The Price We Pay for Cutting Gym

Photo via Jordan Richmond

According to a Center for Disease Control report 26 percent of New York City public school Kindergarten through 8th grade students are obese. Think about that. One in four New York City public school students are obese. With such a startling statistic you would think physical education is a top priority for the New York City Department of Education. But New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer's report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in New York CitySchools,” reveals a severe lack of certified physical education teachers, lack of space for physical education classes, and dismal reporting procedures implemented by the New York City Board of Education.

Specifically the report reveals:

- 41 percent of high schools have no physical fitness space

- 35 percent of middle schools have no physical fitness space

- 230,000 students lack a full-time, certified Physical Education teacher

- 91,000 students attend a school that does not have access to an outdoor school yard or nearby park

Bronx Health REACH’s school wellness program, Healthy Schools NY, works with 22 Bronx schools involving school staff, parents, and administrators to change policies and practices on nutrition and physical activity. One of the goals is to achieve the New York State-mandated 120 minutes of physical education per week. When children engage in school-day physical education, results can be seen in improved academic classroom performance such as better concentration, attentiveness and success in the classroom.

This is not the first time a New York City Department of Education audit has been conducted by the NYC Comptroller. A 2011 NYC Comptroller audit revealed that 100 percent of 31 elementary schools examined (at the time) were out of compliance with State PE regulations. A 2001 study conducted by a local non-profit group in partnership with the NYC Board of Education analyzed 391 schools (one third of the New York City public schools in the system that year) and concluded that “physical education [was] among the last areas of the New York City school system to recover from the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s” and had been “persistently undervalued” and “sacrificed to the push for academic achievement, despite research showing that organized sports and physical fitness improve children’s performance both academically and socially.

Inset of Bronx public schools that lack a full-time certified PE teacher.

So here we are in 2015 and the problems still persist. Spaces for physical education in the schools disappeared as the Board of Education converted gyms and school yards into classrooms and parking lots, permitting athletic facilities to fall into disrepair. Lack of accountability can be traced back to the New York State Education Department failing to enforce its own regulations around physical education. When asked by the Comptroller's Office, State officials responded that they “counted on local school districts to monitor their own compliance.” Without full and complete data the Comptroller’s Office was not able to do a complete analysis of whether New York City schools are meeting New York State physical education instructional time requirements or contractually agreed-upon class size mandates.

According to Department of Education data, 2,216 full-time, licensed Physical Education teachers at general education schools are assigned to 1,072 schools leaving 506 schools citywide (over 32 percent) without a fulltime, certified PE teacher. A parent speaking to the New York Daily News stated, "All our kids are dealing with health and weight issues," said Synthia Bachman, 42, a programmer from Manhattan whose son attends the Children's Workshop School in the East Village. Kids and parents at the Children's Workshop School said the school has no gym. Students said they use an adjacent playground for exercise when the weather is good and the school's lobby for gym class in the winter." Yes, you read that correctly. The school’s lobby is being used as a gym.

Inset of Bronx public schools lacking fitness spaces.

Providing physical education to over 1 million New York City public school students can be a challenge but the New York City Board of Education must take steps to improve students’ access to physical education by implementing a system that tracks and monitors where resources are needed.

With that in mind the Comptroller recommends the following:

- Comply with state regulations requiring that all New York City public school students receive physical education instruction from, or under the supervision of, a certified physical education teacher

- Update the New York City Department of Education’s District Physical Education Plan, submit it to NYSED and post a copy on the DOE website

- Develop instruments for tracking and monitoring schools’ provision of physical education for all students

- Develop internal systems allowing the agency to track and monitor schools’ compliance with State PE regulations

- Post physical education data for every New York City school on the Department of Education website

Lack of physical education in New York City public schools over the long term wreaks economic havoc as children become adults. In New York City alone, obesity is projected to cost the City over $4 billion in health care expenses annually. Eventually we all end up paying these costs that can easily be prevented by holding those accountable and meeting physical education mandates for every school that will improve the health and well-being of all New York City children.

Images used above by NYC Dept of Education, Citizens' Committee for Children used in the Stringer report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in New York CitySchools.”

