BonnerSprings.com

Clark Middle School students might eat a little healthier next year.

At last week’s meeting of the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School Board, sixth-grade teacher Kim Prier, with the help of several of her students, gave a video presentation to the board on an Expeditionary Learning project undertaken by the sixth-grade students this semester.

The EL project, which in EL lingo is called an investigation, sought to look at the snack items available to students on the cafeteria’s a la carte menu. The menu as it is consists entirely of junk food, with such choices as potato chips and corn chips plus packaged pastries and other baked items laden with corn syrup.

Prefacing their presentation with a nod to the growing concern over childhood obesity rates, the students at the meeting listed the fat calories and total calories for each snack item.

Steve Cook, principal of Clark, said the project “is part of a much larger investigation on the science of nutrition,” for which the school’s science teachers worked with the students.

Their project had also included a survey of Clark students, which found that more than 80 percent of them reported eating at least two unhealthy snacks a day and that many of them would eat healthier if given the options. The students said they wanted all the current items on the menu replaced with healthier items, such as snack chips that are baked instead of fried, wheat crackers, yogurt, string cheese and fruit cups.

As to whether Clark students would easily give up their favorite junk-food snacks, Prier said “they’ll have a hard time giving up Hot Cheetos and Ho Hos.”

The students then distributed to the board and audience members samples of the healthier fare they’d like to see on the menu at their school.

Superintendent Robert Van Maren said he and the board would consider the students’ recommendations, noting that fresh fruit was the most problematic to feature on the cafeteria menu, especially apples, because they are so perishable.

“We plan on making the changes as requested and adjusting other offerings as we move forward into next year,” Van Maren said in an e-mail later.

In other business at last week’s meeting, the board:

• Approved an amendment to the 2007-2008 budget, adding $725,627 to the expenses and transfers for the general fund, special education fund and the at-risk fund. The changes in expenses and transfers for the general fund went from $14,206,315 to $14,729,882; the special-education fund went from $3,128,441 to $3,270,501; and the at-risk fund went from $1,100,000 to $1,160,000.

• Heard Garold Baker, athletic director for the district, on his coach-staffing recommendations for the next year.

• Approved payment of warrants for $351,014.

• Approved construction bills and bond issue payments of $107,928.

• Approved new contracts for Sarah Benton, Clark Middle School sixth-grade teacher, and Nicholas Schuster, Bonner Springs Elementary third-grade teacher.

• Approved the resignations of Cari Lynn, ninth-grade cheerleading coach; Elizabeth Dillon, high school math teacher; and Garold Baker, athletic director. Baker will be serving as athletics director and assistant principal at Turner High School.

• Watched Dalene Buhl of Energy Education Inc., present an Energy Pacesetter award to Jim Hann, who has served as the energy manager and educator for the district in the 42 months since it contracted with Energy Education to reduce the district’s energy consumption.

• Held an executive session to discuss teacher negotiations.

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1. 20 May 2008 at 8:59 p.m.

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   travelinman (Anonymous) says…

   I'm glad the district is so concerned about childhood obesity. I guess it doesn't apply though in all situations. You see my son was just removed from Clark in large part due to us changing his medications which resulted in several recent outburst. We were changing the meds primarily due to the fact that he had started becoming obese because of the meds he was on. So I guess in our particular situation the obesity would have been a better thing. They would have preferred that we leave him on the meds that were working and let him continue to get bigger and bigger and have a significant chance of developing diabietes. at least that is my opinion since they sure got him out of their school even though they knew of the changes in meds and a doctors letter explaining the relationship between the issues and his disability.

2. 21 May 2008 at 10:23 a.m.

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   triedntru (Anonymous) says…

   I can't even believe that Steve Cook is still a principal in this district, let alone Clark Middle School. Last year, while he was still in the high school, he made it well known to the teachers that they are not allowed to break up a fight.

   In this instance, two kids pummeled each other and the teacher broke up the fight by pinning one kid against the wall. The kid pinned against the wall had a bad history. He had recieved numerous out-of-school suspensions earlier in the year for being involved in fights.

   How was the punishment handled? Both boys recieved 3 days OSS. The teacher on the other hand, was forced on leave for an entire week (longer than the instigators) and put on probation for a year.

