If it isn't Coke or Fritos, is it OK to shill to schoolkids?

The debate over junk food and soda sales in schools highlights — or, some argue, overshadows — the larger issue of commercialism in schools, advocates say.

There's been no drop in the amount of marketing to kids in schools, said Alex Molnar, a professor who studies the issue for the Commercialism in Education Research Unit at Arizona State University. Soon, he argues, "schools are going to be completely integrated into the marketing platforms of corporations, unless parents decide to stop them."

In the past decade, overall marketing aimed at kids more than doubled from $7 billion to $15 billion a year, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"Serious concerns"

A 2004 report by the American Psychological Association concluded that research on advertising to youth "raises serious concerns about potential harms to students when commercialism invades the schoolhouse."

While the Seattle School Board passed a policy to "significantly restrict" advertising in 2001, other cash-strapped local school districts recently revisited the issue and upped efforts to attract "tasteful" advertising that fits educational goals.

Getting rid of soda and candy machines falls under nutrition rules (the state Legislature required school districts to establish a nutrition and exercise policy by this summer), not commercial guidelines. But some antimarketing advocates hope to capitalize on this growing awareness.

"Right now, the conversation is all about the cafeteria," said Lynnwood resident Sue Paro. "If that's how we get schools to take out advertising, that's how we'll go."

Others, however, believe corporations will reposition themselves as purveyors of healthy messages to keep their presence in schools.

McLesson plans?

They cite McDonald's new Passport to Play program, which provides free lesson plans and materials to third- through fifth-grade physical education teachers. It's being used in, or at least distributed to, 31,000 elementary schools nationwide, including public schools in Seattle, Auburn, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Redmond and Shoreline, noted a McDonald's spokesperson. A related traveling tour will stop at Little Mountain Elementary School in Mount Vernon and University Place Primary School in University Place this week.

"What McDonald's doesn't mention is kids can't exercise off all the junk food they're eating," said psychologist Susan Linn, author of "Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children from the Onslaught of Marketing & Advertising," newly out in paperback.

McDonald's says the new initiative underscores "its commitment to balanced, active lifestyles today."

David Marshak, a professor in Seattle University's College of Education, describes the use of corporate-sponsored materials in classrooms as "pervasive." While he understands that schools and teachers often accept marketing "out of a sense of necessity," he argues that the issue "is not about money. It's about this: What is the professional and ethical responsibility of educators?"

To that, he says, "it's my belief that schools are never an appropriate context in which to sell products to children."

Idealism vs. real world

For some, though, that's an idealistic approach that doesn't cut it in the real world, where schools face losing programs.

"The opportunities to districts through advertising and marketing are very, very real byproducts of what school finances are these days," said Jan Graves, manager of community and business partnerships for the Northshore School District. "And corporations clearly know the benefits as well."

Northshore's policy, adopted in 2004, allows the district to consider a wider variety of options, including naming rights to sports fields and national advertisements on basketball courts and football fields. The policy prohibits ads in instructional areas, but promotions might be possible in hallways or cafeterias, Graves said.

Kids' market a huge one

The district considers different offers, such as a recent one by a company that wanted students to use its antibacterial wipes to clean their desks three times a day and test for germs. The district would get cash in exchange, but Graves doubts the district's approval committee would accept it. "There is some connection to science, maybe," she said. "But is it worth the interruption three times a day? Probably not."

Still, she said, "I see more and more opportunities coming our way. Large marketers clearly know that the kids' market is a huge one.

"If you think about it, we really can't control advertising; kids come to school wearing brand-name clothing and shoes," Graves said. "Kids see ads everywhere they turn. This isn't new to them.

"There doesn't seem to be as negative an impact on children as people thought there might be, as long as we have standards that learning is the priority."

Redmond parent Shelly Thorn doesn't buy that argument. Schools ban Game Boys, cellphones and skateboards on school property, she notes. "Schools don't have to solve all social problems, but they shouldn't be part of the problem," said the mom of three. "Children are put in a situation where they are a captive audience for 7 ½ hours — that's a very significant part of a child's waking hours."

It's hard for kids to be critical consumers when so much school marketing is covert, Linn said. "Kids don't think of it as an ad," she said. "Companies are working to insinuate brands into children's lives."

Working to find balance

But parents also must consider what they're giving up with leaner and leaner budgets, said Woodinville parent Mary Allison. "Schools really have to look at the pros and cons of ads as well as corporate money."

Districts such as Northshore are "still working to find a good balance," said the mom of two. "We're still attempting to form guidelines that are palatable for everyone."

While some districts, such as Kent, insist that "district collaboration in commercial activities shall not be construed in any way to be an endorsement of a product or a sponsor," critics say that's impossible.

"Kids know that school is supposed to be good for them," Linn said. "So they think whatever a school endorses is also good for them."

As Jennifer Slackman, Scholastic's director of corporate communications, explains, "teachers are really the gatekeepers in schools. Everything we do passes with teachers' stamp of approval."

A growing form of school advertising targets parents with such stores as Albertsons, Target and Office Depot directing a percentage of receipts to schools when parents sign up for their programs.

Bothell High School topped the state with more than 1,000 check-card users earning points worth $3,169 in Washington Mutual's WaMoola for Schools last year, according to the bank's Web site.

In early December, the Northshore School District will distribute coupons to students; when these are presented at the Woodinville Barnes & Noble, schools will receive a percentage of sales during a four-day "literacy celebration."

While districts and parent groups rave about the ease of this type of fund-raising — which only requires parents to shop where they already do — Linn argues that "this is not free money. It's buying advertising. The school is selling advertising. They are selling the hearts and minds of children."

Stephanie Dunnewind: sdunnewind@seattletimes.com or 206-464-2091.