Literacy is the heart of learning  

PRESS RELEASE

DODGE LITERACY MAGNET ELEMENTARY EARNS ‘STARS’ STATUS WITH

NATIONALLY RANKED PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

RESTON, VA, October 23, 2009 – Dodge Literacy Magnet Elementary School (Wichita, Kansas) is one of only 44 schools in the country to ever receive national acclaim as a National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) STARS school. The NASPE STARS program honors physical education programs that model the essential elements for quality physical education and provide meaningful learning opportunities for all students.  In addition, STARS schools exemplify excellence in teaching students the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for motor development to achieve movement competency, health-related fitness and promote lifelong physical activity. To earn that distinction, the Dodge Literacy physical education staff compiled documentation over nearly a year which was then submitted to NASPE as an efolio and rigorously reviewed by an independent panel of judges. 

            As one of the elite physical education programs in the country, Dodge Literacy Elementary will be recognized in March during the 125^th national convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Principal Janet Jump and physical education teachers Kim Morrissey and Cindy S. Johnson will be honored at the NASPE Hall of Fame Banquet.  A STARS banner will be presented to the Dodge Literacy staff as well as certificates of recognition and product coupons from FlagHouse, the official physical education equipment sponsor of the NASPE STARS program.

            Dodge Literacy Elementary enrolls approximately 485 students, in grades pre-K through 5^th grade. Eighty-three percent of these students qualify for free and reduced services. There are two full-time physical education teachers allowing an average ratio of one teacher per 22 students. Pre-K students receive instruction in physical education two times a week for a total of 40 minutes. All students K through 5^th grade attend physical education class twice a week for a total of 90 minutes. The physical education curriculum is written to help students achieve the NASPE National Standards for Physical Education and is aligned with the Wichita Public Schools Physical Education Program Standards curriculum.

Our nation's obesity epidemic has made the need greater than ever for all students to have access to quality physical education programs and instruction.  Physical education is a key strategy for increasing physical activity and decreasing obesity, but only if schools take the responsibility for providing physical education programs of the highest quality.  NASPE STARS programs, like Dodge Literacy Magnet Elementary, become leaders in the effort to provide high quality physical education that meets national standards and guidelines.

According to NASPE President Steve Jefferies of Central Washington University, “NASPE STARS physical education programs are models for other schools to emulate.  There is growing evidence that supports the relationship between health-related fitness and academic achievement. Healthy children learn better and systematic movement activities facilitate cognitive development. A quality school physical education program is the foundation for helping ALL children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence that promotes lifelong physical activity. By improving the quality of school physical education programs across the country, we will have a direct effect on the health of America’s children.  In a time of increasing health risks and health care costs in our country, prevention is a key and exemplary physical education programs must be part of the solution.”

NASPE Executive Director Charlene Burgeson explains that the criteria for this award are based on the essential elements necessary for a quality physical education program – content based on the National Standards for Physical Education, educationally and developmentally appropriate instructional strategies and teaching skills, adequate facilities and equipment that are safe and appropriate for the age and abilities of the students and that enable the students to participate in the maximum amount of active time on task, and classes taught by certified physical educators, among others.    

For more information about quality physical education programs and how your physical education program can apply to become a STARS school, visit the NASPE Web site at www.naspeinfo.org/stars. Physical education departments can download information for administrators on the STARS program, a STARS application, criteria, and suggestions for providing evidence that the criteria have been met.  The next deadline to apply for STARS is October 15, 2010.

NASPE

The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 16,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sport management professionals, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare physical activity professionals. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high quality physical education, sport, and physical activity programs. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD).  For more information, visit www.naspeinfo.org.