By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-633119.mp3
Richardson, TX – Bill Zeeble KERA reporter: In the small gym of Richardson's Arapaho Classical Magnet School, 6th graders are about to demonstrate the pacer run.
" 5,4,3,2,1"
Zeeble: They jog back and forth a few dozen times over a set period. In the real test, some will finish, others will run out of steam. Jeff Kloster, TEA Associate Commissioner for Health and Safety, says this isn't a mile-run that parents might imagine, isn't competitive, and IS age appropriate.
Jeff kloster, Associate Commissioner , TEA. Health and sfty: If you're a 12 year old boy, you should be able to reach x number, to be in a healthy zone. It's either a healthy or unhealthy zone. 325 And they practice these deals. Not Surprise! Today's your test. We actually go out, we train, we practice a while, then you go do it. So you're comfortable with what you're doing.
Zeeble: This pacer run's part of a physical fitness evaluation law passed earlier this year by the state legislature. Senate Bill 530 puts physical education back into the classroom on a regular basis. It was written in part, as a reaction to ballooning obesity statewide, with its negative impact on health and education. If it works, Kloster says children will learn at this early age to stay physically fit their whole lives. 4th grader Jessica Stegall and 5th grader Kaiden Anderson get it, and like the program, even when it's hard.
Jessica Stegall, 4th grade: Sometimes it can be challenging, but sometimes it can be easy
Kaiden Anderson - 5th grader. It's always good to challenge yourself. To get better at it.
Stegall: They really care about our fitness. I think they think that's important. That kids our age understand fitness and they understand we need to be healthy.
Zeeble: The TEA's Kloster feels especially committed to this program . He was a fit and healthy kid and college student, went to law school, got a good job, then turned 40.
Kloster: I weighed 218 pounts, had hyper-tension, cardiovascular disease and an alcohol problem. I decided life ain't about money. I quit the law. Spent time working on my health. I'm the healthiest I've ever been. And in 8 hours today I'm more productive than when I was billing 14 hours a day practicing law. So I was cheating clients then. I'm living proof a fit lifestyle will save you.
Zeeble: Doctor Kenneth Cooper, who's helped raised millions of dollars to get the law passed and pay for this unfunded educational mandate, is out to save children from a lifetime of obesity-related problems.
Doctor Kenneth Cooper: Obesity's gotten so bad in this state, a Caucasian born after 2000 has 1 in 3 chance of diabetes. Hispanic one out of 2. and 2 out of 5 African Americans will get it sometime in their life. They're dying around us. They're dying early in life.
Zeeble: Cooper says parents will get their child's fitness evaluations, with suggestions to improve physical fitness and diet, when necessary. He looks forward to healthier, even smarter children after this program takes hold. He says the brain functions better, and the mind's more creative after exercise, thanks to increased blood and oxygen flow. Bill Zeeble KERA news.
Bzeeble@Kera.Org