When I was a kid, I ate the “hot lunch” at school pretty much every day, and I liked it. From Tater Tot Casserole to Dagwood Sandwiches, tacos to pizza, my week was filled with meals that appealed to my child-sized taste for comfort food.
Fast forward 35 years, and now I’m sending my own kids off to school each day. And though the fare their schools provide is marginally better nutritionally speaking, we pack their lunches most days to ensure they get whole grains, lean protein, and a good dose of fruits and vegetables. It takes a little more time (my husband’s, since he is the kitchen god in our house), and probably costs a little more than the school lunch. But it’s better for them, and it helps them learn what a healthy meal looks like and develop healthy eating habits.
Yesterday, the House committee responsible for reauthorization of the federal Child Nutrition Act, led by Rep. George Miller of California, filed its version of the bill - the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. The bill is a good step forward for kids like mine who have the occasional school lunch, but more importantly it is a critical step forward for the approximately 30 million children who benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program, which provides free and reduced lunch to low income children across the country. For too many children in food insecure families, this is the single full meal they can count on each day. The House proposal expands eligibility for the lunch program, makes it easier for children to access the program by streamlining the application process, and gives incentive grants to school districts to start healthy breakfast programs.
The legislation also takes steps to improve the nutritional value and safety of school lunches, increase nutrition education in schools, and connect schools to local food growers to improve the quality of the meals. For younger children who receive meals in child care settings, the proposal helps connect their caregivers to the WIC program to improve the nutritional quality of their meals, and makes it easier for home-based caregivers to enroll in the meal program.
As the school year winds down and some of us get ready to pack lunches for summer camp or serve up PB&J’s by the wading pool, it’s good to note that the proposed reauthorization bill takes one more important step. According to the Committee, it will provide year-round meals for over 225,000 children through school based and community based summer and after-school programs. For kids whose best meal of the day is their school lunch, the Summer Food Service Program is a very big deal.
Feeding our children is a basic part of being a parent, a family, a community, and a nation. The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act is an opportunity to make sure we feed them all, and we feed them well. To speak up on child nutrition and school lunches, contact your Senator or Representative today by going here.
For more information about child nutrition in schools, visit the Food Research and Action Center, Let’s Move! or Farm to School.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Women in the News on International Women's Day
Today is International Women’s Day. I’m thinking about the best way to observe the day, and the morning news gave me a lot of ideas.
When I opened the paper at the breakfast table, I saw a photo in the Cape Cod Times of two burqa-clad women who had just braved multiple bombings to vote in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. My lovely math-whiz ballerina daughter, who was sitting next to me, asked, “What are those black things?” I explained to her that women in some religious cultures wear burqas to cover themselves, because they believe women shouldn’t show their faces or any parts of their bodies, or in some cases because men in their lives or religious leaders in their governments require them to. “But why are their fingers black?” “Because they just voted, and that’s how they keep track of voters there, and make sure they don’t vote twice.” I went on to explain how Iraqis, including these women, were willing to face the possibility of being killed to participate in a democratic process that so many of us here take for granted, but I’m not sure how much sunk in over her bagel and cream cheese. That’s ok – we’ll keep talking.
Then I turned to the Boston Globe, and learned that Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win Best Director for her film, The Hurt Locker. In a story later on NPR, I heard her say that she hoped to be known not as a female filmaker, but as a filmmaker, and she hoped some day that qualifier wouldn’t be necessary. Fair enough, but the fact remains that she boldly broke new ground.
Finally, I fired up Facebook (yes, I know not exactly a news source, but I do get lots of info from it these days), and noted that lots of my local friends would be eating at the Dan’l Webster today, and 15% of our bills will be going to The Emancipation Network. Two awesome women (shout out Janell and Tammy!) in our community recently traveled to Kolkata as volunteers for this organization, which works to end human trafficking (also known as slavery) of women and girls, and to promote education for girls who might otherwise fall prey to this crime. Educating girls is the key, and may be the cause of our lifetime. If you don’t believe me, read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn and I dare you not to feel grateful for your life and to take action.
