Archive for the ‘Physical Education’ Category
Advocates Call for PE in Co-Located Schools
On April 19, Amy J. Schwartz, Chair of the WCC Physical Education in City Public Schools Task Force, testified before the New York City Council Education Committee on the subject of co-locations in New York City schools.
An audit conducted by the New York City Comptroller in October, 2011 found that most elementary schools in the sample failed to provide the minimum amount of education classes per week, as required by New York State. For elementary schools, that is 120 minutes, or a required two to three classes per week. Some schools were barely offering each student one class each week. One of the most startling findings was that many principals were not aware that there were requirements to provide physical education.
The WCC has previously issued a position paper directed to NYC officials, showing the relationship between improved academic performance and physical education in the schools. We found that numerous studies show physical education in schools leads to better grades, improved behavior, higher scores in standardized tests, and increased graduation rates. Physical education is an important component for students to achieve optimum health and well-being and academic achievement and success.
The WCC understands that the Department of Education is currently responding to recommendations made in the audit. Co-location is of great concern because the necessity of sharing gyms and other physical education facilities within one school building makes it more likely that students will be shortchanged. Are all students in co-location schools being given the required minutes of physical education classes? The WCC urges the City Council to inquire closely into this aspect of education within the co-location schools.
A full copy of the testimony is available here.
WCC urges City Council to Support NYC Strategic Alliance for Health
Earlier this week, Amy Schwartz, Chair of the WCC’s Physical Education in City Public Schools Task Force, testified before the New York City Council in support of a small, but critically important program, the NYC Strategic Alliance for Health.
Located within the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Strategic Alliance for Health has formed a vital consortium of grass-roots community organizations, advocates and professionals working in the communities where obesity has increased in our City. Their goal is to prevent obesity and its serious consequences, with programs beginning at the neighborhood and community level. They are working to develop obesity prevention as an effective citywide policy. Budget constraints at the Center for Disease Control, which has funded this program for three years, mean that the Alliance funding will be cut off at the end of September 2012.
One of the significant community programs of the Strategic Alliance for Health is its unique grass-roots Campaign to Reform Physical Education, focusing on parent outreach in Northern Manhattan, Central Brooklyn and South Bronx. The NYC Department of Education has not updated its physical education curricula in 20 years. It has created many new schools without gyms or other PE facilities, and it does not require that PE be provided to its 900,000 students. The 2011 City Comptroller’s audit of physical education documented the failures of DOE to give PE classes required by the State of New York and among other facts, pointed to the ignorance by school principals of these requirements.
WCC has previously issued a position paper directed to NYC officials, setting forth the relationship between improved academic performance and physical education in the schools, pointing out DOE’s failure to provide adequate PE classes. The report found that numerous studies show that PE in schools leads to better grades, improved behavior, higher scores in standardized tests, and increased graduation rates. The City audit found that most elementary schools in the sample fail to give the minimum 120 minutes of PE each week, while many schools barely provide one class each week. In total, nearly 1,000,000 students in our public schools are denied their state mandated physical education, and deprived of the opportunities for optimum health and their full potential for academic achievement and success.
The leaders of the Strategic Alliance for Health understand the importance of PE to the health and academic performance of young people and have a hands-on strategy to assure that they receive its benefits. On a neighborhood-by-neighborhood level, they organize parents to become effective advocates for improving PE in their children’s schools. Their goal is to convene parents, physical education teachers, principals and community-based organizations to develop city-wide policy recommendations.
The WCC believes that the Strategic Alliance’s efforts to involve parents in demanding better physical education is very important. No one else is working to do this. The WCC partners with them in our advocacy to improve physical education in all the city’s schools.
T
he Strategic Alliance focuses on other significant program, research and advocacy efforts in their work on local obesity prevention. For their “Fresh Bodega Program”, they partner with GrowNYC’s Greenmarket program to create access to fresh New York State produce at 12 locations in Northern Manhattan and in North and Central Brooklyn. Their “Excellence in School Wellness Awards” recognizes elementary schools for meeting state and local standards in nutrition, physical activity and wellness. Over 90 elementary schools have been awarded in Northern Manhattan, North and Central Brooklyn and the Bronx, and will soon be given in Southeast Queens. These are just a few of their grass-roots efforts.
The WCC recognizes the heavy budget constraints which are affecting all agencies and levels of government, but asks that the City Council seriously consider designating a small portion of the discretionary funds at its disposal to DOHMH to allow this valuable, innovative program to continue operating after September. Without Strategic Alliance for Health, New York City’s vulnerable communities will lose an ally willing to develop community based obesity prevention programming, research and evaluation projects, as well as advocacy and policy development campaigns.
A full copy of the testimony is available here.
WCC Advocates Air Concerns About Lack of P.E. in Interview
To illuminate the widespread lack of physical education (P.E.) in NYC schools, two representatives of the Women’s City Club of New York (WCC) taped an interview for the January 29, 2012 edition of “Getting Your Money’s Worth.”
Amy J. Schwartz and Dr. Katherine S. Lobach, respectively Chair and member of the WCC Task Force on Physical Education in City Schools, pointed out that one of the many benefits of physical education is its positive association with academic achievement. Kids who get adequate P.E. perform better in school.
According to a NYC Comptroller October audit prompted by the WCC, although New York State mandates specify amounts of P.E. time for each grade, most of the principals in the 31 audited schools were unaware of the State requirements, and none of the schools provided the expected amount of time in all grades. In some cases the time was used to prepare for reading and math tests, although there is good evidence that when P.E. time is maintained, test scores remain the same or improve.
