11 Jan 2002
FOR 2002-2003 SCHOOL YEAR
DISD Proactive in Getting Programs On Track
DALLAS--While a State School Board policy change may have "elementary school children across Texas … sweating this fall" because of a decision requiring that all elementary students receive PE classes and health training, the Dallas Independent School District has been preparing for the change by having almost 170 teachers assigned to elementary PE, and finding ways to adjust when most campuses do not have the gymnasium space for daily PE classes for more than 1,000 students.
The proposal cleared a second hurdle Friday via a 10-4 vote by the State Board, and will receive final consideration from the board March 14-15 in Austin.
Despite their efforts, district officials said the board's decision will still be challenging to put in place in a large school district such as DISD, which is presently attempting to pass a $1.366 billion bond election to address facilities needs on its 218 campuses.
"Having PE class for elementary students each day is a healthy idea in light of the documented declining societal health over the past couple of years, but there will be challenges to putting this in place, including space, training of teachers, and curriculum," said Alecia Cobb, the district's executive director for curriculum and instruction. "We have almost 20 elementary schools with more than 1,000 children. Most schools have small gyms and the playground is gone because it's full of portable classrooms. That presents a challenge."
Under the state policy change, students in grades K-6 are required to have daily physical activity under three sets of conditions. Those conditions include a Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills-based PE class, a TEKS-based physical activity, or local districts are given the option to design how the PE requirement will be carried out in grades K-6, meaning the district could adopt a policy where there are three days of daily physical activity and two days of health education each week.
According to the district's most recent attendance figures, there were 100,680 students in DISD's 156 elementary schools-an average of 645 students per campus. Of DISD's elementary campuses, 18 have more than 1,000 students, and 46 have between 700 and 1,000 students. David G. Burnet had 1,516 students, Edward Titche had 1,303 students, and Julian T. Saldivar had 1,289 students.
The district's human resource services department reported that presently there are 167 teachers assigned to elementary PE; seven assigned to teach dance and eight assigned to gymnastics. Oftentimes more than one class is assigned to PE each period. Many schools have teacher assistants assigned to assist the physical education teacher.
DISD Associate Superintendent-Human Resource Services Willie Crowder confirmed that not all the 182 teachers in these assigned areas are certified in physical education since under rules of the State Board for Educator Certification, teachers certified as "general elementary" are eligible to teach physical education at the elementary level.
Crowder said that of the 95 present job vacancies in the district only two are for PE positions. The district has been very proactive in its teacher recruitment efforts over the past year, and began the present school year with the fewest number of teacher vacancies in the past 10 years. The district's stepped-up efforts to attract qualified teachers will reduce the impact of the new policy.
Cobb said the district has been working with the Texas Education Agency and other administrative officials throughout the state to address the coming changes to the program.
PE classes already are required in middle and high schools in Texas, but not for students below the seventh grade. PE was a daily requirement for children in elementary grades until 1995, when the Legislature overhauled curriculum requirements to put more focus on academics.
"We're working hard every day to get the children fed lunch, now we're adding 30-minutes of instructional PE time on top of that, and that's going to be challenging any way you look at it," Cobb said.
Another issue DISD must address is the fact that because of its significant overcrowding and lack of necessary kitchen space on many campuses, many DISD students begin eating lunch in shifts at 10:30 a.m. and lunch sometimes runs until 1:30 p.m.
DISD Superintendent Mike Moses said while the administrative issues are there, the district is dedicated to ensuring that the program gets put in place and is effective and educational to the children.
"There is a need for instructional PE and health programs in DISD elementary schools, and we want to have the healthiest of children in Dallas schools," Moses said. "There are administrative issues for us to work out, but literally, they far out-weigh the costs of inaction."
DISD Board President Ken Zornes said Friday that he agrees with the state board's decision, saying it was long over due.
"In the DISD we are concerned for the health of our students and agree that the children in our elementary schools need more physical activities," Zornes said. "This decision helps provide additional emphasis on this very important aspect of public education."