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View Winners → Chelsea Clinton Honors Rio Hondo School’s Health Efforts
Arcadia Weekly Oct 11, 2012
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By Dena Burroughs
Chelsea Clinton speaks to Rio Hondo’s P.E. teacher Ms. Buchanan. -Photo by Dena Burroughs
It was an exciting Monday morning at Rio Hondo School this week, as Chelsea Clinton, member of the Board of Directors of the William J. Clinton Foundation, congratulated students, staff, and faculty for their efforts to make the school a healthier place to learn and work.
Clinton presented El Monte City School District (EMCSD)’s Superintendent, Jeff Seymour, with a Gold National Recognition Award from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for the changes that the school has made to increase access to healthy meals and physical activity opportunities.
Receiving the award is a major accomplishment, said Clinton, “as only two other schools in the whole country (one in Illinois and one in New Jersey) are as healthy as you are.” She toured the school; visited its gym – fixed up with treadmills, weights, exercise machines, and an active video game area – and the cafeteria – equipped with a “Grab and Go” cart filled with fruits, juices, and milk.
Likewise she observed a group of first graders during a class that combined exercise with spelling and math games, and later shared remarks in front of students, faculty, and the media during which she thanked the youngsters for being “an inspiration for the Alliance, the Clinton Foundation, and the country.”
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation was founded in 2005 by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Its goal is to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and to inspire young people and their families to develop lifelong healthy habits.
The EMCSD has participated in the Alliance’s Healthy School Program for the past five years. During this time its schools have earned multiple levels of recognition for their participation in wellness activities that help the kids, said Supt. Seymour, “make good healthy decisions not only at school but also at home.”
Other EMCSD schools that have won silver or bronze awards from the Alliance are Columbia, Durfee, Wilkerson, Shirpser, Rio Vista, New Lexington, Le Gore, Cortada, and Cherrylee.