Active Design Toolkit for Schools Celebrated at Earth School Rooftop Garden

The Partnership for a Healthier New York City released the Active Design Toolkit for Schools with a celebration at the Earth School’s rooftop garden, “the Fifth Street Farm.” The Earth School is a featured success story in the new toolkit, which was developed by the Partnership for a Healthier NYC in collaboration with representatives from New York City’s Departments of Health & Mental Hygiene, Education and Transportation. The Partnership for a Healthier Bronx and Partnership for a Healthier Manhattan, the Institute for Family Health and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai all worked in concert on the toolkit. A strong group of community advocates, parents and students gathered to mark the launch of the new publication, which promotes creative changes, like the Earth School’s rooftop garden, to guide schools to design spaces that make physical activity and healthy foods easy, accessible choices.

The Active Design Toolkit for Schools provides ideas, resources and tools to help school communities and advocates foster physical activity and promote well-being of students across New York City schools.  The focus areas include Active Recreation, Healthy Food and Beverage, Green Spaces and Nature, and Getting to and From School.

Among those in attendance was Charmaine Ruddock, Director of Bronx Health REACH at the Institute for Family Health. She noted, “With the crisis of overweight and obese children,  especially in the Bronx, the toolkit provides schools with the necessary information to make changes that have a real impact on how students interact with and move in their environment. Resources found in the toolkit are adaptable to a range of school settings. Active Design for Schools creates ample opportunities for children to be physically active in school settings where they spend so much of their time.”

The Active Design Toolkit for Schools believes that "Every child deserves a healthy, positive school environment. Children’s physical, emotional and social development all benefit from daily physical activity and healthy eating. Better fitness levels are also associated with better academic performance."

At present only 20% of New York City high-school students are getting 60 minutes of daily physical activity and less than half participate in daily school physical education.  Another shocking statistic is that 40% of New York City students in kindergarten through 12th grade are overweight or obese, and this could become a greater problem as they can be at greater risk for chronic diseases as they enter adulthood. The physical spaces in schools makes a difference as to whether children will or will not become physically active. The benefits of children being physically active at school include: more focus and attentiveness on school tasks, higher self-esteem, and lower risk of chronic diseases as they enter adulthood.

Two Bronx schools are included in the Active Design Toolkit for Schools: P.S. 87 in the Wakefield section of the Bronx and Jonathan D. Hyatt School (P.S. 154), located in Mott Haven. P.S. 87 transformed an asphalt yard into a sports park featuring a soccer field, running track, play equipment, and a water fountain. Built over three years, Jonathan D. Hyatt School (P.S. 154) created a  fruit and vegetable garden for the school's Gardening Afterschool club that also includes a chicken coop. Used as an outdoor classroom to educate students about healthy eating, the school would like to partner with the Department of Education SchoolFoods's Garden to Cafe program and create a student-run farm stand. Now there may be more farmers markets coming to a school near you.

Success Story: Lucero Elementary School Hosts Second Annual Family Fitness Night

On the evening of May 21^st, Lucero Elementary School in the Bronx held its second Family Fitness Night since the school opened in 2013. The event featured physical activity stations, a nutrition education workshop led by Corbin Hill and New Settlement Apartments, tastings from the SchoolFood Alternative Menu facilitated by George Edwards of Garden to Café, and a variety of healthy food samples for students and their families.

The event was organized by Lucero’s School Wellness Council, spearheaded by Ms. Muia, the PE teacher. The school has won Gold for the Excellence in School Wellness Award for the past two years, and this year Ms. Muia was recognized as runner up for School Wellness Champion of the Year. She was also chosen to participate in the NYC Department of Education’s new PE Focus Grant, an opportunity for select PE teachers to participate in professional development and promote best practices for physical education among other schools in their district.

Family Fitness Night was the culminating event of Fitness Week—a school-wide effort to promote physical activity among the student body. Each day of the week fostered awareness around a different activity, such as Move Around Monday and Touch Your Toes Tuesday. Regular announcements made over the intercom reminded students to get up and stay active throughout the school day. Since regular physical activity is linked with improved academic performance in addition to better health outcomes, we hope other schools will follow Lucero’s lead in providing more opportunities for students to be physically active.

Taking Action for Physical Education

Recent efforts to increase student access to physical education in NYC public schools and obtain data on schools compliance with state mandates for PE have been met with good news: The Department of Education has committed to spending $6.6 million to hire 50 more PE teachers and "conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to address barriers and move schools toward full PE compliance." As part of the city budget, this provision in will address school compliance with federal regulations requiring equal access to sports for girls. School wellness and physical education advocates celebrate this success as a first step to improve the quantity and quality of physical education provided to students in NYC public schools. Still, there is much more to be done in order to make significant changes.


