A home-grown health program for children is up for a $50,000 Cmolik Prize for the Enhancement of Public Education in B.C.
Healthy Buddies, co-authored by Coast teachers Valerie Ryden and David Barnum, was created about 10 years ago to look at a more holistic approach to student health. The program was successful and is still considered relevant today, which helped it make the short list for the Cmolik Prize.
“I remember in the writing of this looking at the three themes of health because there were lots of things on nutrition teachers could use and lots on activity, but to have a mental health component, an activity component and a nutrition component woven into one resource was very unique, and it still stands up to other resources out there that have been developed,” Barnum said.
Another unique component of Healthy Buddies is the pairing of older students with younger ones to pass on information they’ve learned.
“The older students are empowered by assuming an active role in the younger students’ learning,” an excerpt from the program material states. “This strengthens their understanding of program content and helps create a positive school climate for the younger buddies.”
At the time Healthy Buddies was developed, studies were done to prove its effectiveness and school districts in B.C. and beyond took notice. Soon there was interest expressed in Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, Inuvik and the Middle East.
Barnum said he still gets calls from people around the world interested in the program. He said, if given the $50,000 award, he and Ryden would likely update the resource to be fully available online.
“Right now the materials are print heavy and costly to reproduce,” Barnum said.
The Cmolik Prize is meant to recognise recipients who have developed and implemented an invention, innovation, concept, process or procedure that enhances education practice in the K-12 public school system in B.C.
The award was endowed to the Simon Fraser University Faculty of Education by Clifford Russell and Ellen Cmolik.
“The prize arises from their passion for education and inspirations gained by their visits to schools around the world,” the prize website states. “It encourages practitioners, researches, administrators and policy makers to enrich teaching and learning, particularly to stimulate a desire to learn and to develop life skills to become productive and responsible members of our community.”
Healthy Buddies is up against two other programs for the $50,000 prize which will be awarded on April 2.
