'DDR' steps up to schools in Geneva

A vigorous round of "Dance Dance Revolution" might soon be part of Geneva school children's day, thanks to a grant from the Geneva Academic Foundation.

The nonprofit group announced this week it was donating money to buy the equipment for the popular video game, which has players jump around on special pads trying to match a sequence projected on a screen in front of them, set to music. Educators throughout the nation are using "DDR" to fight childhood obesity.

It's one of 21 projects submitted by teachers that will get $63,357.

The foundation raises money to provide extra services, programs and equipment to Geneva public schools. It also offers scholarships to Geneva High School graduates.

One of its major fundraisers is the Mighty Viking Boat Race, in which people subscribe to a plastic boat or duck that is let loose on the Fox River. This year, it became a land-based event due to Fox River flooding, with the ducks being shot across Wheeler Park out of a slingshot.

Other items receiving money were a virtual library collection, ePortfolio resume-building software, laptop computers, computer monitors and new cardiovascular exercise machines for Geneva High School; stereo microscopes, multimedia equipment and graphing calculators for the middle schools; and heart monitors for elementary physical education classes.

Each elementary school will also get an Elmo-brand video camera and projector to show three-dimensional objects to larger audiences.

Since it was established in 1987, the foundation has donated more than $800,000 to Geneva schools and students. It was initially established to help buy computers for schools.