In an effort to work toward these changes, Bronx Health REACH has collaborated with the Phys. Ed. For All Coalition, in partnership with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Women’s City Club of NYC, The American Heart Association, and many others to draw attention to the disparities in PE programming our city’s children currently receive, as detailed in Comptroller Scott Stringer’s recent report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in NYC Public Schools.” According to the report, more than 400,000 students in NYC public schools do not have access to either a full-time, certified PE teacher, designated gym space, or nearby park for outdoor fitness activities. The Phys. Ed. For All Coalition has been crafting legislation for Intro 644 — a reporting bill that would require the Department of Education to track and report data on which schools are adhering to state mandates for physical education, including the required amount of time and certified teachers dedicated to PE and other demographic information. While the DOE is concerned that this bill could place an undue burden on individual schools, it would bring us one step closer to being able to identify which schools require additional assistance. Such transparency would ensure that all students receive the quality PE program they are entitled to by law.


Recent highlights of this campaign have included a press conference and oversight hearing led by City Councilmembers Dromm and Crowley, and Bronx Health REACH staff members Charmaine Ruddock and Kelly Moltzen featured in the media. Our coalition is optimistic about the future of the reporting bill and the impact it would have on the health of our city’s children. Given the evidencethat high quality physical education is linked with reduced risk for obesity, enhanced focus and memory, and improved academic outcomes in children, increasing access to PE could have important implications for the overall health and success of future generations.

Healthy Water Campaign Begins in May

A photoshoot on Thursday, March 3 captured New York public school students from PS 294 and others engaging in various activities while enjoying a drink of fresh water.

The photoshoot is part of the Partnership for a Healthier NYC of which Bronx Health REACH is the Bronx borough lead development of a city-wide campaign to increase water consumption in New York City.

Residents in the South Bronx have some of the highest rates of diet related diseases including overweight and obesity, diabetes and heart disease compared to residents in the rest of New York City.

When people don’t drink enough water, they are more likely to drink soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages, which have been linked to weight gain and obesity. The campaign is scheduled to run from May to September 2016 and includes advertising on bus shelters and distribution of flyers and other promotional material by street teams at various Bronx summer events such as Boogie on the Boulevard.

Making Strides in Achieving PE for All

For supporters of school wellness, the link between health and academics is apparent. We know that when students are not able to lead healthy lives, it creates both learning and health disparities in low-income communities such as the South Bronx. In New York City, similar to what is happening across the country, schools are faced with the challenge of making sure that all students get adequate physical education. To determine if this is happening, information about New York City’s physical education program should be made public.

The Phys Ed for All Coalition,  of which Bronx Health REACH  is a founding member, advocates for policy, systems and environmental changes that will provide more opportunities for NYC students to receive quality physical education. On November 4th, the coalition celebrated Mayor Bill de Blasio signing into law Intro 644, requiring the New York City Department of Education to report on how much physical education is provided to students in each New York City public school. This is a first of its kind in the country. And as such, one of the PE 4 All Coalition members – the American Heart Association – is aiming to replicate this work nationally. The inaugural report is scheduled to be released publicly by August 2016.

In addition to the required reporting, the New York City Council has added $6.6 million to the New York City Department of Education budget over the next 3 years for the “PE Works Program” to cover central staff for the program, to hire 50 new phys ed teachers, and 4 PE instructors (each covering 2 districts throughout the City). While this all represents very important development in efforts to improve the quantity and quality of PE, we are concerned about the short life span of the funding. By year 4 of the program, schools are expected to fund the PE teachers on their own. How are schools supposed to fund an adequate number of PE teachers for all schools, resolve the problem of overcrowded gyms shared by co-located schools, and schedule adequate time for PE into the school day?

In response to these challenges Bronx Health REACH and one of it’s partners, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, have been educating parents to be better advocates for their children, and raising more awareness about the links between health, physical education, and children’s behavior and academic performance. In addition,the PE 4 All Coalition members have suggested such creative responses to the challenges as: training teachers to provide physical education in small spaces, implementing active recess, using hallway space for physical activity breaks for students who need a break from sitting in the classroom; training school staff to establish wellness councils that can implement wellness policies and take on Active Design projects ensuring that health education and physical education are aligned in ways that lead to demonstrable changes in student behaviors; making physical education a more substantive part of the Principal’s Checklist; and finding ways to incentivize schools that are able to achieve physical education goals through the NYC Excellence in School Wellness Awards.

