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Exhaustion A Fear As Schools Fit In Fitness

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Lynda Correia of Witter Elementary says lack of shade is an issue.

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By MARILYN BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 10, 2008

TAMPA - A year ago, parents thought a new state law would bring a 30-minute chunk of daily physical activity for their elementary-age children.

This year it will.

The change is welcome, but will be difficult to fit in at many schools, say Hillsborough County school officials. Classroom teachers will provide most of the classes, and likely all of the classes in kindergarten.

In addition, district budget tightening will probably force the district's certified elementary physical education teachers and others to teach 10 classes a day outdoors.

"It's going to be tough on people," said Steve Vanoer, the district's supervisor for physical education and health. "By Friday, they're going to be smoked. It's going to be the cumulative effect of the heat."

By the end of each day, he said, "it could impact the quality of instruction."

Nonetheless, Vanoer said, "We're going to make it work. We have excellent teachers."

Initial confusion over a state law requiring 150 minutes a week of physical education in elementary schools for the 2007-08 school year led staff in Gov. Charlie Crist's office to interpret it to mean 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

The law allowed health and nutrition lessons and five- or 10-minute spurts of activity. Some teachers counted the time it takes to walk to lunch. It was difficult to document.

This year, the law was amended to require at least 30 consecutive minutes a day of physical education instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade, starting in August. It does not have to be with a certified physical education teacher.

Hillsborough plans to keep its 30-minute physical education classes twice a week with a certified instructor, with the other three days provided by the classroom teacher, Vanoer said.

Adding kindergarten will be difficult, he said, because few schools have physical education in kindergarten. Classroom teachers and paraprofessionals will likely be responsible for providing the daily class, he said.

During the past year, classroom teachers were supposed to plan and keep track of health lessons and physical activity that adds up to 30 minutes a day, three days a week. With a daily block of 30 minutes, it will be easier to document and less likely to be dropped for something else, Vanoer said.

"If you do short increments, you're getting some physical activity, but you're not getting your heart rate up," said Jill Brown, a physical education teacher at Deer Park Elementary.

It's Worth The Effort, Teacher Says

As childhood obesity rates soar nationally and children trade exercise for computers and TV, the pressure of the state's high-stakes testing was felt. Physical activity became a lower priority for many.

Some principals fit it in daily anyway.

"It can be done," said Karen Bass, principal at Bryant Elementary in northwest Hillsborough County, where 30-minute blocks of physical activity have been the norm for the five years Bass has led Bryant. "It does take a real effort."

Administrators must devise a master schedule that builds in 30 minutes a day for physical education or teacher-led physical activity for every class, Bass said. It can get tricky scheduling everyone, she said.

"It's worth it," agreed Carrie Giest, a fifth-grade teacher at Bryant. "After two hours of academics, your brain hurts."

During the 6-hour-and-15-minute day, Giest said she spends an hour on math, an hour on science, a 90 minute block on reading - required by the district - and 30 to 60 minutes on writing and/or social studies. Art and music are once a week and physical education will be 30 minutes a day. Lunch is 30 minutes.

Bryant has strong parent support that includes raising tens of thousands of dollars that have added covered areas for outdoor activity and a 10-station exercise course that includes a rope climb and sit-up station.

"I'm very fortunate," said Bass, whose physical education teachers set up the equipment and plan activities for the days teachers lead the classes.

Facilities, Amount Of Shade Vary

A school Bass once led, Folsom Elementary, had no such facilities, she said, but she still had 30 minutes of physical activity a day: "We had a large, open field and a lot of beautiful oak trees."

Some schools don't even have that, which is Vanoer's concern.

Witter Elementary in Tampa has "very little shade," said physical education teacher Lynda Correia. During the hot days of August and the end of the school year, "We've had kids say they feel a little dizzy, so we send them inside."

The enthusiasm is there, however. Witter was one of 28 schools in the district that chose to participate in a statewide challenge by the governor in February to earn certificates and stickers by completing physical activities such as the broad jump and 40-yard dash.

"They loved it," Correia said of the more than 300 students who took part.

Budget Cuts Affect More Schedules

Statewide, government agencies are tightening budgets, and the Hillsborough County School District is no exception. Last year, the district added a class period of instruction to high school teachers' schedules to save $28 million. The time was still within the 300 minutes of teaching designated in their union contract.

This year, elementary physical education, art and music teachers will feel the effects, said Ken Otero, the district's chief of staff.

Previously, most physical education teachers had nine 30-minute classes a day, although some had 10 classes some days, said area director Barbara Franquez, who is responsible for assigning those positions. Music is 30 minutes twice a week. Art class is 45 minutes once a week. Schools often share some art, music and physical education teachers.

"We're looking at utilizing 10 periods," Franquez said Friday, although schedules won't be complete until after school starts Aug. 18. She estimated having teachers add classes will save the district about 25 positions and "several hundred thousand dollars."

But 10, 30-minute periods a day, Correia said, is "a big amount of time to be outside, I can tell you. I understand as well as anybody with the budget cuts."

Brown, from Deer Park, said she already has some days now with 10 classes and remembers tougher times in Texas more than a decade ago.

"It's still a cakewalk compared to 11 doubles a day when I taught when I was in Texas," she said, referring to 11 double classes of 30 minutes each per day. "I had every child in the school every day. ... It was grueling."

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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