The July 24 2014 SSFUSD Board Meeting change of location from the District Office to Baden Adult School Gymnasium was met positively as more than 40 people attended. Parents that were there to address concerns over the lack of a uniformed Physical Education Class as mandated by the State of California were pleased with the response.
The District and Board of Trustees have shown their willingness to listen to the group and continue the dialogue which parents felt was promising. This *June 26th Board Meeting memorandum (SEE BELOW) shows that the district is addressing PE and answering our questions: the preparations they will make to ensure that the minimum PE minutes happen at all of schools, etc.
Some of our communities input are people’s different understanding of what PE is. What it was in the past and what PE is considered now. Parents should understand Physical Education is not described as free play, but PE actually is an academic subject that covers psychomotor, cognitive and affective objectives, and with Common Cores, it will require incorporation of math, reading and writing.
The past efforts put forth by Ponderosa School, in collaboration with parents, to offer PE classes led by parents, was a tremendous goal of working towards a solution. However they have come to realize that no matter how great their efforts were, they were not able to offer the standard of class necessary to realize the mandated requirements. They need support for our teachers in order to meet these PE (Common Core) standards. Again, one of the main concerns of parents and caretakers is the fact 47% of our children have been labeled obese and this trend must reverse for the health of our children and their future.
The Superintendent and the School Board have stated they will work with each Elementary School Principal in the upcoming year to be sure PE is incorporated in a way that fulfills legal requirements and is consistent from school to school.
Physical Education will be on the November 6th SSFUSD Board Meeting agenda to review and reassess PE.
We will update if there is new information on the SSFUSD Board Meeting Minutes when they are updated.
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* SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Memorandum
TO: Board of Trustees FROM: Alejandro Hogan, Superintendent
THRU: Shawnterra Moore, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services and Categorical Programs
DATE: June 26, 2014
RE: Physical Education at the Elementary Schools
BACKGROUND:
At the Board meeting on June 12, 2014, a concern was raised by parents and one teacher about the lack of PE occurring at our elementary schools. With the support of the Superintendent, we were able to reach out to principals to inquire and request information regarding how and if they are meeting the instructional minute requirement. California law clearly establishes the priority of physical
education instruction. Education Code Section 51210 requires 200 minutes of physical education every ten school days for students in grades one through six. Based on the data that we received back via email due to administrators being on vacation, it looks like:
• 44% of schools (4 sites) are meeting or exceeding this requirement in all
grade levels.
• 33% of schools (3 sites) are meeting the requirement in some grade levels
but not all.
• 22% of schools (2 sites) were unable to provide us with specific times/minutes per grade level and do not appear to be meeting the requirement.
What will Educational Services Department do to support Principals to ensure all elementary schools/grade levels are meeting this mandated requirement?
• In the fall, review the legal requirements for elementary physical education with all principals who will review this with their staff.
• In the fall, principals at those sites who are meeting the requirement will be asked to share their site’s daily schedules and explain the process they used to the other principals.
o Also provide principals with sample daily schedules that include PE
• Provide principals with the PE Framework and the PE standards; principals will then share these with their staff.
• Provide principals with sample lesson plans that can be used at the elementary level; principals will then share these with their staff.
• Provide principals with sample daily schedules.
• We can also reinstate the ad hoc PE curriculum committee to discuss this and other items that may need to be discussed as determined by our teachers.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None at this time.
RECOMMENDATION: For information only.
I agree that PE is required now and will be part of the curriculum in all schools. That is and has been my position. Our kids need execise, calisthenics plus PE is what I’m proposing. I am on your side in this issue but we have to do more to impact obesity.
I wrote my comment to get feedback on having calisthenics in addition to PE.
Thank you for your response.
Mr. Weise,
There has not been PE at Skyline for years!!! This is the problem. We should not have to beg for PE and attend board meetings to get PE for our children in the SSFUSD. PE is our children’s right as part of a public education in CA. Our children have NOT had PE for “a while.” I am so glad to hear that you are going to ensure our children have PE regularly beginning August 13th!!! The teachers need to follow the mandated Common Core PE curriculum, which is more than just calisthenics. We demand PE beginning August 13th! Teachers are all trained to teach PE when they get credentialed as an elementary school teacher. They have to prepare lesson plans for all subjects, including PE, to obtain their teaching credentials. The elementary school teachers are more than capable of getting outside or going into the gym on a rainy day to provide PE. There are a large group of parents who are prepared to join a class action law suit in CA, against school districts that are not providing PE, if our district does not immediately begin following the law. Children require a variety of games and sports at PE to teach them coordination, corporation, sharing, team work, sportsmanship, self esteem, and much more. Kids need to be able to talk and interact, not just do sit ups, or sit at a desk all day.
There are no excuses!!! PE is CA State Law, not optional!!! If our children had PE last year they would have had about 3,600 minutes of exercise, that they were deprived of by the SSFUSD. In the past 4 years, they would have had 14,400 minutes of exercise, which is equal to 240 hours! You can not tell me that 240 hours of exercise does not impact obesity in SSF. Thank you Mr. Weise for agreeing to be a voice for our children in the SSFUSD and implement PE immediately!!!
