Ector starts wellness program

It’s all about cutting down on unhealthy food choices.

To forward that message, 25 Ector Junior High students will be part of MyScore, a pilot wellness program, starting Jan. 7.

Ector County Independent School District and Star Care Home Health Services representatives will unveil the 12-week program the same day, Star Care marketing executive Rosie Lopez said.

The program is designed as a physical education course where the 25 students chosen for the program will learn how to eat healthier and exercise better.

Instructional services director Tony Parris, who will oversee the program at Ector, said students will meet with Star Care nurses on Fridays to monitor their progress and collect data to measure the success of the program later on.

Three factors are being looked at with this program, he said.

Students will be looked at in terms of endurance. They’ll run a mile at the beginning of the program and again at the end. Students’ self-esteem will also be evaluated, as well as their spring Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test scores.

After the 12 weeks, students will continue their exercise throughout the week,and on Fridays, ECISD food services employees will teach them about nutrition and better fast-food choices.

“In the long run, what we would hope to see is a change in lifestyles for the kids,” Parris said, noting the students’ families may also catch on.

Program director Gay Jenkins said in the 2008-’09 school year, junior highs will be required to have some kind of nutritional education program implemented in their schools.

“We were thinking we wanted to get a jump on that,” Jenkins said.

This year, the elementaries in ECISD started the state-mandated CATCH program, which involves the entire school — from PE class to the cafeteria — in educating students about nutrition.

Depending on the success of the MyScore program, Jenkins said, the program may be created at other junior highs in the following years.

The idea is to make a difference in the students’ lives, she said, adding that learning about a healthier lifestyle now could help them become healthier adults.

“We’re going to try to change some of that with them,” Jenkins said.