Looking for Answers: Behavior, Student Population and Program Intervention

Dr. Carol Goodenow, Director of Coordinated School Health, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, opened up the second day as the morning’s keynote presenter: ”Identifying and Addressing Physical Activity and Nutrition Disparities—Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth.” Her goal: identify adolescent populations most at risk of poor nutrition and obesity; and use multiple strategies to help schools address those issues.


Dr. Goodenow said the achievement gap between Hispanic students and white/Anglo students is larger in Massachusetts than in the country as a whole. She asked the NPD partners to pair up with someone from another site and exchange answers regarding behavior, student population and program intervention. Answers included: Baltimore—African Americans are at risk for pregnancy, SDTs, and poor nutrition; Arkansas—has a unique population from the Marshall Islands (near Australia) with myriad health programs including TB; Wisconsin has a strategic plan including a community partnership with the United Way; and Los Angeles has a grant with the USDA for nutrition in the schools.