So what will I be doing today? I’ll be celebrating my life, and the lives of women all over the world. There was a time when people said we couldn’t “have it all.” Well, many of us do. We may not have it all at the same time. We may not have it all when we want it. But we have choices, and so we have everything. We can work, we can play (thanks Title IX!) we can learn, and we can choose our leaders – or be our leaders.
And so on this International Women’s Day, be grateful for the choices you have, and commit yourself to working like hell for the women in the world who don’t have them.
When I opened the paper at the breakfast table, I saw a photo in the Cape Cod Times of two burqa-clad women who had just braved multiple bombings to vote in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. My lovely math-whiz ballerina daughter, who was sitting next to me, asked, “What are those black things?” I explained to her that women in some religious cultures wear burqas to cover themselves, because they believe women shouldn’t show their faces or any parts of their bodies, or in some cases because men in their lives or religious leaders in their governments require them to. “But why are their fingers black?” “Because they just voted, and that’s how they keep track of voters there, and make sure they don’t vote twice.” I went on to explain how Iraqis, including these women, were willing to face the possibility of being killed to participate in a democratic process that so many of us here take for granted, but I’m not sure how much sunk in over her bagel and cream cheese. That’s ok – we’ll keep talking.
Then I turned to the Boston Globe, and learned that Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win Best Director for her film, The Hurt Locker. In a story later on NPR, I heard her say that she hoped to be known not as a female filmaker, but as a filmmaker, and she hoped some day that qualifier wouldn’t be necessary. Fair enough, but the fact remains that she boldly broke new ground.
Finally, I fired up Facebook (yes, I know not exactly a news source, but I do get lots of info from it these days), and noted that lots of my local friends would be eating at the Dan’l Webster today, and 15% of our bills will be going to The Emancipation Network. Two awesome women (shout out Janell and Tammy!) in our community recently traveled to Kolkata as volunteers for this organization, which works to end human trafficking (also known as slavery) of women and girls, and to promote education for girls who might otherwise fall prey to this crime. Educating girls is the key, and may be the cause of our lifetime. If you don’t believe me, read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn and I dare you not to feel grateful for your life and to take action.
So what will I be doing today? I’ll be celebrating my life, and the lives of women all over the world. There was a time when people said we couldn’t “have it all.” Well, many of us do. We may not have it all at the same time. We may not have it all when we want it. But we have choices, and so we have everything. We can work, we can play (thanks Title IX!) we can learn, and we can choose our leaders – or be our leaders.
And so on this International Women’s Day, be grateful for the choices you have, and commit yourself to working like hell for the women in the world who don’t have them.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Three Things You Can do Now to Help Kids and Families
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with this blog, and I blame my tendency to over-think. I want to write about the most urgent issue, the most effective action you can take, to have the most positive impact on children and their families. But as we seem to be learning almost every day, neither politics nor the public policy they produce are perfect, and we can’t let that paralyze us. So here are three quick but important things you can do today to have a positive impact on children’s lives. Don’t think about them too much… just put one foot in front of the other (as Chris Kringle sings).
1) If you are part of an organization that serves children, the National Women’s Law Center is circulating a sign-on letter to be sent to the House and Senate for national, state, and local groups urging support of the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009, S. 2749 and H.R. 4402, introduced by Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY). If your organization would like to sign on to the letter or if you want more information, please contact Rio Romero by close of business next Monday, January 25th. She can be reached at rromero@nwlc.org, or (202) 319-3056).
2) Check out the important work the National Center for Children in Poverty is doing around measuring poverty and understanding the financial struggles of children and their families. You can start by viewing and listening to NCCP’s webinar on Federal and Local Efforts to Modernize the Poverty Measure – an outdated and inadequate standard that’s used to allocate all types of public support, from Head Start to food assistance. From there you can explore NCCP's tools for advocates, practitioners, and administrators, including their Basic Needs Budget Calculator.
3) Finally, and perhaps most obviously and urgently, please -- if you haven't already -- make a donation to an organization that’s providing relieve in Haiti. With an estimated death toll of 200,000 the Haitian earthquake has certainly left many, many children without food, shelter, health care, and other basic needs. One organization that is doing great work to help them is Partners in Health.
