Kaiserslautern Middle School Receives National Recognition from the American Association for Health Education

Each year the Blue Apple Health Education Awards recognize school health education programs that demonstrate best practices and show coordination with other components of school health. The awards program recognize schools that will serve as models of excellence for others across the nation.

Pictured at the AAHE Blue Apple Award Ceremony from left to right are: Joe Warwick, Kaiserslautern Commissary Manager, Susan Hargis, KMS Principal, Kimberly Howe, KMS 6th grade teacher and Kay Blakely, DeCA Home Economist

Kaiserslautern Middle School(KMS), along with nine other schools throughout the United States, was honored April 3, 2009, by the American Association for Health Education at their National Convention in Tampa, FL, as a premier recipient of the Blue Apple Award for exceptional commitment to health education. Concerned about the potential risks of obesity among students, the KMS principal and 6th grade teachers joined with Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) personnel to plan and implement a school and community-based strategy that would integrate nutrition education and physical activity into the content of the lessons across the curriculum and the lives of the KMS 6th grade students. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) gathered health-related data on 6th grade students that raised awareness and provided the baseline and rationale for this initiative. This is one example of how a coordinated approach to school health, where the school and community come together to address a local student health concern can result in a well thought out, sustainable strategy that can affect student's health and readiness to learn. Through continued data gathering and analysis by the LRMC, KMS and the Kaiserslautern commissary and DeCA personnel will get feedback on student progress and program effectiveness for continuous program improvement.