County schools get fitness funds

DuPage County schools received $143,000 in federal funds Thursday to help fight childhood obesity.

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican, presented the check to the county's regional office of education to support a physical fitness assessment project.

"We as educators hold ourselves accountable for measuring our kids' academic success," Regional Superintendent of Schools Darlene Ruscitti said. "We hold ourselves accountable for their social and emotional well being. And we hold ourselves accountable for their physical development and health."

The money will be used for a Web-based program that allows educators to post tests for their students online relating to flexibility, strength and cardiovascular health. The data they gather will help inform future decisions about physical education curriculum.

"I think the data that will be found will show the importance of having physical education every day -- and how that helps in the development of the child academically," Biggert said.

After gathering data, the regional office of education plans to push for new legislation in Springfield that would mandate physical fitness assessments.

Students also would be able to use the data to assess their individual progress.

Sixteen area schools are serving as testing grounds for the assessments.

Naperville Unit District 203's physical education program was recently featured in "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," by Harvard Medical School associate professor John Ratey that explores the effects of exercise on the brain.

Paul Zientarski, head of Naperville Central High School's physical education department, said the school already has three years of data to show struggling students perform better in class after intense exercise.

"We're changing physical education in a way like it's never been changed before," he said.