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"Students first: Plant the seed; make it grow" is the Montgomery County School Board's motto, according to Wendell Jones ("Help choose the new superintendent," Aug. 9). It is a great motto, but it might be appropriate to preface it with "Prepare the soil." It has been said that we reap what we sow, but without good soil we are not likely to have a good harvest.

The student is the soil in which we plant the seed. We want the seed that our schools plant to grow and develop into students who live a happy and prosperous life while contributing to society in a positive manner. Obviously the physical body is part of the soil, but a healthy brain is absolutely essential for our school's plantings to grow and develop into a superior harvest.

Some students might be good soil when they enter school, but without appropriate school input many will wither on the vine and produce little good fruit as well as poor Standards of Learning scores. Numerous studies have proved beyond doubt that proper exercise and nutrition can improve the ability to learn and improve SOL scores while preventing many chronic diseases and leading to a happier existence.

Assuming it is one responsibility of our schools to help students obtain and maintain the nutrients necessary for good learning soil, the question then is what steps should schools take that are not already being taken? Also how is the county going to pay for needed changes?

Part of the answer is in determining what things are most important and adjusting priorities. It might be appropriate for the school board and our new superintendent to consider decreasing time devoted to certain classes to allow more time for health-related classes.

New school buildings are certainly nice, but there are old schools around the world that turn out brilliant students. Is it possible that workforce wellness programs for all school employees can create enough savings on health care insurance to pay for health education -- while creating good role models for students?

Place health education on par with all other subjects and begin in kindergarten. This would entail employing some full-time health educators who not only know how to teach but would encourage students to lead healthy lifestyles. Allowing time for mandatory, daily, vigorous physical exercise for every student unless, excused by a physician, should be part of the plan.

Create a healthy school environment, including a fitness center. Serving only healthy nourishment in cafeterias, according to the most recent scientific nutrition information, is mandatory. The work force wellness program for employees could also benefit from this. Discourage bringing unhealthy food and drinks into the school. Tobacco products and drugs are already banned, but sweet, caffeinated and carbonated drinks are doing harm to more people than those products.

Use incentives to encourage schoolteachers and all employees to participate in wellness and prevention programs. Healthy employees will do a better job preparing the soil, planting the seed and making it grow.

Teachers and others should communicate with parents where and whenever possible in an attempt to determine the home and living conditions of each student so that unhealthy situations that might retard learning can be addressed. It might be feasible to employ one or more social workers to help. School nurses and health teachers can also help.

When it is determined that a student is not getting appropriate nutrition, the school nurse or health educator should suggest supplements as appropriate.

I made similar suggestions more than 20 years ago, and banning smoking is about all that has happened. Meanwhile, the obesity rate has increased about 200 percent.

The wellness program put in place for our schools two to three years ago is a nice document and a step in the right direction, but is not sufficient to do the job. I hope that the board will pick a new superintendent who understands what is needed and will push for some effective changes that our students deserve.

George Smith Jr. is a retired physician from Shawsville.