 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||||||||||
|
In Salt Lake City, the Granite School District’s Creating Opportunities for Physical Education (COPE) project was developed to offer quality, developmentally appropriate physical activities for elementary students and training for classroom teachers. Sixteen elementary schools—one quarter of the elementary schools in the district—participated in the project. The district used PEP funds to purchase heart rate monitors, pedometers, balls, and parachutes for each of the participating schools. In addition, circuit training centers with 20 fitness stations were established at 10 of the 16 schools. Aerobic steps and exercise bands were provided to the remaining six schools. A 2-day training was provided to 200 classroom teachers. The teachers learned about the impact of physical activity on academic performance, ideas for age-appropriate PE activities, and how to integrate PE into other academic areas. Monthly follow-up training sessions were also offered. Project Director Frank Wojtech noted that the training was one of the most successful elements of the project. “In our district, elementary school classroom teachers are responsible for physical education. However, some of our teachers have had one PE class during college, and the majority have had none,” he explained. “The evaluation comments we received from teachers were so positive that we decided to conduct another training for 100 teachers the next year.” In addition to the training, the school district developed Healthy Habits, a standards-based PE and nutrition curriculum. The PE activities in Healthy Habits were designed to help elementary students develop speed, strength, agility, coordination, and other skills. As a result of the COPE project:
|