Bronx Health REACH through its recent Healthy Schools NY  grant and its current Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant is doing its part by training PE teachers to establish wellness councils and Comprehensive School Physical Activity  Programs. But this should not be the responsibility of outside groups. Making sure that all NYC students receive adequate physical education will ultimately require more financial support than currently allocated. The PE 4 All Coalition will continue to identify and propose solutions that make adequate, quality physical education available for all NYC students, and welcomes new participation in the efforts. Please join us. If you or your school would like to get involved, contact Kelly Moltzen at kmoltzen@institute.org or Erin George at egeorge@nylpi.org.

Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush – A Strong Voice for the Bronx Community and Beyond

Bronx Health REACH  will be featuring individuals that have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health's Bronx Health REACH, but have been strong activists for needed change in the Black and Latino communities in the Bronx as well as elsewhere. A notable member of this group of change agents is the Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush, Sr. pastor of Walker Memorial Church in the Bronx. Rev. Bush is a 1983 graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina where he earned a Master of Divinity degree, and later earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Drew University Theological Seminary in New Jersey. 2016 marks his 34th Pastoral Anniversary at Walker Memorial Church.

Growing up in South Carolina as the second of nine children, Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush was the first in his family to graduate from college. Adopting a liberationist approach to theology, Rev. Bush started to see and understand how God could use poor people as an instrument to make change in their community.

Answering the call to serve at Walker Memorial Church in 1982 provided a wake-up call for him. Walker Memorial Church had been at 116th Street in Harlem, and moved to the Bronx prior to his arrival. “The Bronx at the time had no housing, no industry, just burned out buildings and depression all around. Many of the people in the congregation saw my arrival as a ticket back to Harlem,” says Rev. Bush. Believing that his time in the Bronx would only be two years, Rev. Bush found himself asking God, “Why did you send me here? Do I belong here?”

Out of his quest he discovered that Walker Memorial Church did not need to return to Harlem. He could learn to love and care for the people of this community and lead them so that they could take responsibility for the change that needed to come. Looking back Rev. Bush admits that was a painful decision, but is convinced that it was the right one at the time. “God was making plans for me to do something, and when I embraced that concept, I led my congregation to become involved in the renewal and rebuilding of this community,” says Rev. Bush.

That renewal and rebuilding has included the Grand Concourse Academy Charter School. “We purchased the empty lot next door twelve years ago and built Grand Concourse Academy Charter School without any federal, state, or grant money. The school was built with all the financial support coming from members of Walker Memorial Church,” says Rev. Bush.

Rev. Bush has also been a long time member of the Bronx Health REACH Coalition where he provides Walker Memorial Church as the meeting place of the Faith Based Outreach workgroup and the quarterly Coalition meetings. He has seen the damage health disparities has done to the community. “This community unfortunately has some of the highest breast cancer rates, highest heart disease rates, and highest amputation rates from diabetes. The thing that surprised me most was the lack of awareness in the community itself. People did not know they were unhealthy,” says Rev. Bush

He believes that healthcare should be more affordable, and more accessible. “You are talking to a man that was once paying $2,500 a month for health insurance over four years to cover his family. That is crazy! One needs a full time job just to pay for health care and that is senseless. It seems that we are comfortable in America keeping and maintaining an underclass,” says Rev. Bush. Rev. Bush adds, “I have experienced a great deal of what the people I seek to help have experienced. I was born in poverty, raised in poverty, and knows what it is like to not have health insurance. I feel every American should have the same level of healthcare that every Senator and Congressman receive. If we can grant it to them, they can return the favor.”

One thing Rev. Bush would change to make health care more equitable would be the elimination of the two class system where those with insurance can see anyone faster than those without insurance that have limited options. “I know of people that have died in the emergency room that had been waiting up to fourteen hours to be seen by a doctor, but people with same problem that have health insurance, they can be seen by someone lickety-split,” says Rev. Bush.

