Dec. 7, 2005

By MICHAEL STRAND

Salina Journal

A healthy diet is just part of the overall picture when it comes to children and school meals.

Students also need exercise.

But play time — like lunch time — is under assault in schools around the country as time for learning, reading, writing and math increases. Some schools have eliminated recess altogether.

Such measures “haven't even been discussed,” in the Salina School District, said Marilyn Green, executive director of school improvement.

“If we were to take away physical exercise, we know we're not going to accomplish as much academically,” she said. “A lot of us cut back on recess starting six or seven years ago — but at the same time, we know that if youngsters are sluggish, we need to get them moving, down on the floor, or outside.”

For several years, the Salina district has required two semesters of physical education for graduation — twice the state standards.

It's been suggested that P.E. be a daily class; with the block scheduling at the high schools, students go to each class on alternating days, meaning they get the P.E. workout just two or three days a week.

And these days, physical education isn't the same as it was 20 years ago.

“Do we still run laps? Yes,” said Cathy Yarochowicz, physical education teacher at Salina South High School. “But we also try to teach why it's important to warm up before physical activity.

“By their sophomore year, they should be able to tell us in a journal how much physical activity they're getting, what they eat, their stress levels. And they should know how eating and exercise can affect how you handle the stresses in your life.

“They know that if they skip breakfast, eat chicken fried steak every day and feel tired, that's to be expected.”

South High also offers advanced physical education and weightlifting classes.

“The weightlifting class is very popular,” Yarochowicz said. “And it's not just athletes — there are students of every fitness level in those classes.

“All the brain research shows that the more active the student is, the better they're going to do in school.”

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Janine Kempker beats around the bush even less:

“Cutting lunch time and recess to make for more class time is stupid, stupid, stupid — that's all I have to say.”

Kempker is principal at Anthony Elementary School in Leavenworth, a school where more than three-quarters of the students are “economically disadvantaged,” and the majority of students are minorities.

The school's 2003 scores on the state reading and math assessments were dismal:

n 22 percent of fourth graders scored “unsatisfactory” on the math test — three times the state average.

n Among poor students, more than 25 percent scored “unsatisfactory” in math — and none scored in the highest, “exemplary,” category.

n More than 36 percent of black students scored “unsatisfactory” on the math test — again, none was exemplary.

And, the school averaged 9.3 student-on-student violent acts per 100 students, compared with a state average of 1.45; the rate of violent acts directed at teachers was four times the state average.

Kempker responded to those statistics by increasing time for physical education and recess. She can't say for sure how much time students get for lunch.

“Some days it may be 15, some days it may be 30.”

That's because they all eat in class, with their teachers.

In all, the three, 30-minute physical education classes each week and the 45 minutes of “structured activity” each day total five hours and 15 minutes a week — nearly an entire school day.

“The kids now are mentally and physically ready to learn,” Kempker said. “Before, they weren't.”

Students also have water bottles at their desks, so they can drink whenever they want.

“At a conference on brain research, I learned that much of the sluggishness in the afternoon is because of dehydration.”

Kempker's plan started with the fact that most discipline problems came either from lunch or recess, or from something that happened during those times and came out later in the day.

“We can't eliminate lunch and recess, but we could change them,” she said.

Staying in class for lunch has several benefits, Kempker said. For one, it reduces discipline problems.

“It's also a learning time,” she said. “They talk about what they're eating — and we really stress table manners, not chewing with your mouth open, how to use silverware.”

It also promotes responsibility, she said.

“In the classroom, the kids usually clean up their own mess,” she said. “They're more careful when they're eating.”

The number of violent acts dropped by more than 80 percent in 2004, the first year of the “Eat, Exercise, Excel” project — and to zero for the 2004-05 school year.

“Now, a kid not doing his homework twice a week is a ‘problem,' ” Kempker said. “Three years ago, it would have been a kid being in four fistfights in one week. Teacher expectations have begun to rise tremendously — before we were trying to keep a lid on behavior.”

And with less time spent on discipline — and more time for learning — test scores have shot up:

n No students scored “unsatisfactory” on the math test in 2005, and nearly 29 percent scored “exemplary.”

n No black students scored “unsatisfactory” on the 2004 and 2005 math assessments — and nearly 22 percent scored “exemplary” this past spring.

n No poor students scored “unsatisfactory” on the 2004 and 2005 reading assessments — and 25 percent scored exemplary.

“As a whole, we do well,” Kempker said. “With African-American and disadvantaged students, we do extremely well. We've had two good years — I'm hoping to maintain that this year.”