Fit Family Task Force Project - Rockford Public Schools

After completing the analysis, Prateek had the following reflections about the
project:
“Comparing the Fit Families Project Pre-test and Post-test scores from the
Rockford Montessori Elementary school, I was impressed how well students
retained the information taught to them over the 2007-08 school year. Initially, a
post-test was to be administered at the end of the 2007-08 School Year, but
because of delays it had to be postponed to the beginning of the 2008-09 School
Year. Considering the 3 month gap over the summer, it was very possible that
students may have forgotten some of the information about healthy eating that
they learned over the previous school year. However, it was a pleasant surprise
that upon analyzing the data, that each of the 5 classes that were administered
the pre-test and the post-test improved their performance significantly on the
post-test. In particular, students greatly improved their performance on
questions like name 5 different vitamins and name 3 different whole grains,
showing their ability to grasp and retain knowledge about healthier eating and
hopefully apply that knowledge in their day to day lives. Overall, it was
satisfying to note the improvement shown by the students between their pre and
post test scores and really made working with the Fit Families project more
enjoyable and meaningful.”
Montessori Principal Summary
The 2007-08 School Year was the first year for implementation of the project. The
Food Is Elementary curriculum was implemented with children from pre-
kindergarten through sixth grade. During the course of the year, there were
nineteen teachers, eight paraprofessionals, nine CHIP alumni and eight parents
involved with the program. In all, approximately 333 children participated in
the lessons at the Montessori School. Although the curriculum is designed to be
completed in a year, Montessori school personnel decided that it was necessary
to take two years to complete the basic curriculum and use the third year to
provide curricular extensions to students at all grade levels. Montessori