Rev. Bush still continues his work assisting those that have been displaced by disasters in places such as Mississippi and Georgetown, South Carolina. “I am the lead for our denomination (National Baptist Convention) for the disaster response team to any man-made and natural disasters. I have fifteen men on the ground in Mississippi providing relief to those affected by the tornadoes. I have thirty-seven men in Georgetown, South Carolina who are working in partnership with the American Red Cross, FEMA, and other disaster relief agencies, as well as congregations, to aid and assist the people of South Carolina with emergency supplies, such as food, water, and clothing, helping people rebuild homes damaged by the floods,” says Rev. Bush. Currently Rev. Bush is working with officials in Flint, Michigan trying to resolve the man-made disaster of poisoned water.

And the relief efforts are not limited to the United States. In response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, Rev. Bush Sent aid project through his missionary organization, So Send I You to Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia. “We have sent food relief to Liberia by shipping two ninety foot containers to Liberia with $90,000 worth of food. We also have a daycare center in South Africa in the poorest section of Soweto, and a food kitchen in Swaziland that feeds seventy-five orphan children that have lost both parents to AIDS. We are also building a church and library in South Africa,” says Rev. Bush.

Walker Memorial Baptist and Thessalonia Baptist Church Raise Over $1000 for the American Heart Association

Members of both Walker Memorial Baptist and Thessalonia Baptist Church participated in the fashion show.

On Saturday, March 12, Walker Memorial Baptist Church and Thessalonia Baptist Church, both long time members of the Bronx Health REACHFaith-based Outreach Initiative, in partnership with the American Heart Association held a Heart and Health Awareness brunch to spotlight the issue of women and heart disease. This year's event had more than one hundred people in attendance to hear two speakers and view a fashion show, raising over $1,000 for the American Heart Association.

Bronx Health REACH's Charmaine Ruddock gave a presentation about #Not 62-The Campaign for A Healthy Bronx, and what needs to be done to improve the ranking of the Bronx. Paula Rice, volunteer with the American Heart Association shared her 'heart stopping' experience with cardio vascular disease. Ms. Rice had suffered a heart attack three years ago at the age of sixty. After Ms. Rice spoke another woman shared her experience of recovering from a stroke she had suffered a few years ago.

Gada Dickerson from Thessalonia Baptist Church spoke about how even though heart disease affects both men and women, a woman having a heart attack symptoms may not be so obvious and may differ from those of men. Gada also spoke about the importance of exercising every day, even doing something as simple as walking. The American Heart Association recommends 10,000 steps per day which one can track of by wearing a pedometer.

A special feature of the day was the on site health screenings and distribution of health literature by Lincoln Hospital. Joyce Davis, Head of the Deacon Board of Walker Memorial Baptist Church served as the master of ceremonies. The fashion show featured members of both Walker Memorial Baptist Church and Thessalonia Baptist Church.

Pictured from left to right are Bronx Health REACH's Charmaine Ruddock; Paula Rice, volunteer with the American Heart Association; and Joyce Davis, Head of the Deacon Board of Walker Memorial Baptist Church.

Plans for Bronx Delta Playground Project Takes Shape

Current condition of the Bronx Delta Playground.

This post is written by Emily Oppenheimer, Program Coordinator for the Partnership for a Healthier Bronx.

Currently, the Bronx Delta School playground is a bare and empty blacktop, in poor condition, without any play structures. The school is located in the Throgg’s Neck Community of the Bronx. The current outdoor space does not entice the 800 plus elementary and middle school students to engage in active play or movement.

Good news, changes are happening at the schoolyard! In February 2016, students began to design play yard renovations, led by Trust for Public Land (TPL). As part of that process, students took a fieldtrip to CS 300 to learn firsthand about a similar Bronx playground project with TPL.

Despite cold temperatures and impending snow, the students ran, jumped, climbed, threw balls, tumbled and explored with glee around the newly renovated CS 300 play yard. Through the TPL process, students select a playground theme; CS300 students chose the sky, “so that when you run, you can feel like you’re flying.” Mr. Dubois, a science teacher whose class is participating in the design process explained, “This really is an amazing project, these students will leave their legacy.”

While visiting CS300, students were immediately engaged with the colors, shapes, structures, plants and art. The energetic transformation to active play was palpable when compared to the passive standing I typically observe at Bronx Delta School’s current playground.  The playground visit gave the students ideas to influence their own playground designs for the Bronx Delta School.

