Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 24, 2016 LESD Board of Trustees Celebrates 100 Years of Collective Service Lawndale Elementary School District’s Board of Trustees celebrated an impressive milestone this month as they have collectively accrued 100 years of service. “We wholeheartedly thank President Shirley Rudolph, Clerk Cathy Burris, and Trustees Shirley Bennett, Ann Phillips, and Bonnie Coronado to their dedication in making the best decisions for our student body and ensuring that everything we do puts our students’ interests at the forefront. They are truly and deeply committed to raising the bar and closing learning gaps for all students,” stated Dr. Ellen Dougherty, Superintendent of Lawndale Elementary School District. LESD Implements Programs to Ensure Student Success Through Proper aNutrition By Haleemon Anderson In addition to promoting District-wide The Lawndale Elementary School District wellness, LESD has set a goal to have an impact Food Services Department is proud to contribute on the community beyond the District’s students, to student success by providing healthy meals parents, and staff. The District’s Nutrition to approximately 5600 Lawndale students daily. Education Obesity Prevention (NEOP) efforts The Food Services team prepares students for have provided a large amount of outreach to a quality education by providing the necessary educate and empower the Lawndale community fuel for learning, and this year they plan on to promote healthy living. “According to recent strengthening all existing programs and local data, at least 22.9% of children residing in initiatives to solidify the District’s commitment Lawndale are obese. In September of this year, to preventing hunger among students in need, 83% of LESD students live in households at fighting obesity, improving physical fitness, or below the federal poverty level per Free and educating the community at large about and Reduced Price Meal rates. We’ve worked healthy eating. Currently, the Food Services on innovative approaches to promote health Department operates the School Breakfast and wellness within our community for the Program, National School Lunch Program, benefit of all,” shared Camille Thornsen, Snack Program, At-Risk After-School Meals NEOP Project Coordinator. One initiative that Program, and the Seamless Summer Feeding was created as a response to fighting obesity Program. These programs are implemented to was the Corner Store Conversion Project, provide nutritional support to students in need where students participating in the Realizing before and after school, and year-round—even Amazing Potential (RAP) Summer Program during the summer months when school is not were recruited and trained by NEOP staff to in session. assist in local market makeovers. One of the These programs, however, are only a fraction students’ success stories from that initiative was of LESD’s robust student and community in persuading La Fiesta Meat Market, a local wellness operations. “We not only aim to have corner store, to make a number of changes to an impact on our students’ nutrition at school, create a healthier food environment and promote but we also want to have an impact on the healthy eating to the community. Changes made community as a whole,” stated Marc Milton, included reorganizing product displays to place LESD Food Services Director. LESD plans to healthy options at eye level, making water have an impact on the community through their more visible in beverage refrigerators, offering Wellness Program, which has a long history fruit at the checkout, and increasing the overall of initiating local wellness efforts—including amount of healthy options available. Martin events encouraging students to start their day and Carmen Ramirez, Owners of La Fiesta actively by walking to school, hosting Family Meat Market, showed their commitment in the Nutrition Nights throughout the District’s eight fight against childhood obesity and replaced a campuses, and providing Zumba classes free massive advertisement that promoted unhealthy of charge to parents, to name a few. “We are beverages in front of their store with a mural extremely proud of our Wellness Program and showing their commitment to the health of the we can’t thank the Wellness Liaisons at each Lawndale community. school site enough for providing support and Another NEOP initiative that provides breathing life into all our initiatives within nutrition education along with hands-on the schools and in the community,” continued experiences for students and parents is the Milton. LESD’s Wellness Liaisons are a group School Garden Project. “By teaching students of 20 individuals who receive a small stipend and their parents to cultivate the land, plant to represent their site in the District’s Wellness seeds, care for the plants, and ultimately harvest Committee to advocate for their school’s wellness their crops—we hope to make kids excited needs, ensure school-wide compliance to the about eating more fresh fruits and vegetables District’s Wellness Policy, and contribute in in their diets and even start their own gardens promoting a district-wide culture that makes at home!” stated Kris Lauritson, LESD Master healthier nutrition and lifestyle decisions. Gardener. With the support of Lauritson and Lissette Bravo, also an LESD Master Gardener, Peer Parent Educators have completed over 53 garden lessons and trainings for parents and teachers in the past three years. LESD school gardens have also started a successful produce donation program to the Lawndale Commodities Free Food Program. To date, LESD schools have donated more than 2,268 pounds of fresh, organically grown fruits and vegetables. To keep the gardening momentum alive, School Garden Committees have been created at all school sites and are given the responsibility of maintaining their school garden, governing the activities that take place, and supporting experiential learning opportunities for all in an environment focused on student growth and success. Activities at the schools range from math, science and nutrition lessons in the garden, to growing produce for taste and for donation to the community, to lunchtime and afterschool garden clubs, to hosting edible gardening workshops. Last year, teacher Kellie Duffy began offering Garden & Nutrition as an elective for 6th grade students at Jane Addams Middle School. Recently, LESD was honored to host a visit from top level USDA Food and Nutrition Service leaders Audrey Rowe, USDA Administrator for the Food and Nutrition Service and Jesus Mendoza, Jr., Western Regional Administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. LESD Superintendent, Dr. Ellen Dougherty, along with Milton, gave Rowe and Mendoza a comprehensive tour of the Anderson Elementary School food services facilities, introduced them to students enjoying a healthy and balanced breakfast, and then invited them to participate in a lesson in the school garden facilitated by LESD’s Master Gardeners and Teacher Anne Schmitt. “We are so proud of how far our Food Services Department and all their initiatives have come in supporting our students and their families with proper nutrition and in giving them the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in a community that puts their well-being and wellness at the forefront. Proper nutrition is an essential building block to student success—and we are delighted to provide our scholars with the necessary foundation for bright futures in our District and as they move on to higher education,” concluded Dr. Dougherty. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............2 Finance..................................6 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................4, 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................5 Seniors..................................7 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 67˚/50˚ Saturday Cloudy 61˚/50˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 61˚/48˚
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