"Use of food" permission slip for science

[maeve]

Maybe there is some kind of study that indicates better retention for (Virginia) SOLs if candy or other food crap is used . . . 

Oh you know there is. Our VA middle school cited it. And used Bob's for all the kids with PA simply because that's what I supplied for DS. But apparently they only help in math, because they were only used for math.

Thanks.  I forgot that DD was allowed to bring in unwrapped candy for one of her SOLs.  We sent her with Skittles.  We didn't receive anything home about that either.

[Janelle205]

What, twinturbo?  You didn't believe that ROCK CANDY would be integral and indispensable as a learning tool for the geology?  I'm certain that your kiddos will never retain squat from their geology lessons because you didn't teach with candy.   

While I can see the purpose of teaching some concepts using the rock candy method, why not just do the same thing with salt, instead of letting children eat something that all of their grubby hands have touched, and then has sat in the classroom for days before they eat it.  Not delicious.

[twinturbo]

I should say that in going through the school options of assigned public, charter or magnet schools, parochial schools and independent it seems to me that it's ultimately how the schools are measured that drives a lot of what's coming through the curriculum structure. Did anyone ever foresee a school district being brought up on RICO charges? RICO charges.

Like many of us here, our family has been fortunate enough to have some truly inspirational teachers we have the utmost respect for, we were blessed to have such caring, competent educators for our oldest. People who went the extra mile not only to keep our child included and safe, but were really the type of people with a teaching philosophy that was more than collecting a paycheck.

The administration of k12 public schools under the auspices of how they get funding and dwindling budgets I think drives many principles and teachers to reach for the lowest hanging fruit to produce what will reward the school and further the district.

[ajasfolks2]

So, yeah.  Just felt I'd like to cross-post and quote from the "Food in Schools" thread.

GAH!!!!!

Seemed as good a place as any for this quote:


Old adage among the rangers at Yellowstone: "Once a bear is hooked on garbage, there's no cure."

[Macabre]

Ah. I remember your connection there. Via Ken Burns.

[ajasfolks2]

 

[YouKnowWho]

And what if your child doesn't have a 504?

DS2 tests positive for peanuts but to the best of our knowledge has never had a reaction.  The numbers have been consistently high enough and has had a prior reaction history to legumes (which has since resolved), that our rather aggressive allergist refuses to challenge.

Legal or not, he has been turned down for a 504.  And I haven't pushed for it because I am in the process of fighting for DS1's who does have a strong reactive history.  And when it comes down to it, they work harder to keep a child who may or may not be allergic to peanuts safer than a child who is definitively allergic to wheat, rye, barley and egg.  Media hype plays well for one child but not another.

And it's one thing when you have only 15-30 kids on a daily basis (and probably easier since DS1 is the only one allergic to foods in his grade but it always seems to be a freaking surprise) but another when you are dealing with 6 classes of 30 students.  Yes, 504 should take care of it - but does it?  How many kids out there have parents that don't fight the fight, don't realize that 504's are available, mark their child has food allergies but no epis, do I go on?

[CMdeux]

Am I reading this correctly, also, in that this is a blanket waiver, in terms of language?
  That is, does it have no specific event/date attached?

Yowza.

No way, no how would I sign that even without FA's in play.  I want to KNOW if you opt to include feeding stuff to my child as part and parcel of the instructional part of the day, tyvm.

Each. and. every. time.

[maeve]

Am I reading this correctly, also, in that this is a blanket waiver, in terms of language?
  That is, does it have no specific event/date attached?

Yowza.

No way, no how would I sign that even without FA's in play.  I want to KNOW if you opt to include feeding stuff to my child as part and parcel of the instructional part of the day, tyvm.

Each. and. every. time.

Yes you are correct.  In the case of DD's s'mores experiment permission slip, no specific day was mentioned; the form only said "in the upcoming week."  That's likely because of block scheduling (A/B) days.  Unfortunately, it lead to me not sending anything in for DD.  Thankfully, her BFF and lab partner,  has the same allergies and had safe items to share with DD.  DD called me and I OKed the items.


Trust me that even with a food allergy policy in place, it is not uncommon in this particular district for teachers to toss out candy because "the kids are working hard (reasoning of DD's 5th grade math teacher for tossing out Lifesavers)."  Oh and in this same district, the prizes for the gift wrap fundraiser generally are something along the lines of "limo pizza party" (which was even immortalized in DD's yearbook this year).  The home ec class participates in an Iron Chef like competition, one middle school goes to a local conference center on a field trip to do a food based program (again sort of Iron Chef-related).  In many ways, I think things in this district are worse since the food allergy policy was published.

[twinturbo]

maeve, may I ask what the s'mores lesson was about? I'd guess melting points?

[Macabre]

YKW without a 504, the answer is where it is everywhere else: if you have a school who works with you, you can expect some notification. If not, you can't.

I referred to a 504 superceding this, because the members that we have in that SD do have 504s. And I do know that SD is aware of 504s from other things they've published online.

A 504 that specifies 48 hours notice for food experiments and food events (they are different things), should supercede this. A violation can always be documented and acted upon.

[maeve]

maeve, may I ask what the s'mores lesson was about? I'd guess melting points?

I think it was about heat transfer but melting points makes sense.  I can't find the permission slip.  I thought I'd received it in an email, but I was mistaken.

Well, we couldn't get through the last day of school without food.  DD called me about 10 minutes ago to ask if she could have a Tootsie Pop that her teacher was passing out.  She read the ingredients over the phone and confirmed that the packaging was Tootsie's, so I let her have one.  Ugh.

[twinturbo]

I know many of us have the support of our allergists on food use in curriculums. Has anyone reported to their child's dentist what the kids are being fed in class in a school year? There are many initiatives by the American Dentistry Association to reduce or outright ban non-nutritious "competitive" foods offered in vending machines. Curriculum candy, testing candy, candy for parties, cakes for birthdays, all the just-cause candy or cakes, I think there's an argument there that this parallels the problem with vending machine "competitive" foods.

I may include a statement from the kids dentist regarding oral health in conjunction with a statement from our allergist in our next IEP meeting to keep the food use at bay.

[ajasfolks2]

The permission slip is implying there may/will be "accommodations" of sorts for those with LTFA . . . is this an attempt to NOT have a 504 . . . part of the "appearances" of being concerned and diligent in effort to NOT have 504 for the LTFA students?

Have already experienced an attempt at soft-sell of "IHCP will do" recently.

Just makes me wonder.

[ajasfolks2]

Putting these related links in here for this county (Loudoun County, Virginia) as to its food allergy policy and procedures:

The 67-page doc with the original language from 2010:
http://www.lcps.org/cms/lib4/VA01000195/centricity/domain/8942/food_allergies_school.pdf


Related :
http://www.lcps.org/cms/lib4/VA01000195/centricity/domain/8942/keys_points_from_the_severe_allergy_presentation_for_element_09.pdf