Golfview School 1st to earn federal distinction

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

CARPENTERSVILLE — Antonio DeLa Luz, 9, never had eaten “cali-flower” before Golfview Elementary School decided to go for the Gold Award of Distinction in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s HealthierUS School Challenge, he said.

But with that challenge came healthier foods in school lunches every day — except Fridays, when there’s pizza, Antonio said. But even that pizza has a whole grain crust, lunch provider ARAMARK has said.

With it also came more time for physical activity during the school day and an approved nutrition education curriculum, according to Community Unit School District 300.

And on Friday, representatives of ARAMARK, District 300 and the USDA came to Golfview to recognize the Carpentersville school as the first public school in Illinois to meet the challenge of the Gold Award of Distinction.

“This isn’t something we did for the award,” Golfview Principal Trisha Whitecotton said. “This is part of our culture. We do this all the time now.”

Only one-half of one percent of the schools in the United States win the Gold Award of Distinction, according to the USDA. And of those, Golfview is just the second of three schools in Illinois to earn the award this school year.

The other two are charter schools in Chicago, USDA Midwest Regional Nutritionst Samia Hamdan said.

The HealthierUS School Challenge is a national program established by the USDA to recognize schools that take specific steps to improve nutrition and address childhood obesity. It comes as “childhood obesity continues to threaten the healthy futures of one-third of our children in the U.S. today,” according to ARAMARK Regional Vice President Annette Heng.

District 300 was awarded a $56,000 HealthierUS School Challenge grant in December 2009 to both assess and award its elementary schools’ current menus and wellness-related efforts. Only Golfview earned recognition from the challenge.

Whitecotton said she knew her school could earn the challenge’s top recognition because of her staff — they always put the students first, and the challenge was, first and foremost, about the students’ health. It included incorporating more fruits and vegetables and whole grains into the school’s lunch menu every day and increasing the amount of physical activity its students get to 90 minutes a week, even giving teachers lesson plans that involved more physical activity, she said.

That achievement brought Ollice Holden, Midwest regional administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, to Golfview Friday. And students gasped when Holden told them he brought with him messages from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

“(President Obama) wants you to make good on your education,” Holden said. “He wants you to stay focused, and one of the things you can do is work hard and learn and be educated so when the time comes to be an adult, you will be able to contribute to your country.”

It also brought “star athletes” Rockne and Collin Brubaker, who went to District 300 schools while growing up in Algonquin and now are professional figure skaters. The brothers urged students to surround themselves with friends who supported their healthy choices.

“If you guys are confident with who you are and the healthy choices that you make, there isn’t anything you can’t do,” said Rockne Brubaker, two-time national figure skating champion.

The Gold Award of Distinction celebration also brought representatives from Kane County, the U.S. departments of education and health and human services, the Illinois State Board of Education, the village of Carpentersville and others to Golfview. And next week, it will bring self-described “rockstar nutritionist” Jill Jayne to District 300 schools.

Both Antonio and his fellow fourth-grader Leslie Hernandez, 10, appeared in Jayne’s musical tribute to Golfview, “Going Gold: They Took The Challenge.”

The two watched the premiere of the music video at Friday’s event with their chins in their hands and wide smiles across their faces. And while their principal said, “I don’t know that I have the words to express” what that recognition felt like, both Antonio and Leslie had one:

“Cool.”