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Brandie By Monica Eng, Tribune reporterAnyone who has tried to control a single first-grader can develop a deep admiration for Michelle Glick.
On a recent morning at Armstrong Elementary School in Rogers Park, she
led a large group of 6- and 7-year-olds in an intense 30-minute cardio
workout as the children identified the major muscles and recited the
importance of good hydration, sleep and nutrition. When done, every
child was relaxed and silent on the floor.
Minutes later, they returned to their chairs, alert and ready to learn.
Glick runs Stretch-N-Grow, an in-class fitness program that operates in
22 Chicago-area elementary schools. It and other efforts that offer
dancing, yoga and cardio training to http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/education/schools/chicago-public-schools-ORGOV000081.topic students help augment — or are a substitute for — physical education programs.
Illinois, which has the nation's fourth-highest childhood http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/obesity-HEDAI0000057.topic
level, requires schools to offer daily physical education. But most
public schools in Chicago offer it only once a week or less — a far cry
from First Lady http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/michelle-obama-PECLB005380.topic 's recently announced initiative of 60 minutes of exercise a day for schoolchildren.
City school officials say budget constraints are to blame. Spokeswoman
Monique Bond says the budget deficit — a half-billion dollars last year
— has not improved and "crosses into almost every area of food service
and physical education programs."
"The other issue is that the length of the school day has to be taken
into consideration and instructional learning hours are the priority,"
Bond said.
The Illinois State Board of Education says Chicago Public Schools has
never applied for a waiver that is available to school districts that
cannot meet the daily requirement....Stretch-N-Grow, a national franchise, allows schools to boost physical
activity without having to build a new gym or make the day longer.
Schools can pay between $1,000 and $3,000 for a 10-week program
depending on their size, and parents can pay for after-school programs.
Armstrong Principal Otis Dunson brought the program back after hearing from teachers and students.
"With the growing childhood obesity rates and our only being able to
offer gym once a week, we wanted to bring in another kind of physical
activity," Dunson said. "During the cold weather months this gives us
another way to get oxygen flowing and prepare them to really start
focusing on the tests."
Rogers School Principal Christine Jabari said she would recommend the
program, which has been presented weekly to first- through
sixth-graders for five years. Teachers were initially skeptical, she
said, but, "then they saw how it affected the students and now it's
just built into the curriculum and into our budget each year."Continue reading http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-x-c-school-exercise-0227-20100226,0,1953338.story
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