Prime Time; Emily Griffith Opportunity School

[children singing] [Ed Sardella] "Hello. I'm Ed Sardella, host for Prime Time, a weekly series that focuses on how the school, parents, and community can achieve a better education for Denver school age children. This week Prime Time emphasizes how good nutrition helps learning. We'll visit the West High School career fair where representatives from business and industry counsel students in making career choices. We'll also see

highlights of the annual 'Moonlighters Rendezvous,' an event which really lives the hopes and dreams of Emily Griffith. Eat to learn, learn to eat. That was the theme this year for National School Lunch Week celebrated recently by the Denver public schools. Originally proclaimed in 1962 by President Kennedy, National School Lunch Week stresses the importance of good balanced meals. Nutrition not only affects children's growth but also their ability to learn. Denver school children eagerly eat pizza, tacos, and sloppy joes. But there is more to the story. In our first segment you'll see how the Denver Public Schools plan and prepare school breakfast and lunch programs. And how nutrition education is taught at Horace Mann Junior High and in the preschool class at Bradley school. Roxie Feldman is demonstrating Chef Combo, a hand puppet created by the National Dairy Council to encourage good eating habits in preschool children."

[Roxie Feldman] "How about some apples and some spaghetti. Is that all right for me to eat?" [children responding] "Yes." [Feldman] "All right. How about if I eat an eraser?" [children laughing & responding] "No." [Feldman] "No? Boys and girls, you are absolutely right. Some things are not meant to be eaten. Some things are to go into your mouth, but other things are not. And if you are unsure, who do you ask?" [child responding] "My Mom." [child] "My Mom." [Feldman] "And any adult in your house. So now I'm going to play a game with you. I would like to have Sean go over to the easel and pick up three kinds of food that he likes to eat and put on the tray right here. Is Ryan, is Sean picking food that is, that it's all right

to eat?" [child] "Yes." [Feldman] "Is he going to eat crayons like I was?" [child] "No." [Feldman] "Is Sean going to eat paste?" [child] "No." [Feldman] "No." [child] "Apples." [Feldman] "Tell me what you have there, Sean." [Sean] "Some strawberries." [child] "Strawberries." [parent] "Hush, it's his turn." [Sean] "And some toast." [Feldman] "Good." [Sean] "Some scrambled eggs, and eggs." [Feldman] "An egg." [Sean] "And an apple." [Feldman] "And an apple. Thank you Sean you may sit down." [Sardella] "At the junior high school level, the importance of making wise food choices is reinforced in home economics classes." [Judy Kerlin speaking] "Class, today we're going to continue with our study of nutrition from where we left off yesterday, packing a nutritious lunch and the food models. Today, you're going to get the actual experience. of packing a school lunch to compete with the type A lunch that they serve down in the cafeteria.

Learning is hampered severely when a child is poorly nutritioned. If they're severe to the point of malnutrition, their health is so bad that they are probably not in school to take advantage of the educational benefits. There are students who have come to school that have poor nutrition habits that also cause them to be disruptive in the class, they become very lethargic, they can be disruptive. They also can become very quiet and not take benefit of the educational process. So it is that vital that they have the energy and the vitality to take advantage of the education process. By skipping breakfast is one of the most serious problems of the teenage years as well as other age levels, and what happens is the, breakfast breaks down to the breaking the fast. You have been fasting since you finished eating either your late night snack the night before or your dinner and you have not consumed any food for your body, any energy for your body since then, so you need to break that fast with some kind of nutritious food. It can be as simple as a bowl of

cereal or a glass of juice, a piece of toast. It does not have to be anything complicated but they do need some energy to work on for the day's work. Snacking, if it interrupts with their eating a proper diet, perhaps if they would snack before meals they would fill up on empty calorie foods such as potato chips or cola drinks. And then they would not have the room in their stomachs to consume the nutritious meals that perhaps the parents have prepared for them. So snacking interrupts their consuming the other food that they need for growth and development. The Type A lunch has been set up by the United States Department of Agriculture as a guideline for the school lunch program. In that they recommend a given serving amount of milk, of the protein rich food, for example from the meat group or pinto bean... But peanut butter can be included. And they also recommend an amount of servings for vegetables and fruits. And then the bread serving. So that each of those four food groups have been