Trust for Public Land engages the entire community in the process. This week I joined Joan Keener of TPL at the PTA Meeting. Joan shared the two student-created playground designs, developed by the four co-located schools and the Phipps Beacon Program. It was fun to hear parent thoughts and perspectives. Overall, there was a lot of excitement, especially given that most families live in the community, and the playground hours will be extended with these renovations.

The updated space will include a track, basketball courts, a kickball space, garden and a jungle gym. These larger scale renovations, led by TPL are funded by the Bronx Borough President through Resolution A Funding and Councilmember Vacca’s Office. Resolution A funding through the Borough President’s Office or City Council can be requested by schools and community groups to initiate large-scale improvement projects, like playgrounds. The TPL designs will be ready in late April, and construction is projected to start summer 2017.

Parents reviewing the two playground designs.

In the meantime, the school received funding from Bronx Health REACH for an Active Design Project to paint the playground and plant vertical gardens. On Saturday, April 16, we’ll be painting stencils on the playground.

Bronx Health REACH Applauds Mayor de Blasio’s FY17 Budget Allocation for Physical Education in NYC Elementary Schools

Bronx Health REACH is thrilled about Mayor de Blasio’s budget allocation for physical education in NYC elementary schools.  As Comptroller Stringer mentioned in his “Dropping the Ball” report, many NYC schools have not been meeting the state mandates for physical education, due to a number of challenges such as insufficient numbers of certified physical education instructors, limited training for existing teachers, and space constraints. Now, with this investment into physical education for NYC’s schoolchildren, Bronx Health REACH and the Phys Ed for All Coalition can work together with the NYC Department of Education Office of School Wellness to identify ways to fill the gaps in schools lacking Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP), which includes physical education, before and after school physical activity, active recess, classroom physical activity breaks, and parent and community engagement.

In 1893, Thomas D. Wood, pioneer in health and physical education, stated: “The great thought of physical education is not the education of the physical nature, but the relation of physical training to complete education, and then the effort to make the physical contribute its full share to the life of the individual.”

Public schools are responsible for preparing pupils to become complete citizens that will propel our society towards new heights. As part of becoming well educated and self-directed citizens, there must be knowledge, skills, capacities, and values along with the enthusiasm to maintain a healthy lifestyle into adulthood. For many Bronx schools burdened with the effects of childhood obesity, children need to learn at an early age how to practice, and adopt a healthy lifestyle, eating fruits and vegetables, exercising daily, and coping with stress. These are life skills that will be a mainstay throughout the course of an individual’s life. Like the right to education, the right to a complete and effective physical education is a right of every student.

Bronx Health REACH has partnered with over 20 schools in districts 7, 8, 9, and 12 in the South Bronx to more closely examine wellness policies and environments. We have discovered in School Districts 7 and 12, districts which have not yet received intensive support on CSPAP implementation from the Department of Education, the impact of the PE deficit.  In District 7, public schools face the highest rates of childhood obesity in New York City.  Several schools are unable to offer daily physical education because of the challenges of co-location, declines in quality of equipment from wear and tear, and the lack of adequate budgeting to not only fund new programs but to increase students’ access to activity before and after school, and most importantly—meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standards for daily recommended physical activity.

Schools in District 7 have responded by partnering with community based organizations such as the National Football League’s Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative, Cookshop, and others. However, the need for integrated physical education programs to support wellness initiatives in schools is sorely lacking. These schools will greatly benefit from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approval of increased spending for physical education programs in elementary schools.

In District 12, co-location is equally challenging for both students and physical education instructors. Furthermore, one school has outdated facilities that cannot serve a campus with over 500 students from grades kindergarten through eighth grade. A physical education instructor who asked to remain anonymous paints a picture of the situation, “Health and wellness are not taken seriously in my school—it is essentially an afterthought. This has been the mindset for years and this—I believe—begins with a lack of commitment at the city level.” Another PE Instructor residing in upstate New York agrees, “Yes, the funding [for physical education at their school] is much less than where I live—I think that contributes to how healthy students are.”

With strides made in the PE4All Campaign and Mayor de Blasio’s receptivity to fund physical education, Bronx Health REACH and the Phys Ed for All Coalition hope health and wellness begins to be treated as a right and made a high priority in our schools.

