Sawtooth Mountain Elementary students enjoying snowshoeing.
Sawtooth Mountain Elementary School in Grand Marais has received national attention for its innovative outdoor exercise program. TheAlliance for a Healthier Generation, a program to fight childhood obesity, founded by American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation in 2005, selected Sawtooth Elementary as one of the program success stories to be featured on its website.
The website shares the story of Sawtooth’s effort to get kids outdoors on even the coldest winter days—on snowshoes! The snowshoes were purchased by the Grand Marais Parent Teacher Association and a Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation grant. With the purchase of the snowshoes, children are able to explore the wintry forest around Sawtooth Elementary. Many parents also join the students in snowshoe adventures. The Healthier Generation website commended Sawtooth Elementary for introducing students, teachers, and parents to a lifelong exercise that they can do during winter months.
Manager of the Upper Shore Center for Athletics & Fitness and Cook County Schools Health Council Chairperson Margo Furcht said School District 166 worked with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in August 2008 as it implemented its school wellness policy. Furcht said the school is working to earn an alliance Bronze Award. “We are very close,” said Furcht. “The last category we are working on is school employee health.”
Furcht submitted the information about Sawtooth Elementary’s snowshoe program and she was delighted to learn that the school had been selected as an alliance success story.
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