. 12 in Redwood City, California, and conclude at the Department of Education's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Sept. 21. Additional stops include, Sacramento, California; Reno and Elko, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Rawlins, Rock Springs, and Cheyenne, Wyoming; Denver and Limon, Colorado; Topeka and Emporia, Kansas; Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri ; Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Evansville, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Charleston and McDowell County, West Virginia; Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia. This is the third annual back-to-school bus tour for Secretary Duncan and the Department of Education. In 2010, the back-to-school bus tour included the Delta region in the South and the Northeast. In 2011, the tour covered the Midwest from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin. Duncan will lead the tour from Redwood City through Reno, Denver through Kansas City, and Charleston through Washington, D.C. Deputy Secretary Tony Miller and Under Secretary Martha Kanter will also lead portions of the tour. Additional details, including specific sites, event times and participants, will be announced in the coming weeks. Senior department officials are also participating in over 60 satellite events along the bus tour route. For more information contact: (202) 401-1576, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Source: U.S. Department of Education ________________________________ ED to Release The Carol White Physical Education Program Project Implementation During Year 1 of the Grant Brief The primary focus of The Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) is to develop high-quality physical education programs, create an environment supportive of physical activity, and encourage healthy eating habits and good nutrition. The Department revised PEP in FY 2010 to include an absolute priority that required PEP projects to address the relevant state's physical education standards and develop, expand, or improve its physical education program by including instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition. PEP's new direction also included establishing two competitive priorities, awarding additional points to projects proposing one or both of the following: partnerships with community entities and the collection and use of body mass index (BMI) measurement. This brief provides information on the implementation of PEP. Key findings include: -All but one project formed community partnerships, indicating the success of the revised PEP's emphasis on promoting collaboration. -All but three grantees either collected or planned to collect BMI data. -Frequently reported PEP project implementation challenges included issues with Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data collection and a lack of time to prepare for the start of the PEP grant following the award notification. -The most common reported challenges with GPRA data collection included the lack of proper reporting by youths, loss or theft of equipment, and failure to return information. -Evaluation Brief: [cid:[log in to unmask]] PDF (400K)<http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/other/physical-education/pep-year-1-evaluation-brief.pdf> The PEP program is administered through the Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. For more information about the brief, please contact Erica S. Lee, Education Research Analyst, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education, at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Source: U.S. Department of Education ________________________________ Youth Are Invited to Enter Stop Bullying Video Challenge The Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention, encourage youth to submit original PSAs, 30 to 60 seconds in length, that showcase ways they are taking action against bullying and promoting a culture of kindness and respect in their communities. They are looking for informative and entertaining videos that a send positive message to youth about the importance of being "more than a bystander" to bullying in their schools and communities. The deadline for submission is October 14, and the top prize is $2,000. Full details about the contest, including submission guidelines and rules for eligibility are available at http://stopbullying.challenge.gov. Source: The Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention ________________________________ USDA's Food and Nutrition Service Launches Back to School Campaign to Raise Awareness About Healthier School Meals Thanks to the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act<http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/healthierschoolday/pdf/HHFKA_080112.pdf>, major improvements are underway across the country to promote better nutrition and reduce obesity by transforming school food. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) recently launched a back to school campaign to help raise awareness about the changes to school meals. For more information, as well as resources that you can use to promote the initiative, visit the Healthier School Day website at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/healthierschoolday/default.htm Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture ________________________________ Study Explores Influence of Peers and Friends on Children's and Adolescents' Eating and Activity Behaviors In this study researchers synthesize the empirical literature on the influence of peers and friends on youth's eating and physical activity. The involvement of children's and adolescents' peer networks in prevention and intervention efforts may be critical for promoting and maintaining positive behavioral health trajectories. This study was published in Physiology & Behavior, Vol. 106, No. 3, June 2012, pp. 369-378. Read more here.<http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201200114.html> Source: RAND ________________________________ EPA Smart Growth Webinar: School Siting On Wednesday, September 5, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities will discuss the Agency's voluntary school siting guidelines, (http://www.epa.gov/schools/siting/), which can help local school districts and community members evaluate environmental factors to make the best possible school siting decisions. The presentation will focus on how the location of a school affects how its students get to it, and how school siting and design influence traffic congestion, air pollution, school transportation budgets, and children's health and obesity. Presenter Tim Torma is Deputy Director of EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities. This presentation is cosponsored by the US Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools Program. Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, 2:00-3:00 Eastern https://epa.connectsolutions.com/epasmartgrowth No pre-registration is required. Call 1-888-850-4523. Participant passcode: 719661. This conference has a maximum audio capacity of 299 callers.