   The message from Steve Cook is clear. Teachers must stand at a distance, NEVER physically disrupt a fight, but simply ask them to stop. The teacher's hands are tied. Any parent who sends their children to Clark Middle School under the administration of Steve Cook is putting their children in danger.

   Perhaps parents of CMS students are intentionally fattening their kids up so they can better handle a beating that is bound to come under Steve Cook's administration.

3. 21 May 2008 at 10:52 a.m.

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   freebird (Anonymous) says…

   Sounds like the administration is out of control. It is sad that parents can't get the help they need from the district.

4. 21 May 2008 at 11:33 a.m.

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   travelinman (Anonymous) says…

   It is a shame that the parents don't know what really goes on with our educational system. We get the feel good stories like this one but never hear about the dark side of things. In fairness this is a good story and it is a good thing that kids would opt for healthier snacks but the real issues of lives being impacted with devastating results are quietly hidden away.

5. 21 May 2008 at 12:29 p.m.

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   shagster (Anonymous) says…

   Apparently, these District 204 people fail to recognize whom they work for. Vote 'em in, vote 'em right back out.. Sounds like it is about time to start talking about a recall petition.

6. 21 May 2008 at 1:28 p.m.

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   emeraldinlays (Anonymous) says…

   I agree that this is a good story and an important move on the school's part, but I think parents need to be worried about more than fattening snacks for their children. I attended this school back when it was Southwest Middle School, and it felt like a good place to be at the time. I was lucky because I was by nature a quiet and cautious child, and I didn't have the challenge of a disability or special needs.

   Everything seems to move along just fine in this school as long as there are no disruptions or upsets. What worries me is the way disruptions ARE handled. It sounds to me that they will do anything to silence problems and inconveniences instead of considering what really is best for students. This school lashed out at a teacher who did the right thing by protecting his students from violence. Why? I'm assuming it was because of an overblown fear of getting sued. The teacher's “discipline” tells teachers not to give involved in these types of situations, which means that the children are going to be more vulnerable to student-on-student violence. This school permanently dismissed a boy whose necessary medication caused him to behave disruptively. Why? Because they felt that he was too much work. After all, he's just one boy, right? Just one boy who already has numerous obstacles in his life without being rejected by his own school district.

   It's nice that the school and the district as a whole are doing nice things, but it sounds like something else is going on beneath the surface. In fact, surface might be the key term. They seem to be working so hard on appearances that they forgot about the children. It's time we do something about it.

7. 21 May 2008 at 3:27 p.m.

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   Piute (Anonymous) says…

   It is time for this school district to return to common sense approaches on discipline and student matters.
   In the case of medical problems, there needs to be a better way to deal with it, other than removing the student. A period of adjustment, with the Doctor involved, may have been a better solution both physically and mentally for the student involved. I realize that it may not always be possible in all cases, but how do they know unless it is tried with each individual.
   As far as the teacher breaking up a fight, the wrong one was given time off. A teacher should be fired for not breaking up a fight, unless the teacher is physically unable to do anything, such as size or numbers. Who is the adult there with the responsibility to see that children are not injured? A lawsuit waits for those that fail to act.

8. 28 May 2008 at 7:10 p.m.

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   Southernsmile (Anonymous) says…

   Yes I agree obesity is a problem and something the schools should address. Children today have very poor eating habits. I never understood bringing sugary snacks and soda into the schools to begin with.

   I feel that this principle is not the type of leader the school system needs. If he is not going to let a teacher break up a fight due to lawsuits, does the man not think that if a student is injured or killed the parents are not going to sue! That is ignorant! If it were my child and I heard any member of the staff stood by it would be on!

   As far as throwing out a challenged student, well that really speaks highly. Especially since the school was made aware that he was changing medication. Is this a cookie cutter school. Maybe all the children should be forced to take ritalin or valium in order to behave accordingly. What happened to the no child left behind? And the solution is to send him to a school where the rules are not enforced and no special training or classes but hey, he's out of our hair. Have any of the staff considered how this child must feel. It is hard enough to have a problem much less be condemned for it! Wrong Wrong Wrong is all I can say. This school needs to rethink why it is here and get rid of the staff that is in the wrong business. Teaching used to be a calling but in the school it seems to just be a paycheck to some.

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