In the taping, Dr. Lobach said, “We need more school administrators to recognize the academic value of physical education and more parents to insist that their children get it.”
“Our schools are falling down on the job of ensuring the health and well-being of our children” said Ms. Schwartz. “They are being denied the opportunity to reach their full academic potential and personal best.”
The WCC Task Force on Physical Education in City Schools works to ensure that all the city’s schools are in compliance with state-mandated requirements for physical education. In 2010 it issued a policy paper, “Physical Education in New York’s Public Schools: A Missing Ingredient for Academic Success”, and the New York Times recently published its letter to the editor.
The “Getting Your Money’s Worth” interview is posted on www.gettingyourmoneysworthnyc.com, and will air on Sunday, January 29 at 8:30 am on Time Warner Cable channel 34 and RCN channel 82. It will also stream online at MNN.org, on Brooklyn Access TV, and on and www.GoodNewsBroadcast.com.
A full press release is available here.
New York Times Publishes WCC Letter on Physical Education
In response to a recent New York Times article on physical education, the WCC submitted the following letter, published in the October 28, 2011 edition. The WCC’s Task Force on Physical Fitness advocates for the inclusion of comprehensive physical education in New York’s schools due to the myriad benefits it provides to students.
Exercise in Schools
To the Editor:
“Fitting In Time for Exercise, Between Math and English” (news article, Oct. 20) describes the creative ways some New York City teachers and principals have found to ensure that their pupils receive the benefits of regular physical education. Unfortunately, as shown by the city comptroller’s audit, such praiseworthy activity is found in far too few schools in the city.
In a recent position paper, we characterized physical education as “the missing ingredient for academic success.” Perhaps if more of the city’s principals and top administrators were aware that scientific studies provide strong evidence of a positive association between physical education and indicators of academic performance, including test scores, they would try harder to bring back adequate physical education to their schools.
The students who are participating in the programs cited are lucky, but access for all children to developmentally appropriate physical education should not be left to luck.
RUTH ACKER
KATHERINE S. LOBACH
New York, Oct. 21, 2011
The writers are, respectively, president of the Women’s City Club of New York, and a former assistant commissioner for child and adolescent health, New York City Department of Health, 1988-94.
The full text of the letter may be read online at the New York Times’ website.
WCC Applauds Comptroller’s Audit of Physical Education in Schools
Today, City Comptroller John C. Liu announced that an audit of the Department of Education (DOE) found that many elementary schools do not meet state guidelines for physical education (PE) and, that despite documenting high rates of obese and overweight students, the DOE has not filed a PE plan with the state since 1982.
According to the press release issued on October 4, childhood obesity “can lead to lifelong health problems such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In a 2009 report, the DOE and the Department of Health (DOH) warned that local rates of childhood obesity were higher than the national average. That report, ‘Childhood Obesity is a Serious Concern in New York City,’ stressed that test scores rise alongside physical fitness. The report recommended that schools ensure that ‘all students receive the required physical education instruction each week, as mandated by the New York State Education Commissioner’s Regulations.’”
Amy J. Schwartz, Chair of the Task Force on Physical Education for the WCC, is quoted in the press release. “We are delighted that Comptroller Liu shares our commitment to the health and well-being of the city’s students,” she said. “This audit should serve as further inspiration to the DOE to implement what research has shown — that improved physical education leads to better academic performance.”
The audit recommended that the DOE:
- Create, implement, and regularly update a PE plan that meets state regulations for all schools.
- Adequately monitor school compliance with the state’s PE requirements.
- Ensure that principals are aware of the state’s PE requirements and advise them that it is their responsibility that students receive the mandated amount of PE.
The full report is available here.
Title IX Violations Continue nearly 40 Years After its Inception
Last month marked the 39th birthday of the signing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
Despite almost 40 years since its enactment, violations of Title IX mandates still continue. According to the American Association of University Women, the complaints include accusations of sexual discrimination due to lack of facilities and participatory opportunities for female athletes. Research shows that while today girls comprise 49 percent of the nation’s high school population, they only account for 41 percent of high school athletes. Across the country, schools fail to treat young women fairly when it comes to athletics.
The Women’s City Club strongly supports Title IX and opposes any efforts that would weaken its effectiveness or undermine its enforcement. To learn more about what you can do to help ensure Title IX compliance, click here.
Letter to the Editor Advocates for Physical Education in NYC Schools
On June 1, 2011, WCC President Ruth Acker submitted the following letter to the editor to The New York Times:
June 1, 2011
To the Editor:
One ingredient is missing from Diane Ravitch’s excellent op-ed piece, “Waiting for a School Miracle” (The New York Times, June 1, 2011). To be sure, schools need “stable, experienced staff, adequate resources and a balanced curriculum including the arts, foreign languages, history and science.” But let’s not forget the benefits of regular and state-mandated physical education for the children in New York City’s public schools — something which far too many students no longer receive! Evidence, including from recent City Departments of Education and Health studies, shows that physical education contributes to children’s health, well-being, and even their academic performance. A white paper on our website: www.wccny.org/advocacy/physical-fitness provides additional details.
Ruth Acker
President, Women’s City Club of New York
307 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1403
New York, NY 10001
212.353.8070 ext. 202
racker@wccny.org