Teaching nutrition, promoting exercise, changing lives! – Commit 2B Fit® is a non-profit organization working to combat childhood obesity and promote overall wellness. Commit 2B Fit® provides a solution for childhood obesity by delivering programs that effect positive and healthy behavioral change in children and families.
The Commit 2B Fit® school program is a comprehensive educational program that teaches children the basics of sound nutrition and the importance of regular physical activity. Through small daily lessons that are both cumulative and reinforcing, Commit 2B Fit® aims to instill in children a pattern of behavior that can lead to a lifetime of wellness.
During the 2012-2013 school year, The School District of Palm Beach County continued to strategically expand this award winning program into 42 elementary schools in 3rd-5th grades reaching approximately over 16,500 students. Additionally, several schools opted to include K-2 as well.
- default_titleFrom a kids’ perspective, Commit 2B Fit® is a fun way to learn about eating right and to receive rewards for regular physical activity.
- default_titleFor parents, Commit 2B Fit® gives their children valuable life skills that often make a positive impact on lifestyles at home.
- default_titleFor schools, Commit 2B Fit® is an invaluable teaching tool that is easy to implement.
- default_titleMost importantly, Commit 2B Fit® works. The results of an independent, four-year study of the Commit 2B Fit® program were published in a peer-reviewed article that affirmed the program’s effectiveness in battling childhood obesity. “This may very well be the ‘Solution’ program. The first years of Commit 2B Fit® have shown that it is possible to create change in our students and their families…” Dr. Valerie George
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At the beginning of the school year, each student receives a customized Commit 2B Fit® academic/wellness student planner that encourages students to record their physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, as well as their academic assignments. In addition to serving as a daily planner, the academic/wellness student planner contains fitness and nutrition information along with information on oral health. The Commit 2B Fit® student planner serves as a communication tool between the teacher, student, and parent – embracing the importance of family involvement in setting and achieving goals.
Once a student takes the Commit 2B Fit® pledge, they receive an affirmation charm. As the student meets the goals of the program, there are opportunities to receive additional charms and other incentives.
The eight week journal is filled with nutrition and fitness information specific to adults which mirrors the Commit 2B Fit® process of establishing goals and logging physical activity and nutrition.
Each year teachers receive a training to successfully incorporate Commit 2B Fit® into the school day without adding another layer to the student’s already busy schedule.
Commit 2B Fit® provides a Teacher Training Manual to accompany the Student Planner. The training manual is rich in resources and includes ideas and lesson plans that aligned with the content in the agendas and with academic subjects.
To enrich the Commit 2B Fit® school program and truly motivate children and families to become more physical active and make healthier nutrition choices, many incentives are provided. As the students take the pledge to commit to be fit, they are given a necklace and affirmation charm to show everyone their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. In the 2012-2013 school year, 16,600 charms were distributed at the beginning of the school year and another 16,600 mid-year. Additional incentives included 500 posters for classroom display, 1,800 Commit 2B Fit® / Miami Dolphin bracelets, 1,000 various incentives of jump ropes, pencils, shopping bags, and pedometers. For direct communication with the schools, newsletters were electronically delivered which were then passed on to the parents. All of these incentives created great visibility of the commitment of the schools and students to living a healthy life.
For the 2012-2013 school year, Commit 2B Fit® was implemented in 42 elementary schools in grades 3-5, with some schools purchasing student planners for K-2 as well.
The Commit 2B Fit® academic/wellness student planner has been customized to meet the needs of students in Palm Beach County. During the past few school years, the Palm Beach County Oral Health Coalition collaborated with the founders of the Commit 2B Fit® program to add an oral health component that served as a reminder for students to brush their teeth three times a day. Additionally, the District’s Student Intervention Services Department partnered with the founders of the Commit 2B Fit® program to incorporate a customized “Character Counts! In Palm Beach County” and “Stop Bullying!” The District’s Wellness Promotion Task Force and the School Food Service Department served as the link to bridge these partnerships and facilitate the additional customizations.
For the 2012-2013 school year, Commit 2B Fit® implemented teacher training via TrainU in keeping with the District protocol for teacher training. The training was completed with Vodcast and allowed teachers to download the Commit 2B Fit® assets and materials and resources directly from the course.
Commit 2B Fit® partnered with the Miami Dolphins to offer for the first time to Palm Beach County a Commit 2B Fit® / Dol-Fit Assembly. Starlight Cove Elementary was the first elementary in the 2012-2013 school year to host this assembly…kids and staff loved it!
In 2009, Commit 2B Fit® received recognition for Best Practices to Prevent Childhood Obesity presented by the Florida Initiative for Children’s HealthCare Quality (FLICHQ).
Commit 2B Fit® continues to promote their social media campaign to provide greater interactivity for students, teachers and parents.
- default_titleThe School District of Palm Beach County
- default_titlePublix Supermarkets
- default_titleMiami Dolphins Foundation
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Visit www.icommit2bFit.org and follow them at www.facebook.com/iCommit2Bfit for additional information, tips, and resources.