The document proposes a program called FYI - Feed Your Intellect at Bronx Early College Academy. The program aims to educate middle school students about mindful eating habits and lifestyle changes. It would be integrated into the health curriculum and other subjects. Goals are to increase awareness of eating and promote principles of mindful eating. The program would partner with local organizations and involve student outreach to families. Assessment of the program would include observations, surveys and performance-based projects.

1. Marcia Feliz & Danielle Schulte
“Developing mindful
eating habits and
transforming the way we
think about food”

2. “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently
is an art.”
-
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
○ Mindfulness
○ Habits
○ Lifestyle
If you change your mind, you can change your habits,
which can change your lifestyle!
-M.
Feliz & D. Schulte
Core Beliefs

3. Bronx Early College Academy
250 East 164th Street, Bronx NY 10456
The school was founded in 2006 and currently serves
509 students, across grades 6-12. We were founded on
the premise of students earning college credits while
still in high school, through a community partnership.
As of last year, we were authorized as an IB school.
About Our School

4. Student Demographics
○ Total population: 509 students
○ Race/Ethnicity percentages of students:
Asian: 3%, Black: 32%, Hispanic: 63%,
White: 2%
○ Percentage of Title 1 students: 80%
○ Percentage of Students with Disabilities: 17%
○ Percentage of English Language Learners:
20%

5. Student Achievement
Proficiency Levels
○ Average Incoming Math Proficiency (based on 4th grade)
2.38 (2013-2014)
○ Average Incoming ELA Proficiency (based on 4th grade)
2.23 (2013-2014)
2013-2014 Middle School State Exam Proficiency Level (3 or 4)
○ 9% - ELA
(City Avg: 27%, District Avg: 11%)
○ 5% - Mathematics
(City Avg: 29%, District Avg: 14%)
Graduation Rates:
○ 88% (within 4 years)
(City Average: 73% Borough Average: 65%)

6. Staff Demographics
Race/Ethnicity Percentages of School
Faculty and Staff:
○ Hispanic/Latino: 32%
○ Caucasian: 50%
○ African American/ Caribbean: 16%
○ Asian: 2%

7. Years Teaching
Less than one year: 11%
1-3 year: 46%
4-10 years: 18%
11-15 years: 21%
More than 15 years: 4%
Staff Demographics
(cont.)
Education Level
95% teachers have at least one Master’s Degree
1 teacher has a doctorate

8. About the Community
Population for 10456 zip code: (based on
2010 census data) 86,547
○ One Race: 94.2%
○ White: 15.4%
○ Black or African American: 48.4%
○ American Indian or Alaska native: 1.5%
○ Asian: 1%
○ Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
Islander: 0.3%
○ Some Other Race: 27.5%
○ Hispanic or Latino: 56.2%

9. Total Households: 28,122
Family Households (families) (7) : 70.8 %
Husband-Wife family: 23%
Male Householder, no wife present: 8%
Female Householder, no husband present: 39.7%
Nonfamily households (7) : 29.2%
Male living Alone: 11.9%
Female Living Alone: 13.1%
Employment/Unemployment statistics:
○ 45.7% Employed
○ 10.2% Unemployed
About the Community

11. Why This School?
○ Only 6th graders are receiving Health Class
○ We do not have a Wellness Team
○ Gym time and space is limited/at a minimum due to
shared space in the building
○ 30% of students stated they are not offered opportunities
to be physically active before, during and after school
○ 80% of students receive free lunch (not that healthy)
○ Activities such as Dance and Theatre are not offered to
students
○ Health has become a national concern and it is not being
addressed at BECA

12. School Strengths
Strengths - Lots of community partnerships that
can assist with networking and resources.
Community Based Organizations:
○ City Year
○ LEAP
○ Fordham Scholars Tutoring Program
○ American Museum of Natural History
○ NYC Teaching Collaborative
○ College Now – Lehman
○ College Bound Initiative (CBI)
○ International Baccalaureate (IB)
○ New York Cares

13. Assessing the Community
Issues: Obesity and being overweight is common in
residents of all ages in the South Bronx.
a. Nearly 1 in 4 children in public elementary schools is
obese, and nearly 4 in 10 are overweight or obese.
b. About 1 in 6 public high school students is obese, and
more than 1 in 3 is overweight or obese.
c. The prevalence of obesity among public high school
students and adults 45 to 64 years of age, however, is
higher in the South Bronx than in the city as a whole.

