CATCH Champion - September 2008
Interview with Kate D. Moore
Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation
What prompted you to be an advocate and champion of children’s health?
In my role as program officer at the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation (PAHWF), I work with the community and nonprofit organizations to provide education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthier lifestyles. One of our core focus areas is working with kindergarten through 12th grade schools in our service area to support preventative health programs for children, specifically initiatives that provide nutrition education, physical activity and family engagement.
When did you adopt the CATCH Program and what prompted you to do so?
Early on in the history of the Pottstown Health & Wellness Foundation, a health conversion foundation formed in 2003, we heard about the CATCH initiative through Grantmakers in Health and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. I learned about the positive changes this program was making in the lives of the children all over the country. I did some further research on the program, attended a CATCH training, spoke to folks that were currently using CATCH and liked what I heard. With the help of Carol Caldara from CATCH, I presented the program to the school collaborative group that our foundation convenes regularly and asked the schools if they would like to implement this with our help and funding. Several schools were interested in the program and we have awarded several grants to help implement CATCH in the Pottstown area.
Describe notable changes since implementing CATCH and how you know CATCH is working.
CATCH was started in Pottstown during the 2007 -2008 school year. It is being implemented in the Pottstown School District at seven after-school program sites serving 200 children. Preliminary feedback from student surveys indicates an increase in positive attitudes towards the healthy eating nutrition education and physical activity programs.
In addition, Coventry Christian School, a small private school in Pottstown, has implemented CATCH during the school day for the K through 4th graders with the support of the physical education teacher as well as the health teacher. The CATCH program is also being shared with preschool age children and Head Start students for development of gross motor skills at play time as well as with the middle school students as part of P.E. curriculum. This school has also decided to start a vegetable garden in the spring of 2009 to help teach children about how plants grow and let them experience the process from growing the veggies themselves to actually harvesting and cooking the food.
Based on the short-term positive outcomes observed in the first year, the schools that have begun to implement CATCH have made a commitment to continue the program this school year.
What are the keys to your success?
The key to the success of CATCH is to find the people in the community and the schools we work with that care about children’s health and believe in the preventative model for healthy living. They understand that a healthy and active child will do better in school. The Foundation provided the information, training and resources to make it possible and then found partners that had the passion to make it happen.
What was your most significant barrier and how did you overcome the challenge?
All schools are very focused on curriculum and academic achievements, as they should be. With the addition of the “No Child Left Behind Act” in 2001, health and wellness programs have taken more of a back seat in the learning process. There is little time in the school day to have children active and learning about healthy living. Finding leaders within the schools that were interested in advocating for wellness programs like CATCH took some time. Many of our schools have wellness councils as a result of the mandated school wellness policies that had to be put in place by the 2006-2007 school year. These councils were a perfect place to start our discussion because we had a common goal – promoting healthy lifestyles and promoting behavior changes to last a lifetime. These folks were looking for programs that would help them move their policies i to action. CATCH was a perfect fit.
What advice can you offer for those just beginning and for those who have already implemented the CATCH Program.
I recommend that you take a collaborative approach to the planning and implementation of CATCH. Find a core group of interested teachers, parents or volunteers who want to learn more. Start out by attending a CATCH teacher training day and talk to schools that have successfully implemented the program. It can seem overwhelming to take on something new in the school environment when every minute of the school day is so fully scheduled already. Find creative ways to bring this program to the students. It has the flexibility to be used in almost any school setting and is easy to learn.
What has been the reaction from parents, administration, students and community?
It is being well received by school administration and supported by teachers and parents. We are hearing that children have a better understanding of the relationship between food choices and good health and are asking their parents to buy fruits and veggies when they go grocery shopping and are choosing active play instead of watching TV or playing video games.
What are your plans for the future? What is your CATCH vision?
The PAHWF will continue to support the implementation and expansion of CATCH to any school in our service area that is interested and willing to commit the program. CATCH works well in conjunction with other health and wellness programs we support at both schools and in the community and supports our vision for the community – area residents leading healthy lives through healthy lifestyles.
How do you sustain the program from year to year?
Our hope is that the CATCH program will become engrained in the culture and the learning process of the schools we have initially supported. These schools can share their experiences and positive outcomes so more schools can become involved. While initially it requires training and resources, it is easy to duplicate and sustain for the long term if you have the plan and commitment in place.
Anything else you would like to add?
I want to acknowledge Carol Caldera and all the CATCH staff for their willingness to work with the Foundation, educate us about the program as well as meet with the school collaborative representatives in our area to teach them about the program.
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