艾美艾尊

Local school districts generally exceeded the state averages on a new fitness test the state Legislature mandated during the 2007-08 school year.

While the Texas Education Agency requested that schools test all students in grades 3 through 8, not all districts were able to test all students or at every grade level, said agency spokesman Suzanne Marchman.

The results of the tests, which were released in July, should help make parents and educators aware of the need to create healthy lifestyles for all Texas children, she said.

Students were tested in six activities, Marchman said, and evaluated on their abilities to achieve a healthy fitness zone on all six tests at least once.

The activities varied slightly by grade level, but generally included a one-mile run, a skinfold test that measured body fat by testing the tricep and calf areas, curl ups, trunk lifts, push-ups and sit-and-reach. The tests also considered the students' ages.

"Overall, I'm very happy with our results," said Spring Hill Superintendent Wes Jones. "We had some grades where the students didn't do as well as we would have hoped, but at most grade levels we exceeded the state averages."

The percentage of boys meeting the goals in Spring Hill ranged from 3.51 percent for seventh-grade boys to 42.42 percent for eighth-grade boys.

For girls in the district, the passing rates ranged from 11.29 percent of 10th-grade girls to 53.16 percent of third-grade girls.

"For the first year, we thought our results were very good," Jones said.

"The only thing really compelling the kids to do their best on this test was their pride. It wasn't as if they'd fail a grade, or anything like that, if they didn't do well."

The Longview Independent School District's best results came from its third-grade girls, with 27.52 percent meeting the goals. The district's worst results were for eighth-grade girls, with 1.29 percent meeting the goals.

Boys fared worst in sixth grade, where 7.46 percent met the healthy fitness zone requirements, while they did best at the third-grade level, where 25.66 percent met the goals.

Pat Collins, Longview's director of extracurricular activities, said he thought the testing was a good idea.

"It lets us know what we need to work on and where we need to make adjustments to ensure that Texas kids remain fit throughout their school years," Collins said.

"We're trying to formulate some strategies to help us increase the number of healthy kids in our school district."

In Hallsville schools, results ranged from 12.74 percent of ninth-grade girls meeting the standards to 59.46 percent of fourth-grade girls meeting the standards.

Dean McDaniel, Hallsville physical education coordinator, said the tests were not an accurate measurement of students' physical fitness.

"I looked at more general results, such as student attitudes towards the test and impact the testing may have had on them," McDaniel said.

"For the most part, especially at the high school level, I feel there were some students with considerably low fitness levels who simply needed to be made aware of their situation. Hopefully, at least a few were positively impacted, and if so, then the testing was a success."

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School meals costs

Many schools across East Texas reported they have increased their school meal prices for the coming year. "It's just to keep up with the rising cost of food," Nelda Cooper, food services director for Pittsburg Independent School District, said of that district's higher costs. "Food costs are escalating."

LONGVIEW ISD

2007-08 breakfast: Free for Pre-K-5; $1 for 6-12;

2008-09 breakfast: Free for Pre-K-5; $1.25 for 6-12

2007-08 lunch: $1.40 for Pre-K -5; $1.60 for 6-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-5; $2 for 6-12

PINE TREE ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1.25 for all grades

2008-09 breakfast: $1.50 for all grades

2007-08 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-4; $2 for 5-12

2008-09 lunch: $2 for Pre-K-4; $2.25 for 5-12

SPRING HILL ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1

2008-09 breakfast: $1

2007-08 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-2; $1.75 for 3-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-2; $2 for 3-12

HALLSVILLE ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1

2008-09 breakfast: $1.15

2007-08 lunch: $1.85 for Pre-K-4, $2 for 5 and 6, $2.10 for 7-12

2008-09 lunch: $2 for Pre-K-4, $2.25 for 5-12

GILMER ISD

2007-08 breakfast: Free for Pre-K-6, 90 cents for 7-12

2008-09 breakfast: Free for Pre-K-6, 1.25 for 7-12

2007-08 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-6, $1.75 for 7-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-6, $2 for 7-12

TATUM ISD

2007-08 breakfast: 75 cents

2008-09 breakfast: 75 cents

2007-08 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-3, $1.75 for 3-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-3, $1.75 for 3-12

WHITE OAK ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1

2008-09 breakfast: $1

2007-08 lunch: $1.35 for Pre-K-5, $1.65 for 6-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-5, $2 for 6-12

KILGORE ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1 for Pre-K-5, $1.25 for 6-12

2008-09 breakfast: $1.25 for Pre-K-5, $1.50 for 6-12

2007-08 lunch: $1.25 for Pre-K-5, $1.50 for 6-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-5, $1.75 for 6-12

CARTHAGE ISD

2007-08 breakfast: 75 cents for Pre-K-6, 90 cents for 7-12

2008-09 breakfast: 75 cents for Pre-K-6, 90 cents for 7-12

2007-08 lunch: $1.40 for Pre-K-3, $1.75 for 4-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.40 for Pre-K-3, $1.75 for 4-12

JEFFERSON ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1

2008-09 breakfast: $1.25

2007-08 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-8, $2 for 9-12

2008-09 lunch: $2 for Pre-K-8, $2.25 for 9-12

LINDEN-KILDARE ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1.10

2008-09 breakfast: $1.35

2007-08 lunch: $1.50 for Pre-K-5, $1.70 for 6-12

2008-09 lunch: $1.75 pre-k-5, $1.85 for 6-12

PITTSBURG ISD

2007-08 breakfast: $1.25

2008-09 breakfast: $1.50

2007-08 lunch: $1.75 for Pre-K-1,, $2 for 2-6, $2.25 for 7-12

2008-09 lunch: $2 for Pre-K-1, $2.25 for 2-6, $2.50 for 7-12

Reduced price meals are 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch. Students apply to receive reduced price meals based on their family's size and income level. The price for reduced meals is set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is the same throughout the United States, said Brian Black with the Texas Department of Agriculture.



COMMENTING: What can be done to improve students' fitness?


TIPS TO EAT HEALTHY IN SCHOOL
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— If students choose to buy a lunch, salad bars or baked meat options are usually the healthiest.

— Packed lunches that include fruit or fresh vegetables and protein-packed sandwiches on an unusual bread, such as pita bread or an English muffin, are a healthy option.

— Homemade soup also is a good choice, although canned soups are not particularly healthy.

— No matter what choice a student makes, it's always healthier to eat lunch than to skip it. Children need energy in the middle of the day, and if they don't eat then, they tend to consume too many empty calories at other times.


Source: Dietician Nina Hunley with Good Shepherd Medical Center



SCHOOL MENU OPTIONS
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Example of nutrition on school breakfast and lunch options, from Pine Tree Independent School District:
Hamburger (hamburger patty and bun): 294 calories, 11 grams of fat

French fries: 137 calories, 5 grams of fat

Lettuce and tomato salad (served with hamburgers): 4 calories, no fat

1 percent chocolate milk: 150 calories, 2 grams of fat

1 1/2 percent fat white milk: 120 calories, 5 grams of fat

Breakfast wrap (tortilla with sausage and eggs): 190 calories, 10 grams of fat

Orange juice: Jeannie Watson, food services director for Pine Tree Independent School District



Pine Tree High School coach Kenneth Morris watches as students run laps March 13 during a state-mandated fitness test.
Pine Tree only tested students in seventh through 12th grades.