The AFT, along with OfficeMax, Marvel Comics, TeachersCount and the National Education Association, is sponsoring an essay contest for middle school students to nominate their superhero teacher. Students in grades 6-8 can nominate a teacher by writing a short essay on “Why My Teacher Is a Super Hero” and mailing it to Teachers-Count or dropping it off at a participating OfficeMax store. Judges will evaluate essays based on relevance to theme, creativity, originality and merit of the teacher’s accomplishments as outlined in the essay.

One grand-prize winning teacher and his or her nominating student will make an illustrated cameo appearance in a mainstream Marvel comic book such as Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four, and will appear in a special-edition Marvel comic book honoring teachers as superheroes. Other prizes include OfficeMax gift cards, funds for professional development, school supplies for the school and furniture for the teachers’ lounge.

Essays must be received by March 17, 2006. Contest details, entry forms and official contest rules can be found at www.teacherscount.org/contest/.

Winners of the contest will be announced May 9, 2006—National Teacher Appreciation Day. Copies of the comic book honoring teachers as superheroes will be available free, while supplies last, at participating OfficeMax stores in July 2006.

Educators looking for the latest information on developing home-school partnerships or on helping families support their children’s learning and development will want to know about the Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE). An initiative of the Harvard Family Research Project, the national network is a hub for resources about family and community engagement in children’s education.

FINE’s network of over 4,500 people includes elementary and secondary school educators, higher education faculty, directors of community-based and national organizations, parent leaders and others. One of its goals is to help schools build partnerships with families and communities.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley praises FINE for its efforts.

“We must do everything we can to emphasize to parents and communities the importance of their involvement in their children’s education. Teachers, as integral members of the community, are in a unique position to encourage and support this engagement,” Riley says.

FINE members receive a monthly e-mail that describes the latest family involvement research, toolkits and training resources.

Visit www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/joinfine.html to find out more about FINE and how you can join its network.

As policymakers, educators, medical experts and others consider ways to halt the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, they’re discovering there is little evidence to indicate which strategies are most effective in promoting healthier eating among students.

A new initiative launched recently by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) hopes to change that. “Healthy Eating Research” is a five-year, $16-million program that seeks to identify changes in policies and environments that can promote healthy eating among children.

Over the past three decades, rates of obesity in the U.S. have more than doubled among children ages 2 to 5 and more than tripled among those ages 6 to 11.

“If we don’t act to reverse the alarming trend of childhood obesity, we are in danger of raising the first generation of American children who will live sicker and die younger than the generation before them,” says Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., president and CEO of RWJF. Studies funded through Healthy Eating Research will help inform solutions for expanding access to affordable, healthy foods for children and families, she says.

The launch of the new initiative comes on the heels of an Institute of Medicine report urging governments and schools to create healthier school food environments by adopting nutritional standards for all competitive foods and beverages sold in schools, and ensuring that in-school promotional efforts feature products that support healthy diets.

“Schools are a critical setting for addressing childhood obesity, as more than 54 million children attend the nation’s schools, and a substantial portion of their daily food consumption occurs within the school setting,” a statement from RWJF says.

The Healthy Eating Research Call for Proposals is available online at www.rwjf.org/cfp/her. Proposals are due March 7, 2006. Potential applicants should contact the program at 888/635-7433 or visit www.healthyeatingresearch.org for more information.