covered and served in that meal. The school lunch program is that one method of teaching good nutrition is it's by setting an example of the proper nutrition lunch. And we reinforce that in the home economics classes by using examples of school lunch menus and comparing them to a sack lunch that we've prepared or other menus that we have selected and prepared." [Sandra Sanchez speaking] "We feel that nutrition is taught in the schools because research has shown that we have a high number of inadequate diets and that it is very important that people be taught to use monies that is set aside for food wisely, because we all eat, but not always wisely. The consumer education aspect of our home economics program is extremely important at all levels. We try to have the children understand that it isn't the amount of food that you eat that makes you feel good, it's what you are eating. And empty calorie foods and you fill up on pie, fill up on candy, you will

not support your body and you will not feel good. We do some activities with them so that they can learn to make good choices. Again decision making and problem solving, so when they go into the lunch room, if they have a sack lunch and their parent has neglected to or did not have in the house the fruit that they need for the day out of the basic four food groups, that they would be able to go through the line and select the foods that would make their snack lunch complete. Or they can choose to have some days have it, say the type A lunch and have all of the foods on it. The lunchroom lady the other day told me that they do have a choice between fruits and vegetables. And so they aren't forced into taking food and then wasting it." [Interviewer] "Mrs. Benton, what is the background of school lunch and breakfast programs and when did each start?" [Margaret Benton speaking] "In the Denver public schools, lunch started about the turn of the century.

Denver public schools with the help of community organizations had a variety of food services until 1946 when the National School Lunch Act was passed by Congress, signed into law by President Truman, and the Denver public schools became a part of that federal program. The breakfast program started as a pilot project in 1966. At one of the elementary schools, because there was, and it felt that if there were hungry children at noon there might be hungry children at breakfast. So this was a pilot program. With the approval of The Board of Education to gain experience for the government in Washington. Hopefully they would fund the program if it were needed and it was established as a great need. In this city as well as other cities across the nation. Last year over 30,000 youngsters ate lunch on an average every day that school was open. And between 8 and 10,000 youngsters ate

breakfast every day. And those are the statistics for lunch show that about 60 percent of our youngsters who are attending school are eating lunch. A full lunch in the school every day. Menus are made in a variety, with a variety of constraints. We consider the likes and dislikes of the youngsters, the equipment that's available in the kitchens to prepare it with. In other words, everything can't come out of the oven in one day or from off the top of the stove in one day. It's just like at home. We try to have a variety in color on the plate. We don't have the red, such as pizza, and red beets, and maybe cherries, and sauce on the same menu because it's dull, monotonous, and uninteresting. We try not to have all round shapes. We have a variety shapes. We like soft foods and crisp foods. Children particularly like

finger foods, so we try to include those as often as we can. Vitamin C is not maintained in the body and we try to have that, a vitamin C rich food every day and vitamin A rich food at least twice a week. Iron is another important mineral that is needed by teenagers, especially girls, and we try to encourage them to eat the meat dishes especially because these are exceptionally high in iron that can be utilized by the body. But. foods availability, we don't put watermelon on the menu in January but we certainly do in September. Government commodities, I just received a shipment of apricots which we haven't had for a number of years. But we will have them on the menus coming up because this is a commodity allocation. It's a fruit we will use in a variety of ways." [interviewer] "What are the kids favorite meals?"

[Benton] "We have done several years of study on this and pizza is one of their favorites, tacos, and beef/bean burritos, chicken enchiladas is a favorite. With a number of youngsters fried chicken, oven fried chicken is another favorite. Fish sticks has come on the list in the last two years which it wasn't on years before. So. The children's tastes do vary from year to year. The worst effects of snacking is that youngsters have a tendency to fill up on these items and then don't eat the variety of foods that they should do require for their growth and development. Most snack items are extremely high in fat and in salt and in sugar and these are three items which, years ago, Senator McGovern's Committee on Nutrition had recommended that the whole populace of the United States attempt to restrict for good health in future lives. So

in all of our recipes we have gone through and reduced the quantities of these items. And in an attempt to help educate youngsters to eat properly. At least at the 11 percent of the time that they eat with us, they will be getting foods that are excellent for their growth and development." [Sardella] "Where do I go from here? That's the question many high school students ask as they face the reality of the future when they'll have to earn a living. To help students make career choices, West High School had a career fair. Representatives from business, industry, and governmental agencies displayed job opportunities, handed out information, and answered questions about educational and skill requirements for employment. Prime Time first talked with the chairman of the fair, Virginia Castro." [interviewer] "What's the purpose of a career fair?" [Virginia Castro] "Well the purpose here at West, I think, is to expose the kids to all kinds of different job opportunities, training