PS 311 Goes Platinum for Excellence in School Wellness

Left to right: Tima Faison, Benjamin Ferder, and Hannah Joseph are members of the PS 311 (Lucero Elementary School) School Wellness Council.

This post was written by Victor Gidarisingh, Program Coordinator for the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program.

PS 311 (Lucero Elementary School), has achieved the pinnacle of school wellness by creating a transformative health environment in their Bronx school. Seeing itself as more than a school, PS 311 recognizes that education institutions can also serve as a model for students and families in healthy eating, access to physical activity, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. For PS 311, the journey to platinum was an actualization of a vision that did not happen overnight. The process was gradual and began when former Physical Education teacher and current Physical Education Instruction Coach at PE Works, Ms. Cristina Muia, laid the foundation in 2014, when they received the gold award, then in 2015 gold plus, and now in 2016, platinum.

How did they achieve this? Newcomer and successor to Ms. Muia, PE Instructor Mr. Benjamin Ferder joined forces with Hannah Joseph, a FoodCorps Service Member and Tima Faison, a paraprofessional at the school. Hannah describes the winning formula this way, “We built from a foundation where everyone was passionate—individual’s passions came together and all members were able to bounce ideas off one another.” According to Mr. Ferder, “As a new teacher in school, I asked a lot of questions—I wanted to know what worked in the past. The continuity from years past inspired me to strive for platinum. While the three core members of Tima, Ben, and Hannah steered Lucero Elementary during the school year through their wellness council, their efforts were reinforced by the contributions of Principal Cuba, Parent Coordinator Ms. Lopez, and the students themselves who served as “wellness ambassadors.” They worked with Chef Kent to serve salad during lunch and model to their peers that lunch could be healthy, nutritious, and delicious.

Like a team that had been built for a championship, PS 311 made their breakthrough in year 3 and proudly achieved platinum, the highest possible award from The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Excellence in School Wellness Award. PS 311 hopes to maintain their strong healthy school and community environment. Their goal for next year is to increase parent involvement—to make school wellness programs more “parent-friendly” and to inspire more teacher involvement by hosting professional developments for teachers geared at combining physical activity and stress reduction. PS 311, a flagship school in District 9, aims to inspire surrounding schools in the Morrisania neighborhood—to address health disparities and exemplify how schools can be a place of wellness.

The Building Blocks for the Grant Avenue Elementary School Playground

This post comes to us from Bronx Health REACH public health intern, Diana Litsas.

Active Design is an exciting new approach to renovate spaces that encourages children in school to enjoy the physical, emotional, and social benefits of play and exercise1. In an effort to increase physical activity, Bronx Health REACH uses Active Design in Schools to engage students and other non-profit organizations in developing a plan for children to be active and play. Each of these projects is unique, adapting to school needs of space and budget.

Bronx Health REACH (BHR) is excited to be working on an Active Design Project to create a more engaging play yard at Grant Avenue Elementary School. Currently the outdoor space is a barren, narrow strip of concrete—a play area that seems especially inadequate as it faces a full-functioning playground which belongs to a neighboring school (the other school is overcrowded as it is, and unable to share facilities with Grant Avenue). Grant Avenue’s planned solution is an Imagination Playground2, which features movable pieces (“big blue blocks”) that allow for more dynamic and creative play compared to the fixed structures of a typical playground.

BHR joined a recent visit with Grant Avenue elementary school as they explored the Imagination Playground flagship in Burling Slip. Upon their arrival to the park, the students immediately began playing, despite the unfamiliar set of playground elements. These foam pieces encourage students to move in safe and creative ways, as they are made in a variety of shapes and sizes that give students versatility while they play with them2. While some blocks can be carried, others are bigger than some students themselves! The students built large “house” structures, as they referred to them, or use the blocks as a place to sit and socialize. Some students even arranged two rectangular blocks to construct a seesaw! The pieces were made out of a hard foam material is durable enough to withstand outside elements while being soft enough for students to stay safe when they fell on them. Few students used the blocks by themselves; most preferred to collaborate with classmates while building.

It was clear that using the blocks necessitated communication and patience among students, as they had to share and negotiate the use of certain blocks. Teacher Diana Castillo expressed her confidence that the blocks would be well received at Grant Avenue Elementary School based on the limited space they require, and how much the kids enjoyed using them.


1The Partnership for a Healthier New York City

2Imagination Playground