There are so many more steps you can take to help children and families, but the most important thing is to get started. If you have other suggestions, please comment here. A belated happy New Year to all of you!
1) If you are part of an organization that serves children, the National Women’s Law Center is circulating a sign-on letter to be sent to the House and Senate for national, state, and local groups urging support of the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009, S. 2749 and H.R. 4402, introduced by Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY). If your organization would like to sign on to the letter or if you want more information, please contact Rio Romero by close of business next Monday, January 25th. She can be reached at rromero@nwlc.org, or (202) 319-3056).
2) Check out the important work the National Center for Children in Poverty is doing around measuring poverty and understanding the financial struggles of children and their families. You can start by viewing and listening to NCCP’s webinar on Federal and Local Efforts to Modernize the Poverty Measure – an outdated and inadequate standard that’s used to allocate all types of public support, from Head Start to food assistance. From there you can explore NCCP's tools for advocates, practitioners, and administrators, including their Basic Needs Budget Calculator.
3) Finally, and perhaps most obviously and urgently, please -- if you haven't already -- make a donation to an organization that’s providing relieve in Haiti. With an estimated death toll of 200,000 the Haitian earthquake has certainly left many, many children without food, shelter, health care, and other basic needs. One organization that is doing great work to help them is Partners in Health.
There are so many more steps you can take to help children and families, but the most important thing is to get started. If you have other suggestions, please comment here. A belated happy New Year to all of you!
Friday, October 23, 2009
What Would You Do Without Child Care?
I’ve been working on child care policy for about 15 years now, and I’ve seen a lot of articles like this one that ran in USA Today on Wednesday. Every time I read one I wonder why it’s so difficult to make progress on ensuring that working families have the high quality, affordable child care they need. Honestly. Around 58% of children ages birth to six have mothers who are employed, and almost 78% of kids ages six to 18 have moms who are working for pay. Most work full-time. Most mothers of babies, toddlers, and school-age kids need some kind of child care or after-school program so they can work.
So why don't federal and state policy makers put more funding into child care, even in less economically challenging times? One theory I’ve considered is that progress on child care policy suffers from a high-turnover constituency. That’s advocacy and organizer-speak, so let me break it down. You’re a parent, and you need to work. You can’t find child care, or you can’t find child care you like or trust. Or you can’t find child care you can afford on your hourly salary. You feel desperate and angry. You are a perfect advocate, because you can call policy-makers and say, “Look, if I can’t find or afford decent child care then I can’t work! That’s not good for my family!” That’s powerful.
But then, eventually, you work it out. You find a child care situation that you can afford. Maybe it’s perfect, or maybe it’s not the best for you or your kid, but it works for now, and it lets you get to your job. Then you’re really busy – because you’re a mom or a dad, and you’re working outside the home. Who has time to call legislators or write letters to the editor? Your problem is solved, and you need to move on. You are part of a high-turnover constituency.
But lots of other moms and dads are still out there, facing the same situation you used to face. And they are struggling. So this is my appeal to all you parents out there who either have great child care now, or used great child care when your kids were younger. You know how important it was to you and your family. Look around you throughout your day. Look at your your nurse, your cashier, your child’s teacher, and your waitress. I wonder if they have children. I wonder if they’re having a hard time finding child care. I wonder if they could use your help – your voice – in improving child care policy.
If you think maybe they can, contact your state and federal legislators and let them know how important it is to provide funding for child care subsidies and quality supports. Other parents and kids still need you. For more information on how to help, check out these organizations: NWLC, Early Education for All (in MA), NAEYC
So why don't federal and state policy makers put more funding into child care, even in less economically challenging times? One theory I’ve considered is that progress on child care policy suffers from a high-turnover constituency. That’s advocacy and organizer-speak, so let me break it down. You’re a parent, and you need to work. You can’t find child care, or you can’t find child care you like or trust. Or you can’t find child care you can afford on your hourly salary. You feel desperate and angry. You are a perfect advocate, because you can call policy-makers and say, “Look, if I can’t find or afford decent child care then I can’t work! That’s not good for my family!” That’s powerful.
