OXFORD – SAD 17 is seeking a federal grant to help improve physical fitness among students by purchasing new equipment and adding new programs, a district teacher said Thursday.
Lance Belanger, a physical education teacher at Oxford Hills Middle School, is a member of the Grant Committee working on an application for the grant. The application is due by April 12.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” said Belanger, who would also serve as the grant’s project director. “We may not complete the application in time but if we don’t, we can put in for it again next year.”
The Carol M. White Physical Education Program is a federal grant offered through the Department of Education. The money is supposed to help schools and communities initiate, expand or improve physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in grades kindergarten through 12.
The application asks for a one-year grant of $346,800 for SAD 17. That amount includes 10 percent matching funds from the district, which is required.
Belanger said the grant money would help purchase physical-fitness equipment primarily at the middle school and Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, as well as some elementary schools.
“It’s a good chance to get some new equipment. There is not a lot of grant money out there that gives you that opportunity,” he said. “We want to offer students more physical activity options.”
Belanger said students nationwide have been getting heavier in recent years and SAD 17 is trying to be proactive by improving physical education and activity among students. “It’s a nationwide trend that is well documented and well known. Everyone is trying to get on board and do something about it.”
If the application is completed in time and the grant money is awarded, it will be used to purchase equipment including heart-rate monitors, in-line skates, weight-lifting equipment, mountain bikes, and other resources for health and physical education classes.
The grant also requires hiring an outside evaluator to measure success at the schools.
SAD 17 administrators also plan to add a wellness elective class at the high school by January 2007 with the grant money. “We felt it was time to upgrade our curriculum,” Belanger said.
Other goals include a 5 percent increase by June 2007 in the number of students who finish in the 50th and 85th percentiles in presidential fitness tests given in grades four, seven and nine, and by 2011 a 20 percent decrease in the number of students in the “at risk” or “overweight” categories as measured by body mass index data.
Belanger said body mass index numbers are tracked in the schools but are not authorized for release. Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
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