October 10th, 2009
What School Wants to Be a Millionaire?
This economic climate, the enormous budgetary challenges K-12 schools are facing and the worrisome state of PE and youth fitness may actually be the perfect storm for some cool solutions. There are a series of articles on examiner.com that lead to this week's story on "What School Wants to be a Millionaire."
With 54
fourth graders leading the way the loss of PE could lead to an
amazing success story. Using a number of
technology-driven "exergames" and a computer peripheral called
the FootPOWR, these students are adding 50-150 minutes of
physical activity to their learning day. They are not
only gaining fitness and vurning calories, they are increasing
their academic success, improving behavior and
attendance.
This is exactly what U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has
on his "wish list."
U.S. Schools will have a chance this fall to compete for part of \$650 million in new "innovation" funds that are intended to reward districts that have integrated innovations that are effective, scalable programs for boosting student achievement, improving struggling schools, retaining top-notch teachers and increasing graduation rates. In Oregon we are watching one Redmond school particularly closely. At Tom McCall Elementary students are taking the reins and helping to implement a program that could fill the bill for innovation and improvement.
With up to \$50 million per award for Grow What Works grants for
proven programs that are ready to expand, the ExerLearning Lab and
TEAM e3 in the Redmond District could fuel some substantial
funding for an economically struggling state. If you are
connected in any way with education, teaching, fitness,
wellness or technology innovation in Oregon we invite you to contact us with your ideas, questions,
comments or support.
