Representatives of New Mexico's Healthy Schools program told the Roswell Independent School District board Aug. 12 that a CDC-funded grant in partnership with the state Public Education Department and the Department of Health has supported physical education, nutrition training and water stations across the district.
The program's local coordinator said the grant has funded 8 statewide "health New Mexico" nurse sessions for local school nurses, racket-sports professional development for PE teachers (tennis, badminton, pickleball), and equipment purchases to allow schools to teach the new activities. Mountain View Middle School staff started a staff wellness pickleball program, the presenters said.
The grant has also supported professional-development travel for district staff to national and regional conferences, local wellness policy training, expansion of school gardens and a program named "Nuevo Thursdays," and the purchase and planned ongoing maintenance of quick-fill water stations. "We will complete that project and have at least one quick-fill water station in each of the schools from elementary to high school, including filters for when they need to be replaced," the presenter said.
The presenters said the Healthy Schools grant focuses on physical-education, health education and nutrition; it does not directly cover behavioral-health or mental-health services. When board members asked about diabetes screening and services for students who might be prediabetic, the presenter said students with health needs typically have individualized 504 plans developed by school nurses and families with guidance from the student's physician; the presenter said she was not certain whether the district performs pre-screening districtwide.
Why it matters: the grant supports curriculum and staff capacity that the district said can help preventive public-health measures such as improved nutrition and physical activity, and it contributed to increasing quick-fill water access in schools. Board members praised district nutrition staff's use of New Mexico-grown products in school lunches.
The presenters asked for continuing district partnership to expand adaptive PE professional development and to maintain equipment and water-station filters under the program.