The New Castle Area School District is transforming its physical education facilities into cutting-edge activity centers equipped to improve fitness and learning performance in students from kindergarten to high school.
Through a strong partnership with the Lawrence County Community Action Partnership, New Castle introduced the Fit4Life program in October 2012. LCCAP secured a three-year grant for the program in the amount of $1,070,592 from the U.S. Department of Education.
The LCCAP operates federal, state, and local grants targeted at meeting the needs of low-income families within the city of New Castle, where 75% of students come from families at, or below, the poverty level.
According to Nancy Welker, LCCAP’s director of health and education, LCCAP and NCASD expect Fit4Life to have a positive effect on each student’s academic success as their quality of life improves through health and wellness.
NCASD Superintendent John Sarandrea says Fit4Life will help his 3,200 students meet state standards for physical education.
“It will absolutely put them in a better position to be academically successful,” he says.
Fit4Life includes age-appropriate outdoor facilities and indoor interactive fitness programs integrated into physical education classes.
For example, at the Harry W. Lockley Early Learning Center—which houses students in kindergarten through second grade—an outdoor playground “works on improving balance and thinking skills at the same time as a child makes a decision to move from one place to another on equipment like ropes and slides,” Sarandrea says.
At the George Washington Intermediate School (for third- through sixth-grade students), students play soccer, field hockey and volleyball, among other games, in an enclosed 7,176-square-foot outdoor fitness activities court.
At New Castle Junior and Senior High School, a three-lane running/bicycling track has been installed on the band field, along with 10 different workout stations. Inside the gym, spinning and stationary bikes with interactive computer courses provide cardiovascular challenges. Plans also call for a second weight room for the high school.
A provision in the grant allows New Castle residents to use the equipment on weekends and after school.
Additionally, while New Castle students do receive free breakfasts and lunches, Fit4Life also includes a nutrition education component.
“We teach students to make healthy choices in food and snacks and how important a nutritious breakfast is for being more alert and ready to learn,” Sarandrea says.
“If you exercise and eat properly, you sleep better and are better prepared for school. They’re all intertwined.”
Through Fit4Life, LCCAP and New Castle are working to help students develop positive lifelong activities and habits.
“We’re excited to be part of it,” Sarandrea says. “The real beneficiaries are our kids.”
Committed to Fitness
The New Castle Area SD Fit4Life program provides the following
New Castle Junior and Senior High School
George Washington Intermediate School
Harry W. Lockley Early Learning Center
Seeing the Results
The Lawrence County Community Action Partnership monitors the effects of the Fit4Life program to maintain the federal grant. In its second year, Fit4Life has shown positive increases in physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, and fruit and vegetable consumption for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Here are the Fit4Life before-and-after results:
Sixty Minutes of Physical Activity
Before: 27% of students met this goal
After: 38% met the goal
Cardiovascular Fitness
Before: 41% passed their PACER test
After: 73% passed their PACER test
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
(eating two fruits and three vegetables per day):
Before: 12% met the goal
After: 35% met the goal
