Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Kaiser Permanente Grants Help Local Schoolkids Get Fit, Stay Hydrated
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 6 years ago on
September 13, 2019

Share

There’s a whole lot less sitting around in after-school programs at Fresno Unified School District these days after a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanent Fresno helped buy new equipment and hire staffers to help kids get fit — and stay there.
Earlier this month students at Jefferson Elementary got to try out new fitness equipment that helps them measure and keep track of their stretchiness and strength. They are getting an extra 45 minutes of activity in their Fitness is Aces! program because of the grant, which also pays for more staff to lead them in group exercise activities.


Nancy Price
School Zone
The brightly-colored equipment will be shared among the district’s elementary schools during the school year.
Youngsters in the after-school programs typically live in lower-income areas and have limited access to recreational activities, which puts them at greater risk of health problems such as obesity and diabetes.

Water, Water Everywhere, and Many Drops to Drink

A separate $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Fresno paid for new refillable water bottle stations at most of the schools in the Madera and Sanger unified school districts. Installation took place over the summer.
Madera got 34 stations, while Sanger got 17 — enough for two at nearly every school, and there are plans to install more, said Jimmy Robles, Sanger’s director of support services.
They’re popular with youngsters, he said: “We’ve pretty much got them in locations that are heavily traveled and accessible, like in our cafeterias. Kids are lining up to use them.”
Kaiser Permanente Fresno has given grants to other districts in the Valley for refillable water bottle stations, including Fresno and Central.

Photo of Jefferson Elementary students
Jefferson Elementary students try out the sit and reach equipment. (Kaiser Permanente Fresno)

It’s Little and Free — and Full of Good Reads

You’ve probably seen those quaint little book boxes in front of someone’s home or along a walking trail. Is it home to a classic novel, a volume of poems, or maybe just a potboiler?
If you’re a bookworm you always have to look because you never know what you might find.
And now students at eight Fresno Unified elementary schools will know that thrill of discovery through their own Little Free Library book boxes. The first bright purple box was unveiled Friday at Heaton Elementary.

Little Free Library from Fresno Unified on Vimeo.
Fresno Unified is joining up with Reading Heart and Every Neighborhood Partnership to put book boxes, and books inside them, on the eight campuses.
The boxes were designed over the summer by Fresno High students and built in a Geometry in Construction class. A handful of Fresno High students came to Heaton on Friday to install the box in front of the school.
Historical fun fact: Heaton Elementary is named for T.L. Heaton, who was Fresno High’s first principal and Fresno’s first Superintendent of Schools in 1889 — 130 years ago!

Fresno Pacific Celebrates Golden Anniversary

This is a big year for Fresno Pacific University, which marks the 75th anniversary of its founding as the Pacific Bible Institute.
The celebration kicked off on Sept. 5 with “Gather 2019,” a worship service and family-friendly after party.
Upcoming events include celebrations on all five campuses — the southeast Fresno main campus, north Fresno, Visalia, Merced, and Bakersfield — on Wednesday, Sept. 18, which was the first day of class 75 years ago. Goodies will be served to faculty, staff, and students. The anniversary gala is scheduled for Nov. 2 at the main campus Special Events Center.
Go to 75.fpu.edu to check out the activities and buy tickets to events.

Just a Little Housekeeping at Central Unified

A close scrutiny of a recent Central Unified School District board agenda revealed that the board was considering updating its bylaws to elect board members by area, not at-large.
Wha-huh!? Aren’t trustees already elected by area?
Why, yes they are. Central and other school districts voluntarily made the switch years ago to by-area trustee elections after some other districts were hit by lawsuits that argued at-large elections sometimes denied equal opportunity for minority voters and candidates.
But Central’s board bylaws, which were last reviewed in 2009, still reflected the old election model. That ended after board president Terry Cox noticed the discrepancy and asked for revisions, Superintendent Andy Alvarado said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

DON'T MISS

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

DON'T MISS

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

DON'T MISS

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

DON'T MISS

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

DON'T MISS

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

DON'T MISS

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

DON'T MISS

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

DON'T MISS

California Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid to Cut Funds to ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

DON'T MISS

Town Hall on Trump’s First 100 Days Will Air Next Week

UP NEXT

Secret Search or Meet the Finalists? Debate Rages as Fresno Nears Its Superintendent Pick

UP NEXT

Will Fresno Unified Sacrifice Another Generation of Students? The Choice Is Ours

UP NEXT

South Asian Women Lead Merced School Boards. How Did They Rise to the Top?

UP NEXT

Merced College Breaks Ground on $21 Million Center Geared for Tomorrow’s Ag Jobs

UP NEXT

Why Fresno Unified Tried to Keep Superintendent Search Secret

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustees Passed Over a National Superintendent of the Year

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Likely New Special Ed Bus Contractor Will Keep Current Employees

UP NEXT

Money, Not Instruction Time, Is at Heart of Designated Schools Negotiations

UP NEXT

This FUSD Lawsuit Heads Back to Appellate Court for Third Time

UP NEXT

Trustees Select Fresno Unified’s New Superintendent. Was ‘the Fix’ On?

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

2 hours ago

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

2 hours ago

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

2 hours ago

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

2 hours ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

2 hours ago

California Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid to Cut Funds to ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

2 hours ago

Town Hall on Trump’s First 100 Days Will Air Next Week

2 hours ago

Kristi Noem’s Handbag Was Snatched From Beneath Her Chair, DHS Says

3 hours ago

Interior Department to Fast-Track Oil, Gas and Mining Projects

3 hours ago

Survey: Californians Blame Utility Company Spending, Profits for High Electricity Rates

3 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

A Tulare man was sentenced Wednesday to four years and four months in state prison for a high-speed DUI crash that seriously injured two wom...

52 minutes ago

Maxwell Barrios, 28, of Tulare, was sentenced to over four years in state prison on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, for a 2023 DUI crash that seriously injured two women, including one who required a partial arm amputation. (Tulare County DA)
52 minutes ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

People vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., November 5, 2024. (REUTERS/Megan Jelinger/File Photo)
1 hour ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

Forensic technicians stand at a cordoned area during a media tour by Jalisco's Attorney General Office at Izaguirre Ranch, which activists have called a cartel-run "extermination camp," in Teuchitlan, Jalisco state, Mexico March 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Ivan Arias/File Photo)
1 hour ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters about Wednesday's deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Eagle flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)
2 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

2 hours ago

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

Robert E. Crimo III. arrives for his trial in Judge Victoria A. Rossetti’s courtroom in Waukegan, Illinois, U.S., March 3, 2025. (Nam Y. Huh/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

Bryan Blackman (right), 52, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder after admitting to fatally stabbing his son, Javoeea Blackman, 25, during a disturbance outside a Fresno apartment on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

2 hours ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend