Saint Bridget Teacher Participates in National Workshop on Food Science
Press Release
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Suite 270
Washington, DC 20024
November, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USDA CONTACTS:
| Al Tyree Director, Communications Albert_Tyree@grad.usda.gov 202.314.3355 |
Isabelle Howes FDA Science Project Information Isabelle_howes@grad.usda.gov 202-314-4713 |
SAINT BRIDGET SCHOOL CONTACT:
Mrs. Roseanne Mungovan
Principal
rmungovan@saintbridgetschool.info
508-875-0181
Saint Bridget Teacher Participates in National Workshop on Food Science
From Farm to Table, Teachers Explore the Science Behind Nation’s Food Supply
Washington, DC, 2006 - Sharon Zschuschen, a teacher at Saint Bridget School in Framingham, Massachusetts was one of 40 teachers nationwide chosen to participate in a food science workshop developed and implemented in a partnership between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Graduate School, USDA. The one-week workshop for middle and high school science teachers took place in Washington, DC, this summer.
The workshop is part of the FDA/NSTA Professional Development Program in Food Science, a sustained, 7-year effort that also features curriculum implementation, a follow-up conference, and participant-led workshops. The goal of the program is to educate teachers and students about critical food safety issues such as food borne illnesses by exploring the science behind them. For the past 2 years, this program has further evolved to cover key nutrition concepts for teachers by introducing them to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and the Nutrition Facts Label on foods. The program arms teachers with unique topics and a curriculum with which to teach science.
"This is one of our flag-ship education programs," says Dr. David Acheson, Director of the Office of Food Safety, Defense, and Outreach at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). "The diligence of teachers who attend this summer training has a tremendous multiplier effect in getting important food safety and nutrition education messages to children, which supports two key goals—reducing the incidence of food borne illness and combating childhood obesity in this country.""Many teenage students have jobs in the food service industry or have food preparation responsibilities at home," said Louise Dickerson, FDA’s Project Manager for the Science and Our Food Supply program. "This program will better educate them about the importance of handling food safely and why precautions must be taken. Because of the rising problem of obesity, the nutrition content is an important addition, and is the first wave of new lesson material for teachers, with other nutrition resources expected in the near future."
At the workshop, teacher participants learned firsthand about the development, spread, and prevention of food borne illnesses and how to assess dietary values, such as total fat and daily value percentages (%DV) using the food label. They performed experiments in laboratories at the University of Maryland, and talked with scientists from FDA and USDA to further increase their understanding of food science. For example, the teachers investigated how a single bacteria cell can multiply to millions in just a few hours, and they observed how different temperatures (heating, room temperature, chilling, and freezing) affect the growth of bacteria. The teachers explored these concepts by putting their culinary skills to the test. After cooking hamburgers to various temperatures, the teachers tested them for bacteria and other organisms that cause disease. The teachers also compared nutrients shown on the Nutrition Facts Label on food containers and discussed ways to promote healthier food selections.
"Though the teachers have completed the workshop, the professional development experience has not ended," said Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director of NSTA’s Government Partnership and e-Learning. "They will be implementing the curriculum in their schools, participating in a follow-up enhancement conference at the NSTA Area Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, in December, and conducting workshops for their teacher colleagues." In addition, these teachers receive continuing support through the Graduate School, USDA, which helps manage the program through an agreement with FDA.
The food science program is centered on a standards-based curriculum developed by FDA in partnership with NSTA. The Science and Our Food Supply curriculum is available at no charge to any middle or high school science teacher; it explores the science behind the production, transportation, storage, and preparation of our nation’s food supply, and contains a video, hands-on experiments and activities, and evaluation tools. Other parts of the curriculum explore little-known facts about food science that affects millions of people every day, such as the likelihood of certain foods to cause food borne illness more than others and reasons why salt serves as a good preservative. For information on this exciting curriculum and information on how to apply to participate in the FDA Food Science Professional Development Program in Summer 2007, please email Isabelle_howes@grad.usda.gov.
About Saint Bridget School
Saint Bridget School is a Catholic elementary and middle school associated with Saint Bridget Parish in Framingham, Massachusetts. Saint Bridget School encompasses the grades pre-kindergarten (K1) through eight, and draws its' students from the metro west communities of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Marlborough, Millis, Natick, Shrewsbury, Southborough, and Sudbury, Massachusetts. Saint Bridget School is an affordable alternative to public schools, with a substantial difference – faith, personal responsibility, accountability, ethics, and morals are the foundation of a Saint Bridget education. More information about Saint Bridget School may be found at the Saint Bridget School web site at http://www.saintbridgetschool.info/.
