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School Kids Lagging in Physical Fitness

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 09:00 CST

By T.S. Mills-Faraudo and Jill Tucker, STAFF WRITERS

Physical education instructor Sheila Ochowicz hopes that by taking the embarrassment out of exercise, she's going to make her students want to run, jump and bike their way to healthier lifestyles.

That's why she has students at McKinley Institute of Technology in Redwood City taking spin classes instead of falling on their faces in other activities.

But the school's improved P.E. program didn't make a difference in the 2004-2005 California Physical Fitness Test results released Monday.

Only 8.9 percent of McKinley seventh-graders were able to meet all six of the state's fitness standards. But Ochowicz is aiming to increase this by

10 percent when next year's report is released.

McKinley is not alone in its struggles to make students physically active.

Countywide, 32.9 percent of students were able to meet all six standards -- meaning they can meet minimum levels of jumping, running or stretching, according to Fitnessgram results. This is up from 32.2 percent last year.

Only about 25 percent of students statewide met state fitness standards last year.

That's way too low, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

"We know the students who eat well and who are active also do better in school," he said. More than 1.3 million California students in grades five, seven and nine took the Fitnessgram test in the spring to measure their abilities in six fitness categories including a 1-mile walk/run, measurement of body fat and a series of strength and flexibility tests including sit-ups and push-ups.

Starting young

One of the problems for McKinley, Ochowicz said, is many students come to the middle school with little physical education from elementary school.

"My understanding is there isn't enough funding for professionals (P.E. teachers) in elementary school," she said. "Studies show that if they're (students) not movers by 11 years old, they become sedentary."

As many as 75 to 85 percent of elementary schools were out of compliance with state law to provide 200 minutes of P.E. every 10 days, according to California Department of Education officials.

Middle and high schools are more often in compliance with the law -- 400 minutes every 10 days -- because of how students are scheduled for classes.

Thanks to Ochowicz, McKinley received a three-year federal grant to pay for spin bikes and heart-rate monitors for its P.E. program.

In many of the traditional P.E. classes, she said, students are more likely to be embarrassed because they could fall or they may struggle to keep up with other students. But with the spin bikes, students can go at their own pace.

She also helps the students set goals for themselves by testing their physical fitness abilities several times a year and involving their parents.

Eventually, Ochowicz said she would like to receive grants for even out-of-the-norm P.E. activities like rock-wall climbing and inline skating.

High school district efforts

The San Mateo Union High School District is also taking extra strides to get its students in shape.

Approximately 42 percent of the district's ninth-graders were able to meet all six standards.

All freshmen are tested at the beginning and end of each semester so they can gauge where they are at in their physical fitness abilities, said Greg Quigley, administrative liaison for the district's Physical Education Curriculum Council.

Furthermore, he said the district does not allow a past practice of students substituting P.E. for another activity like dancing or athletics.

Nonetheless, the schools can only do so much.

"I don't think you see as many kids out playing like they used to 10 or 15 years ago," he said. "They do a lot more sedentary things now."

Staff writer T.S. Mills-Faraudo covers San Mateo County education. She can be reached at (650) 348-4338 or

tmills@sanmateocountytimes.com.

Source: Oakland Tribune

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