14. Assessing the Community
Needs:
Based on the neighborhood walk, there is only one
farmers markets in the local area of the school. The
times and dates the market is open is unclear.
Limited health food stores.
40.3% of population is below the poverty level
Out of a population 25 years and over 45.9% are less
than high school graduates
High School graduate: 31%
Some College, Associate’s degree: 27.3%
Bachelor’s degree or higher: 19.4%
Education Statistics:

15. Poverty and poor health worldwide are
inextricably linked. The causes of poor health
for millions globally are rooted in political,
social and economic injustices. Poverty is both
a cause and a consequence of poor health.
Poverty increases the chances of poor health.
Poor health in turn traps communities in
poverty.
Poverty and Poor Health
http://www.who.int/topics/poverty/en/

16. Community Assessment (cont)
Strengths:
Lots of local resources such as the courthouse,
police stations, schools, places of worship, food
banks, in-school health clinics, high transit area
(quick access to buses and trains), NY Public
Library.

17. The Program
Building the School Community Bridge
FYI – Feed Your Intellect
FYI is a program in which students are educated about
mindful eating and developing lifestyle changes when it
comes to the way we think and feel about food. In addition,
we will expose students to a variety of eating options and
healthy choices available to them.

18. Goals & Objectives
○ Our main goal is to cultivate awareness in eating and develop
principles of mindful eating.
○ Our objective is to become more aware of what we are eating,
why we are eating it and how we feel when we eat it. Our core
beliefs of Mindfulness, Habits and Lifestyles are part of our
objectives as well.
○ Mindfulness cultivates the possibility of freeing yourself of
reactive, habitual patterns of thinking, feeling and acting.
○ Mindfulness promotes balance, choice, and wisdom.

19. Targeted Student Population
All middle school students, grade 6-8
CBO’s involved:
○ Partner with the local farmer’s market. They
can come in and speak with the students
about picking produce in relation to the
season.
○ New York Cares Volunteer opportunities
related to health
○ Partner with local gym to provide students
with access to facilities

20. FYI:
• This program will be integrated into the health
curriculum and will be it’s own unit. Health topics will
be infused into the curricula of the other content
areas.
• It will have year-long ongoing activities, such as
health journals, bulletin boards, showcasing healthy
eating habits and trips to the farmer’s market,
activities with CBOs and monthly check-ins as a
class.
Logistics

21. Logistics (cont.)
• Students will promote how they have applied
their knowledge of mindful eating and
lifestyle-changes.
• Students will turn-key information they
learned in class to their families and then
keep their school and classes informed on
the changes their families have made in their
own homes.

22. Health Topic: Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs)
Social Studies: Study of articles and documents that support or
oppose the use of GMOs. Students write a persuasive essay
using evidence from the documents.
Science: Students experiment and analyze how GMOs effect
the foods they eat as well as the molecular changes that occur
as a result of the use of GMOs.
Math: Students can track and solve the rate at which food
grows as a result of using GMOs to create functions,
comparing those that do not use GMOs.
ELA: Students read Omnivore's Dilemma and Eat This, Not
That and participate in Socratic Seminars discussing topics
from the text.
Infused Curricula

23. Communication
Program Branding and Advertising:
Opening assembly to unit – similar to Kotter’s
book and the sense of urgency – not just a unit
but a new way of thinking
Flyers around school
Brochures
Stickers and pencils for each kid to promote
branding and participation

24. Staff Recruitment Process
○ All health and science teachers will be involved, as well
as a brief overview to other teachers about infusing
health topics into their curricula
○ Training for all health teachers with specific curriculum
and core values – bring in a nutritionist

25. Student Recruitment
Student health committee : 2 student
volunteers from each grade to maintain
bulletin boards, shout-outs during morning
announcements, assemblies, and collecting
volunteer journals

26. Methods:
○ Invited to initial meeting that explains program
○ Students turn-key information to parents
○ Trip chaperones with CBOs
○ Advice with cooking
○ Cultural cookbook with healthy alternatives to
native food
Family Outreach

27. Assessment
A) Formative Data: observations of students,
food journals
B) Summative Data: Student and parent
survey after unit & projects, before & after
videos, creation of music video or animation
C) Performance-based Data: Recipe from
cultural background and create alternative,
healthy form which will be turned into a
cookbook

28. Resources
• http://stateofobesity.org/states/ny/
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/dpho/dpho-bronx-
obesity.pdf
• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-
groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet21SchoolDayJustGotH
ealthier.pdf -
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/c
s042pct.pdf
• http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_fac
ts.xhtml#none
• http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/new-
york/2015/rankings/bronx/county/outcomes/1/snapshot
• healthiernyc.org
• http://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000059609