programs. On my first year at West was last year and I found that one of the greatest needs that our kids have is some type of exposure to the job market. Because I feel that many of our little 10th graders come in here and I think it's just a social type thing. And don't realize that what they're doing, as far as classroom work, academically ties into their future." [Sardella] "Donald Kersting is director of admissions at Colorado Aerotech, a private vocational school. He talked with students about how to become aircraft mechanics. Graduates of Aerotech can go to work at airports, for airplane manufacturers, and for oil exploration." [Don Kersting] "We find reading is extremely important to our technical students. As an aircraft mechanic, they would be, it would be necessary that they would review the manual for that particular aircraft since there can't be any possibility of any mistakes or anything, a student would have to be able to read and comprehend

the material that he read. So there is no varying whatsoever on any repair work or maintenance that would be done. So reading is critical for us. [Ernie Candelaria] "We're here at the career days fair trying to recruit young dynamic people interested in careers with the government, particularly the postal service." [interviewer] "What kinds of job opportunities are there?" [Candelaria] "Well, at this time, we're not recruiting. We're just passing out general information about the types of jobs we have, how to apply. And, just like I said, in general information." [interviewer] "What kind of requirements are necessary to be in the U.S. Postal Service?" [Candelaria] "Well we have age requirements, of course. In general, 18 years of age to come on board with us, and it's waived if you're already a high school graduate. You can come on board with us as early you're 16 if you've already graduated." [interviewer] "How important are the basic learning skills to the various jobs that you have in the postal service? For example, reading." [Candelaria] "Well, we use reading in, I guess, just about every aspect of our jobs. Just about every job I can think of a person would have to get,

they have to have good vocablulary and good understanding to understand the instructions and the general orientation and learn the proper skills in just about every job we have." [Sardella] "Next, Prime Time talked with Victoria Garcia and Frank Gallegos from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center." [Interviewer] "It says here on your poster there is a future in health careers. What kind of job opportunities are available to high school students?" [Victoria Garcia] "Well, for high school students, my recommendation would be that they would start to prepare for the college curriculum that they need for preparing for a health profession. To high school students, there are none, per se. There are some avenues that they can take directly from high school, but a lot of the health professions require a college undergraduate degree and then from there they go on to higher education into a different health occupation. There are approximately, oh, 255 health occupations that one

could go into. So, you're looking at many, many jobs." [interviewer] "What kind of requirements are necessary? When kids are in school right now, what kinds of things do they need to emphasize? What kinds of things they need to learn?" [Garcia] "I would say emphasizing the science and math background. You need to start preparing in the areas of chemistry, biology, physics. All of the math, for high school students, they should start out with Algebra 1 through 4 and progress into the, you know, fundamental science areas and go all the way through. Any of the math background they can get, geometry, physiology, all of your science and math background." [interviewer] "How important is reading?" [Frank Gallegos] "Well, all the basics are very important, but reading, if you don't have reading all your other courses will fall behind because you have to read books in college. You have to be able to take notes and understand the notes and understand the lectures, you have to, well it's just basic, you know, and the more

advanced you can get in any of the fields, math, reading, anything that's basic, the better off you'll be in college and the easier college will be for you." [Garcia] "I might add to that. Reading is most essential in the, in the health professions. Without reading skills you really cannot survive because the medical terminology and the health professions per se have a language all its own, and they're so technical and the monumental amount of reading that they have, the volumes and volumes of books are so technical in nature that they really have to have reading skills. And comprehension ability. Because if they don't have that, there is no way they'll survive." [Sardella] "A career fairs such as this one at West High School benefit both the students and the community at work. Students gain valuable knowledge about a wide range of vocational opportunities and become more aware of how they can match their interests and abilities to successful employment.

The business community profits by becoming partners with the schools and building the workforce of the future. In October when the moon is full, the annual Moonlighters Rendezvous takes place at Emily Griffith Opportunity School. Established in 1916 by Emily Griffith , Opportunity School has served more than a million and a quarter students, enriching their lives and giving them the skills to earn a living. Each year at the rendezvous, Emily Griffiths philosophy that every adult deserves the opportunity to learn, is symbolized by the traditional soup kettle. It began one evening in 1916 when a young boy fainted in class. Miss Griffin realized many of her pupils were hungry. Enlisting the help of her mother and her sister, a kettle of soup was made at home and carried on the street car. A sign posted on the school door read, a bowl of soup is served in the basement from 5:30 to 7:30, free. This saves you time. And so Denver residents in keeping with the tradition, sampled a hot soup served in

