Portland, Maine, High School Proposes Phys-Ed Program for Obese Kids
Posted on: Wednesday, 14 December 2005, 00:00 CST
By Ann S. Kim, Portland Press Herald, Maine
Dec. 14--The head of physical education at Westbrook High School is hoping a new course will help students who are seriously overweight or could otherwise benefit from more physical activity.
Maine requires high school students to take only one year of physical education. Other exercise opportunities -- team sports, aerobics and weight training, for example -- do not appeal to everyone, said Rob Card.
"We are missing a large portion of the student body that needs physical activity," he said. "We want kids to be active, that's our main goal, to keep moving. We get them moving for one year, and then they're gone for three years."
Card's proposed solution is "Healthy Me," a course that would help students create their own fitness programs and teach them about nutrition, weight control, stress relief and different exercise options.
The School Committee is scheduled to review the proposal tonight. The meeting in Room 114 of Westbrook High School will begin at 7.
The proposal is one of several aimed at reducing the number of overweight children in Maine, where 27 percent of high school students are overweight or at risk of being overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Schools throughout the state are trying to improve students' fitness, said Karen O'Rourke, vice president of operations of the Maine Center for Public Health, a private non-profit organization.
Other tactics, she said, include banning soda sales during school hours, a state pedometer program to encourage walking and the "Take Time" program where schools commit at least 10 minutes to physical activity daily, she said.
"I think we're way behind on the P.E. part," O'Rourke said.
Healthy Me would target obese students, Card said, but the class would be open to all students, including diabetics, those with cerebral palsy -- which can affect muscles and ligaments -- or anyone else who would benefit from a highly individualized program.
Students might opt for the class themselves or be referred by a teacher, the school nurse, a guidance counselor or a parent, said Principal Marc Gousse.
The proposal concerns Mike Foley, a senior and a non-voting member of the School Committee. He said a referral to Healthy Me could be embarrassing for a student.
"I think it's going to be a challenging task to refer an individual to a class like that," said Foley, who is resigning from the School Board tonight because he will start serving on the City Council next month.
But Gousse believes students will be able to take the class without fear of being singled out.
"I think there are some pieces in place to make sure this is promoted in a positive way," he said.
The school has already demonstrated an accepting climate with its adaptive physical education course for mentally and physically challenged students, where instructors and peer tutors work with students in a small setting, Gousse said.
Dr. Dora Anne Mills, the state's public health director, applauded the effort, saying the more opportunities students have for physical activity, the better.
She thinks it's possible to market the class as something akin to fitness activities without stigma, like using a personal trainer or taking a beginner's aerobics class.
If the School Committee gives the OK, the course would be offered in the fall of 2006.
The class would not require any new hires. Card said he would teach the class and arrange the schedule to accommodate it.
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Source: Portland Press Herald
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