Rock star nutritionist to tour D300

Rock stars don’t usually write songs about calcium and cauliflower or encourage children to eat breakfast and drink lots of water.

But Jill Jayne is not your typical rock star. The Philadelphia native is a certified dietitian who plays a mean guitar and she’s bringing her high energy, highly nutritious show, “Jump with Jill,” to elementary schools in Community Unit District 300 from Feb. 7 through 18.

The tour is a celebration of the district’s success in the Department of Agriculture’s HealthierUS Schools Challenge, designed to improve school lunch menus and nutrition education and increase exercise among students.

Golfview Elementary School in Carpentersville was recently awarded a Gold Award of Distinction, becoming the first non-charter school in Illinois to receive the honor.

A $56,000 Illinois Nutrition Education and Training Program grant enabled the district to enter the challenge and team up with New York City-based Jayne. Before her visit, the district will premiere a music video produced for students at Golfview titled, “Going Gold: They Took the Challenge.” The music video, that features Jayne in New York City’s Time Square and footage of Golfview Elementary School students, will debut on Friday during a special presentation at Golfview.

“Our nutrition goals were a perfect fit with Jill Jayne’s goals of reducing childhood obesity rates across the country,” said Allison Strupeck, District 300 communications supervisor. “This tour will take community awareness to the next level.”

Jayne will perform 25 shows at 17 elementary schools in the district. During the hourlong performances in which students are encouraged to sing and dance with the star, Jayne sings about eating potatoes instead of curly fries, tomatoes not ketchup and apples without the pie.

Her philosophy rests on the idea that children are as likely to remember songs about healthy foods as they are a jingle for McDonald’s.

“My show is a rock ’n’ roll approach to nutrition,” Jayne said. “I use the same model that they use in advertising to get kids to eat snack foods and stay on the couch playing video games. But I motivate them to be empowered and engaged about being healthy and active.”

During the tour, Jayne will also film footage for two music videos to promote community nutrition education. The public is invited to attend a snippet performance during the Feb. 14 school board meeting.