MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, along with several 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count community partners in Mason City have recently collaborated on a Sensory Pathways project to enhance student learning and health. The Health Department was one of seven organizations to receive a Business Leadership Network (BLN) Community Grant through the University of Iowa to fund the project, and utilized additional 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count community dollars from the Iowa Department of Public Health to expand the project.
The community project focuses on installing sensory pathways in school hallways and classrooms for students to use between class times. The pathways provide a physical activity outlet for students and have been found to improve attention and behaviors of students. All eight elementary schools in Cerro Gordo County were awarded sensory path decals, to include – Mason City Community School District Elementary Schools, Newman Catholic Elementary, North Iowa Christian School, Clear Creek Elementary, and West Fork – Rockwell Campus Elementary.
“Providing easy ways for kids to be active and move throughout their day is our goal,” says Kelli Gerdes, Health Promotion Manager for the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health. “Locally, our school incident reports show that when students have the opportunity to be active before and in between classes, attention rates improve and disciplinary actions decrease, leading to more engaged learning.”
Most pathways have already been installed, and a few will be installed over the summer break for the students to use when they begin school this fall.
If we were in california or New York the health dept would call it a sensory machine and fill it full of free condoms and hang it on the wall in the lgbltdq shitter and tell the kids to have fun…..give’em somin to do that’s safe. Don’t you know.
Take your meds! Sicko