By Anna Erickson
aerickson@parkrapidsenterprise.com
Menahga middle school students are reaping the benefits of a new Active Schools grant.
The Active Schools grant is a pilot program partnership between the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Health. The goal of the project is to increase the activity in schools for fourth-sixth graders.
“The Active Schools grant couldn’t have come at a better time for our school,” said Menahga School elementary principal Ariana Wright. “We were already in the process of increasing physical education staff due to our growth and additional specialist time needs in the elementary.”
The physical education staff was also brainstorming an after school health club and were trying to figure out how to launch it.
“We knew that these two areas were already things we were committed to focusing on to make positive changes,” Wright said. “This grant gave us an opportunity to tap into additional funding sources and bring great ideas to fruition.”
The program focuses on five core areas of activity: physical education, active recess, before and after school activity, active classrooms and active transportation (walking or bicycling to school).
Each school participating in the pilot performed a self- evaluation in these five areas and picked two areas to focus on as an increase in activity. Over the next two years our students will participate in additional activity in these two areas and their increase or decrease in physical fitness will be measured.
Physical education teacher Katie Smith has been doing fitness testing with students using an assessment tool called Fitnessgram. Testing includes curl-ups, trunk lift and other strength and stretching exercises.
“Students will get an individualized printout with their results,” Smith said.
The process started last spring.
“Our school activity self-assessment identified physical education classes and before and after school activity opportunities as the two areas we would work to increase student activity over the next two years,” Wright said.
Menahga School received $10,000 in two payments to begin to fund the changes needed to support increased activity.
Fourth and fifth grade students now have daily physical education classes. Previously, they had physical education two-thirds of the time. Sixth graders are on a rotation of four days of physical education for every six days of school.
“We are also partnering with the after school Targeted Services program serving students who are struggling academically K-5,” Wright added. “Fourth and fifth grade students participate in an activity time led by a PE teacher and a healthy snack before heading to academic work time.”
Menahga School already had a late bus to transport students home, making participation in the after school activity component easy.
“I am excited to see how our students are positively affected in their physical health as well as academic growth,” Wright said. “Our physical education teaching staff is excited about the focus on the activity that we know is good for a lifetime of healthy living. This grant allows us to increase our opportunities for students and provide important life skills as well.”
