Baltimore Students Get Ready, Set, FIT!

Family medicine residency programs require residents to participate in community-based health education. Program Director Yvette Rooks, MD, and the family medicine residents at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, are fulfilling that requirement by using the AAFP’s Ready, Set, FIT! curriculum to help high-risk, low-income fourth graders develop healthy behaviors.

Ready, Set FIT! is a school-based educational program, endorsed by the National School Boards Association, that teaches third and fourth graders about the importance of fitness: physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well-being.

Dr. Rooks and her third-year residents have expanded the curriculum to include lessons on bullying and summer safety. During monthly 50-minute lessons, the residents give brief presentations and guide students through the Ready, Set, FIT! worksheets. They follow those up with fitness games and interactive activities to reinforce the healthy living messages.

The Ready, Set, FIT! lessons are one component of a partnership called Promise Heights, led by the University of Maryland School of Social Work. The partnership includes other University of Maryland schools, community-based non-profits, the business community and faith-based organizations. The goal is to improve the educational, health and developmental outcomes of children in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Upton/Druid Heights, and to surround children and families with a support system that enables them to succeed at home, in school and in the community.

The Family Medicine Residency Program didn’t hesitate to join the partnership. “A lot of these kids are our patients,” explained Dr. Rooks. “The project has reinforced that bond. When we come into the school, the kids say, ‘Hey, that’s my doctor.’”

The Ready, Set, FIT! messages appear to be resonating with kids. “A student came up to me the other day to tell me he ate broccoli at dinner,” said Dr. Rooks. “It’s clear that the kids are more aware of what they’re eating.”

And the messages are moving beyond the classroom. At a recent community health fair, parents stopped by the residency program booth, saw the Ready, Set, FIT! materials and said, “Oh, my kids brought those home.”

Dr. Rooks and the family medicine residents from the University of Maryland School of Medicine are helping make fitness a part of the school’s culture. They’ve stocked the office with healthy snacks and educational brochures, and given each fourth grade student a copy of the AAFP book F is for Fitness. The school recently applied for and received a grant to plant a vegetable garden, and started lacrosse and softball teams. Students and administrators in West Baltimore have taken great strides toward becoming Ready, Set, FIT!