But then, eventually, you work it out. You find a child care situation that you can afford. Maybe it’s perfect, or maybe it’s not the best for you or your kid, but it works for now, and it lets you get to your job. Then you’re really busy – because you’re a mom or a dad, and you’re working outside the home. Who has time to call legislators or write letters to the editor? Your problem is solved, and you need to move on. You are part of a high-turnover constituency.
But lots of other moms and dads are still out there, facing the same situation you used to face. And they are struggling. So this is my appeal to all you parents out there who either have great child care now, or used great child care when your kids were younger. You know how important it was to you and your family. Look around you throughout your day. Look at your your nurse, your cashier, your child’s teacher, and your waitress. I wonder if they have children. I wonder if they’re having a hard time finding child care. I wonder if they could use your help – your voice – in improving child care policy.
If you think maybe they can, contact your state and federal legislators and let them know how important it is to provide funding for child care subsidies and quality supports. Other parents and kids still need you. For more information on how to help, check out these organizations: NWLC, Early Education for All (in MA), NAEYC
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
For All You Cape Cod Parents and Kid People!
If you've never been to the Upper Cape Early Childhood Conference put on by the Upper Cape Family Network, five area Community Partnerships for Children, and the Child Care Network of the Cape and Islands, this is the year! It's on Saturday, October 31st, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Bourne High School, and will be jam packed with information and fun for parents, early childhood professionals, local businesses, policy makers, and anyone who has an interest in what our young children need and deserve. You can enjoy workshops, continental breakfast, a (free) Discovery toys Give-away, and raffle prizes -- all for $30.00.
Workshops include:
While I'm plugging local events and thinking about Tracey, I also want to pass on information about a workshop for parents on Navigating ADHD she and her partner Holly Oberacker are holding in Sandwich on November 7. For more information or to register click here.
These people love kids, and I love these people - thanks for letting me share!
Workshops include:
- Different Children, Different Needs (with Jeanine K. Fitzgerald)
- Building Bias-Free Foundations (with my frolleague Tracey Bromley Goodwin!)
- Everything You Always Wanted To Ask the Pediatrician… But ran Out of Time to Ask! (with Dr. Lisa Dobberteen)
- A Match Made in Heaven: NAEYC Guidelines and EEC Regulations
- And much more!
While I'm plugging local events and thinking about Tracey, I also want to pass on information about a workshop for parents on Navigating ADHD she and her partner Holly Oberacker are holding in Sandwich on November 7. For more information or to register click here.
These people love kids, and I love these people - thanks for letting me share!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Afterschool, Summer, and Closing the Achievement Gap
About a year ago my then-seven year old daughter came home from school and declared that we shouldn’t vote for Obama because he wants kids to be in school during the summer. From her narrow perspective, school is fun but summer is more fun. That’s when she can dance, swim, and play with abandon. Who would want to mess with that? Similarly, I’ve been watching good thinkers, people who I consider to be like-minded, react with dismay to President Obama’s suggestion that in this less-agrarian era in which the economy demands educated, skilled workers, we might consider lengthening the school year and/or the school day. From a personal perspective I can relate to his critics. We just had a great, glorious summer. We spent time at the beach and the mountains. My kids had many sprawling, unstructured summer days. Summer is one of the reasons I enjoy having a flexible, work-at-home career. A good summer break is what kids who are over-stressed, over-protected, and deprived of nature need. Who would want to mess with that?
But here’s the reality of most families. In its new report, the Afterschool Alliance reports that 15 million U.S. children are alone and unsupervised after school. Their parents aren’t working at home – they’re working at grocery stores and hotels and in office buildings. And they keep working through the summer. The kids who aren’t in afterschool programs during the school year are also very likely not in summer camps during the summer. And while I wish they could all have the relatively carefree summers my children enjoy while I work in my guest room office, I know better. As a person who grew up with both parents working after school, I know those unsupervised afternoon hours can be liberating and empowering. They provide an opportunity to develop responsibility, maturity, and judgment, and to learn how to make your own mac and cheese. But they can also be long, lonely, and full of opportunities to make bad, even dangerous, choices.