modern day plastic cups. Ladell Thomas is the administrator of the Opportunity School that enrolls more than 32,000 high school and adult students each year. Mr. Thomas comments on the purpose of the Moonlighters Rendezvous." [Ladell Thomas] "Well, the Moonlighters Rendezvous is an annual program that we have established here at Opportunity School to acquaint the public of all of the services that are available through our evening program here at Opportunity School. It's kind of like a, an adult back to school night where we hope that the public comes to see all of the various facets of our programs both vocational and adult education that they have available through the Denver Public Schools and Opportunity School." [Sardella] "It was more than a back to school night. It was a party with the hallways echoing the rhythmic beat of piano music and the best bike restaurants serving gourmet desserts fashioned by Denver's future chefs. Visitors strolled through the classes seeing a variety of courses. They determine their good and bad days at the bio rhythm demonstration, an example of computer training

found in office occupations. And they stop by the cosmetology department for free haircuts and manicures." [Thomas] "Well, this evening we are in the cosmetology room where our young ladies and gentleman are taking cosmetology. It's a licensed program for the state of Colorado. And after their training here, they pass the state tests, and then they are practicing cosmetologists. Tonight, they're open to the public as they are during the regular school day. Their training is made on the public patrons who come here to receive their services." [interviewer] "Overall, what's the purpose of Emily Griffith Opportunity School?" [Thomas] "Well, Emily Griffiths Opportunity School was established in 1916 by a very far reaching lady who thought that education should be for all who wish to learn. And when she established this program it was primarily directed for vocational education. To train people for job entry skills or to upgrade their skills to be better employees

on the job. And through all of these years that we've been an operation we hope that we've maintained her philosophy. We're an open entry, open exit school, which means people can come any time throughout the year. We're open day and evening for 11 months out of the year to perform educational services to the Denver community." [Sardella] "The majority of classes are taught at the main building at 12th and Welton, but the school also uses 130 sites throughout the city. These are opportunities for everyone, and tuition is free to Denver citizens. Health occupations offer programs in the paraprofessional fields of medicine and dentistry. Students trained at office occupations will have no difficulty getting good jobs after they complete any of the seven instructional programs. Homemaking occupations, merchandising, sales, and electronics, are courses that lead to employment. In the Department of Trades and Industry, Opportunity School provides training and job entry skills to meet the growing demand for workers in new and established Denver industries. These include

aircraft mechanics, drafting, welding, auto mechanic, shoe repair, and the apprenticeship program." [interviewer] "How are the programs updated to meet the needs of business and industry?" [Thomas] "We are under vocational programs which require what we call advisory committees. For every one of the departments, in the school, which requires programming, we have a local advisory committee from that area. That advisory committee keeps us honest. They let us know what we should be teaching. They review our curriculum. They make us aware of the innovative, new things are coming to keep us updated. So with the training we are giving our people, when they do come out, they can go right into the world of work and be updated to the current trend that's going on at that time." [Sardella] "Being able to read manuals and follow directions are the basic requirements in vocational technical education. Opportunity School is stressing prime time activities to improve the reading skills of the students." [interviewer] "How are you emphasizing prime time?"

[Thomas] "Well, prime time, being a part of the Denver public schools, our emphasis is a little different because we are an adult program. Basically we are trying to stress through all of our instruction, the value of good reading. Employers say this is one of the prime things that they look for in prospective employees, the ability to read and comprehend. Each of our classes we are trying to stress that. Additionally, the vast majority of our people that attend here, being adults, have children. We hope that we can get them to go home and work with their children to have them learn to read better not only for educational information, but for the read, actually, for the amusement and the relaxation that is afforded through reading. Additionally, we are trying to stress the need for all of us to improve our vocabulary, our reading speed and comprehension. Our classes are going to show films which stress this, short films to assist our people, many of whom are educationally disadvantaged and do need the remedial help to

upgrade their reading." [Sardella] "Emily Griffith Opportunity School is called Denver's Big Apple, the Big Apple of quality adult education. If you want training or retraining, a high school diploma or a GED certificate, enroll today. Call 5 7 2 8 2 1 8. You too could have a slice of the Big Apple. Next week on Prime Time, a reading specialist explains how children can become better readers. Since October is National High School Activities month, we'll see the City Wide Band performing at Fort Collins and find out how other student activities develop special talents, interests, and abilities. Remember to have some fun with Prime Time. Enjoy a nutritious snack as you and your child carry out the projects on this week's activity card. Your child's future begins today. Help them learn to read. And read to learn. I'm Ed Sardella for prime time.