I have given much thought to the parents concerns regarding PE, and thank them for bringing this to the boards attention. We will ensure that this problem will be corrected.
PE will not substantially impact the obesity rate, which I believe is a serious problem for our district. I will propose, at our next meeting, that we introduce a calisthenics program for elementary and middle school. I envision group exercise in the morning during assembly, after lunch and after school. I welcome feedback on this. My hope is that a regular exercise program will reduce obesity and benefit our childrens health.
My email is pweise@ssfusd.org
Mr. Weise,
I was one of the parents who spoke in support of PE at the last district board meeting at Baden high school.
It is very encouraging to hear that you have been giving this situation some thought and that you took the time to respond to the dilemma publicly. For this, I thank you.
However, to state that physical education will not impact the obesity rate at our district is ignorant to say the least. There are numerous studies by several institutions that have shown the positive affect PE has on children – not only physically, but mentally as well. The following links describe these findings.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Physical-Activity-and-Children_UCM_304053_Article.jsp
See page 5 under “findings” where “quality PE” is mentioned:
http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/program_results_reports/2013/rwjf404901
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/fight-child-obesity-pe-school-report/story?id=19241298
http://www.sparkpe.org/blog/how-physical-activity-affects-academic-performance.
On a personal note, I just lost 50 pounds of baby weight due in part to good nutrition but more so to vigorous daily exercise. Imagine what this could do for our children. Granted, exercise is not the ONLY factor in achieving an optimal BMI. As a district we also need to work on the nutritional choices our children are making but, at the moment we are concentrating on the PE mandate.
Additionally – at my son’s school – we are noticing some pretty severe behavioral problems that are made even more intense due to the lack of coordinated activity. When children play organized sports or games for example, they get their exercise but they also learn how to develop good social and coping skills to aid in their peer relationships. Keeping active children glued to their seats or setting them loose on the playground with no guidance and minimal supervision does nothing to solve the issues at hand.
Your mention of calisthenics creates a vision of 400 children doing jumping jacks, squats, push ups etc. while a teacher dictates the orders. We can do better than that, can’t we? How about baseball, track and field exercises, kick ball, soccer and games such as duck, duck goose and red rover? On the other hand, calisthenics right after breakfast or lunch is not something any health minded individual would suggest.
I look forward to sending my son to school on August 13th and hopefully witnessing some change that might have trickled down to our principal and teachers. We will have much more to discuss on November 6th.
I said “will not substantially impact obesity”. I should have said “has not”. PE is 10 minutes per day of physical education, which includes classes and tests. We have had PE for quite a while and obesity is still a problem.
Daily exercise – such as “jumping jacks, squats, push ups etc” burns calories, improves circulation, mental alertness and is a good habit we all should practice.
PE is a good thing, exercise and diet are also important.
Schools cannot solve obesity alone, it is up to parents to provide healthy meals and encourage exercise at home.
“We have had PE for quite a while….”. Mr. Weiss – please recall why we are having this discussion in the first place. At Skyline school – we have not had a regular PE program for the last 4 years. Ponderosa school has a similar situation. When I asked the principal at Monte Verde two years ago if they had a regular PE program – she replied that she didn’t know if her teachers where teaching it. If you do some research – you will find out that the CDE mandates 200min/10 days. If you break this into daily PE classes, it comes to 20 minutes/day NOT 10.
While I agree with you that calisthenics are important, they are also analogous to “rote” teaching where children just repeat what they are told and do not engage their minds. Doing 20 sit ups, squats or push ups does not compare to the skills needed to perform a team or any other competitive sport. These types of activities require you to engage and manage your peer skills to give you just one example.
My fellow parents and I are in no way suggesting that the PE in school will solve the obesity problem. It is an important part of the equation however. I have found that those parent who can, do enroll their children in after school physical activities. However, I also personally know many families who cannot afford the extra expense. PE in school offers a chance for ALL children to receive a minimum of the physical exercise they need.
200 minutes of PE per 10 days of instruction is THE LAW and we are asking that the school board implement this mandate. The mandate is also very clear on what type of PE instruction is acceptable.
Dear Editor,
Can you please reach out to the District office to find out the names if the schools on each category (compliant, semi compliant, and non-compliant)? Parents attempted to obtain this information without success at the last board meeting. Parents feel this data may be inaccurate and that the board is hiding this information. If we know which schools are in which category we will know if our principals are reporting data honestly!
Please help and reply back to the site so all parents can see what there schools principal is reporting!!!!!
I had attempted to obtain the information about the schools that are supposedly in compliance with the PE mandate at the board meeting from the assistant superintendent. She seemed miffed by my request. This is information that we- as parents – are entitled to for the reasons you have mentioned. Hopefully we can take our board members to task in releasing this information publicly.