But President Obama’s interests are less developmental than educational. After all, depending on whom you ask it’s not the mission of our public schools to provide a safe and developmentally appropriate place for kids while their parents work to pay the bills. They need to somehow close the achievement gap – the one among U.S. students, and the one between our students and those in other countries.
But here’s the reality of most families. In its new report, the Afterschool Alliance reports that 15 million U.S. children are alone and unsupervised after school. Their parents aren’t working at home – they’re working at grocery stores and hotels and in office buildings. And they keep working through the summer. The kids who aren’t in afterschool programs during the school year are also very likely not in summer camps during the summer. And while I wish they could all have the relatively carefree summers my children enjoy while I work in my guest room office, I know better. As a person who grew up with both parents working after school, I know those unsupervised afternoon hours can be liberating and empowering. They provide an opportunity to develop responsibility, maturity, and judgment, and to learn how to make your own mac and cheese. But they can also be long, lonely, and full of opportunities to make bad, even dangerous, choices.
But President Obama’s interests are less developmental than educational. After all, depending on whom you ask it’s not the mission of our public schools to provide a safe and developmentally appropriate place for kids while their parents work to pay the bills. They need to somehow close the achievement gap – the one among U.S. students, and the one between our students and those in other countries.
Through a combination of high quality after-school programs, extended learning opportunities through school, and school or community-based summer programs that prevent summer learning loss, we might be able to close that gap.
- In Massachusetts, some districts have been funded to try Expanded Learning Time, and teachers participating in the evaluation of the initiative have reported that it provides the time to complete their curricula and meet the needs of all students.
- Two 2007 studies (one by Dr. Karl Alexander at Johns Hopkins University, and one by Dr. Beth Miller for the Nellie Mae Education Foundation) looked at summer learning loss as a key to the achievement gap. Both found that a big contributor to the achievement gap may be the difference in the ways kids from different socio-economic groups spend their summers. Those who spend some of their summer in educational activities – which can include having fun at a summer camp with well-trained staff – lose less of what they’ve learned from one school year to the next.
- Finally, a variety of research suggests that high quality after-school settings – programs that have trained staff and offer children a variety of activities and learning opportunities – can lead to more school success for kids.
None of those options precludes kids playing or having the freedom to make choices. In fact, high quality educational experiences -- whether they're in the classroom, at camp, or in an afterschool program -- include letting kids play.
So, what’s the answer? Longer school years and school days may be the answer for some kids and for some communities. A lot depends on what other options those kids and their families have during their time outside of school – after school and during the summer. What seems clear is that policy makers, schools, and parents have to consider all of these strategies in their efforts to close the achievement gap and give kids the education they need to be happy and successful adults.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Show your kids where policy happens!
Hey all you Wonky Moms and Dads out there! I was just thinking that this is the time of year when parents are starting to plan that school vacation get-away for February or April school vacation. You know - Disney. The Carolinas. Maybe a nice island somewhere.All tempting, but why not do something different this year? If you haven't already, this may be the year to take your kids to their nation's capital! Show them where policy is made, tour
the museums and maybe even the White House (get your tix early for that one!), visit your Congressional representatives... We took our kids to Washington, D.C. last year, and it was a great way to introduce them to some history, provide a backdrop for our dinner-time discussions of current events, and empower them to be active citizens who respect and enjoy their national treasures. Here's my son at the gates of the Department of the Treasury. He was doing a report on Alexander Hamilton at the time, and seeing his statue was one of the highlights of his trip. That, and riding in the flight simulator at the Air and Space Museum.I know times are tight, and not all of you are on the East Coast. For a democracy destination within reach, you can also check out your state capitol. Take a tour, visit your state legislators if they're in session, and enjoy absorbing the power of democracy that is palpable inside those walls. You might even be able to see a committee hearing or watch some floor action.
Just a thought as you browse through your travel brochures and start making plans... If you're thinking about visiting D.C., here is a great site to get you started!
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