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.

Kids Come Alive in PS443 Garden Space

This post was written by Kelsey Kinderknecht, a FoodCorps New York service member.

The garden is an outdoor classroom space where students come alive in new ways. Many students don’t thrive in a classroom setting where they must sit still, listen, and do exactly what they are told. Rather, many students thrive in an experiential learning environment where they learn with hands-on activities.

The changing of seasons from winter to spring is an exciting time to utilize the outdoor garden classroom where students learn and explore in new ways. As a FoodCorps member at PS 443 in the South Bronx, I have the opportunity to see kids light up when we take classes outside to the garden. Students learn how to nurture all their garden friends from pill bugs to worms to soil to our little plant seedlings. Many students that I witness struggling in the indoor classroom have a positive shift in behavior in the garden space.

M came alive in the garden space. He arrived in the United States only a couple months ago. He speaks an African dialect that no one else can speak in the school, therefore, he is not able to speak in his 4th grade class with his teacher or classmates. From the very first day, the classroom teacher and I took the class to the garden, this little boy came alive. He immediately dug his hands in the dirt and knew exactly how to plant the carrot seed without needing to comprehend the instructions. Since that first garden experience, he is now able to comprehend and speak a little English. Last week I was able to have a conversation with M about what he planted in Africa. With a smile from ear to ear, he named many fruits and vegetables: spinach, bananas, mangos, carrots, oranges, tomatoes. That day I realized that communication in the garden classroom uses a language of experience and culture: learning the responsibility that comes from nurturing and caring for living things.

Another student, one of my 2nd graders comes alive in the garden space.  As I was giving the instructions for the day, this little girl could not stop talking and asking questions about the garden and the sugar snap pea seeds we were planting. “What’s inside the seed? When will there be snap peas?” The teacher looked at me in awe and said “this is so great! I cannot get her to speak in the classroom!”  Just like the new seeds they are planting, kids come alive in new ways in the garden space!

Testifying in Support of More PE Funding for South Bronx Schools

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

When New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released his report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in New York City Schools,” which points out that many NYC schools have not been meeting the state mandate 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, in effect, he was declaring that physical education, which had not been a priority in New York City public elementary schools now was. Through that report, Comptroller Stringer was speaking for schools in Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12. I had visited these schools through the winter and spring and witnessed that they did indeed lack adequate staffing, space, and resources for physical education.

A few weeks ago I found myself downtown at City Hall, not to have a leisurely stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge, but to represent Bronx Health REACH, a member of the Phys Ed for All Coalition. I was there to provide testimony supporting increased funding for PE in New York City public schools, especially those in the South Bronx. Even though physical education mattered to me, as I was sitting in the Committee Room at City Hall for the first time in my life, I was not certain if that was the case for the other strange and important audience members also assembled to provide testimony.

After waiting almost four hours to be called, it was my turn to give testimony. As I reached out and gripped the microphone I felt my heart leap to my throat. I felt like a rookie quarterback, called up to play in the fourth quarter preparing for the final drive. But my team was those South Bronx schools in Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12, and I needed to deliver for them. Tucking my chin, I testified that those schools in the South Bronx, specifically those in Districts 7 and 12 had not been beneficiaries of the PE Works program, while District 9 schools with the program had made great strides. As I made this point, I could see Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson nod approvingly as this is her district. I went on to emphasize that physical activity should not be divorced from the academic achievement in students through integrated learning. I assured the Council members that PE would flourish if funding made its way to those districts that needed it the most, like those in the South Bronx. When it does, students attending those Bronx schools will not only improve their health outcomes, but their academic outcomes will also improve.

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