Bridgeport: Striding
Toward Health

If its second-graders are any indication, the rural community of Bridgeport, Washington, is quickly striding toward a healthier future for all of its residents.

Thanks to the Community Health and Medical Partners (CHAMP) project, Bridgeport Elementary School's second-graders are learning about nutrition and physical activity in new, engaging and interactive ways. They're embarking on a "Nutrition Expedition" with a character known as "Little D." They're solving "nutrition challenges" and being rewarded with "Smart Snacks". They're also taking home practical skills — such as meal planning using all five food groups — and family-friendly tools such as food guides for their family's refrigerator. And these are just a few of the strides toward health that the Bridgeport school system is taking as part of the CHAMP project.

CHAMP is a comprehensive plan to improve the health of Bridgeport's schools and communities. Supported by grant funding from the Washington Health Foundation (WHF), CHAMP is a collaboration of community health providers, the Together for Drug Free Youth program, the University of Washington (UW), the Future Farmers of America, and the schools, with one common mission — to implement change in the nutrition, physical fitness and risk reduction behaviors of school children and their families.

"Access to better health care, improved nutrition and a re-focus on fitness will make a tremendous difference in the educational and personal lives of our children," says Gene Schmidt, Superintendent of the Bridgeport School District and leading proponent of the CHAMP project.

The physical fitness of Bridgeport's students is just one of the many targets in Gene's sights. In this remote school district near the intersection of Ferry, Douglas, and Okanogan counties, more than 85 percent of the students are from low income families and qualify for free and reduced-cost lunches. Approximately 88 percent of the students speak Spanish as their first language. And Bridgeport as a whole has experienced a tremendous influx of immigrants in the recent past. Rather than shying away from these challenges, Gene Schmidt is incorporating them into his — and CHAMP's — vision for a healthier Bridgeport.

From all appearances, the combined efforts of the school system, its leaders, and its partners are beginning to take effect. In 2005, the Bridgeport School District was the hard-earned recipient of the Washington Civic Star award for innovative partnerships.

"Bridgeport has developed a reputation as a can do school system," says Gene, as he reminisces about the week in mid-October when 16 teens showed up for high school — surprising only because they had never before attended school.

"Poor health and poor health habits that students bring result in high absenteeism from school, which leads to decreased student performance in the classroom," he continues. Not to be discouraged, the school superintendent, is battling the poor health of his students and their families on many, many fronts, with the help of the CHAMP program.

With an extra emphasis on the Latino community, CHAMP is doing a litany of things to enhance health awareness: promoting drug-free lifestyles, providing access to health programs such as UW's Fitness for Life, offering bilingual parent/student training sessions called Strengthening Families, and promoting fresh fruits, vegetables and physical activity through school curriculum and community events (such as the Elementary School's Harvest Carnival in September, shown in the images above).

And Gene Schmidt has the help of some other local heroes, as well. School nurse Diana Henderson promotes wellness through hygiene campaigns and hearing tests — not only for students, but also for the larger farm worker community. She also coordinates with Wenatchee Valley College to place nursing students as interns within the elementary school, so that characters like "Little D" and his "Nutrition Expedition" can reach the minds of its second-graders. And she acts as a crucial liaison between health providers and the local community.

Another key player in the CHAMP project is PE teacher Leah McDowell. She is a major galvanizing force in getting students and their families involved in health events such as the Chief Joseph Dam "walk-a-thon", the Bloomsday Run, Spokane Hoopfest, and Omak's Breast Cancer Walk. She is also a leader of the school's participation in WHF's Healthiest State in the Nation Campaign, logging miles of physical activity on behalf of her PE students in friendly competition with other schools around the state.

Without the great strides of Gene Schmidt, Diana Henderson, Leah McDowell, and the many unnamed individuals involved in the collaborations created by the CHAMP program, Bridgeport's future as a healthy, vibrant community would doubtless be in jeopardy. As for now, though, this rural Washington community is a winner in the race toward a healthier future.

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