Review status of health and fitness initiatives in Oklahoma schools as well as efforts in other states to promote K-12 student wellness.

              INTERIM STUDY REPORT
Common Education Committee
Rep. Ann Coody, Chairman
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Interim Study 11-121, Rep. Will Fourkiller
November 16, 2011
Review status of health and fitness initiatives in Oklahoma schools as well as efforts in other
states to promote K-12 student wellness
Mickey Peercy, executive director of health
Choctaw Nation
Mpeercy@choctawnation.com
• Discussed the problem of obesity and diabetes within the Choctaw Nation.
• Discussed the need to prevent those problems in the next generation and as a result the
Choctaw Nation started a health initiative aimed at students.
Tammie Cannady, director of preventative health
Choctaw Nation
918-649-1192
• The earlier you can teach children good habits, the better.
• Employees have seen participation in the Reach Us program like participation in no other
program. Five hundred participated in the most recent 5K, with 200 of those under the
age of 18. The first year only 50 people participated in the 5K.
• Through the nation, students can do health assessments, spend time with healthy
lifestyles coaches, make plans and set goals.
• The nation also has community diabetic educators who have parent meetings to educate
about diabetes prevention and other issues.
See presentation a
J.T. Petherick, health legislative officer
Cherokee Nation
Jt.petherick@cherokee.org
• Tribal leadership has focused not just on individual intervention for health issues but also
system-wide changes through state and federal laws and partnerships with schools.
• Though tribal members are genetically predisposed to diabetes and heart disease, the
reason why more of them develop those diseases is because of policy decisions of the last
100 years such as reducing natural food sources.
• Leaders also are looking at how schools are meeting physical education requirements
such as whether schools are counting athletics toward requirements. If schools are doing
that, what is available for students who don’t participate in athletics?
• It is also important to look at family environments as a whole.
• Leaders are working on agreements with school districts to allow members of the
community to use facilities for exercise and provide grants to school districts for health
initiatives like revamping vending machine content.