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As E.coli outbreaks grow with regularity, public schools are being scrutinized for their lunches. According to reports released in early November, the leader of the House Education and Labor Committee is investigating the health and safety of public school lunches.

After California’s representative, George Miller, brought attention to a deadly outbreak of E. coli that resulted in two deaths and dozens of reported illnesses, the government is working to ensure that school meals are protected from these dangers. Although there were no reported schools specifically impacted by the recent E. coli outbreak, Miller believes that the Government Accountability Office should take responsibility for ensuring that schools are not purchasing their meats and produce from contaminated facilities.

Are School Lunches Safe for Consumption?

In examining many political leaders’ demands for increased food safety measures in public schools, the Associated Press further reports that “Federal authorities had failed to tell schools about recalls of potentially tainted peanut products and canned vegetables, and cafeterias may have unknowingly served them to children.” Expanding on this concern, the Government Accountability Office also discovered that the U.S. Agriculture Department was inconsistent with its efforts in contacting schools about distributed food recalls.

While students from all socioeconomic backgrounds commonly purchase school lunches, an estimated 30 million students depend upon federally funded lunch and breakfast programs from school cafeterias as their only source of nutrition and sustenance. This fact alone has prompted community leaders to express their outrage over the

Many public high schools are focused on preparing students for the rigors of a traditional, four-year college education. However, are other students, especially those interested in joining the workforce immediately upon graduation, being neglected in the process?

In recent years, funding issues and budget cuts have forced high schools to drop career-oriented elective courses. However, proponents of vocational education believe that the loss of these career programs has prompted many students to lose interest in high school in general.

Thankfully, there are public technical high schools throughout the country that specialize in vocational training – much to the delight of students who are interested in entering the workforce immediately upon receiving their high school diploma!

Vocational Programs: Preparation for the “Real World”

While most high schools offer on-campus vocational courses, some districts have collaborated to create district and county-wide vocational institutions. For example, , located in Upton, Massachusetts, gives high school students the opportunity to pursue an array of career-based courses, such as culinary arts, cosmetology, plumbing, healthcare, and dental assisting.

As Blackstone’s mission asserts, the high school is designed to foster “integrated academic and vocational technical skills, empowering each student to achieve world-class educational excellence, diverse career opportunities, and individual success in an ever-changing global society.”

There are, of course, similarities between Blackstone and the typical high school. Blackstone students must follow a core curriculum, such as math,

Entering into the medical field no longer means demanding college lab classes, medical school, and residency programs. In fact, you can start your medical career right at your local public school. Indeed, some public high schools are offering medical vocational programs that prepare their students for the medical industry – right after earning their high school diploma.

The NCES report, reports that "Most public high school students participate in vocational education. In 1992, almost all public high school graduates (97 percent) completed at least one vocational education course, and 87 percent completed at least one occupationally specific course (table 1). On average, graduates completed the equivalent of almost four full-year courses in vocational education (3.8 credits), with two and a half of these courses in occupational program areas."

Medical Training during High School

While many public schools across the country offer their own unique versions of vocational training, schools in the Western Colorado region are earning great acclaim for their healthcare profession programs, which are held in conjunction with the local community college.

As the reports, eligible juniors and seniors from the area’s seven high schools can apply for an advanced medical training program hosted at Western Colorado Community College. Focusing on the profession of healthcare, “The courses whet students’ appetites for careers in health care by offering a broad introduction to the field.” High school students in the program receive advanced

Today’s physical education classes have undergone great transformations and reforms. Yoga is replacing laps around the gym, aerobics takes the place of dodge ball, and some students can even take “online” gym class! Through these innovative changes at many public schools, students are rekindling their enthusiasm for physical education.

The Shakopee Public Schools explain some of the benefits of PE as follows:

• "Improved Judgment: Quality physical education can influence moral development. Students have the opportunity to assume leadership, cooperate with others; question actions and regulations and accept responsibility for their own behavior.
• Stress Reduction: Physical activity becomes an outlet for releasing tension and anxiety, and facilitates emotional stability and resilience.
• Strengthened Peer Relationships: Physical education can be a major force in helping children socialize with others successfully and provides opportunities to learn positive people skills. Especially during late childhood and adolescence, being able to participate in dances, games and sports is an important part of peer culture.
• Improved Self-confidence and Self-esteem: Physical education instills a stronger sense of self-worth in children based on their mastery of skills and concepts in physical activity. They can become more confident, assertive, independent and self-controlled.
• Experience Setting Goals: Physical education provides children the opportunity to set and strive for personal, achievable goals."

Online Gym and Fitness Classes

For students who dread the thought of gym class, physical education may literally be just a few mouse clicks away. In fact, some Minneapolis public schools are offering online fitness courses to fulfill the physical education