This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Be sure teachers know about any health considerations that might affect your child's performance in P.E.
Ask your child's teacher how much time is devoted to recess, P.E. and health instruction at your elementary school.
Ask to see your school's wellness plan, and get involved in creating, implementing and modifying its recommendations about school lunch, vending machines, P.E. and recess.
Offer to help with elementary health and P.E. instruction.
Ask to see individual fitness plans for secondary school students enrolled in P.E. classes.
Support legislation to require recess and physical education in elementary schools, restrict vending machines in schools, provide obesity programs and mandate assessment of body mass index in schoolchildren.
But don't leave everything up to schools:
Build family traditions around physical activities such as hiking and skiing.
Limit "screen time" at home: television, video games and computer usage.
Encourage bicycling, walking, swimming, skating, dance and outdoor play.
Sign kids up for summer and after-school sports and dance programs; many are available at low or no cost through community schools and city recreation programs.
Be a volunteer -- and a devoted fan -- as your child participates in team and individual sports, dance and other physical activities.
-- Sources: Utah State Office of Education, National Association for Sport and Physical Education, American Heart Association.
Requirements
Utah requirements and recommendations for Health and Physical Education in schools:
Elementary
Ninety minutes of physical education instruction per week is recommended. There is no requirement for P.E. specialists in elementary schools.
Two recesses per day are recommended.
Teachers are required to follow Utah's core curriculum for health and physical education, but there is no accountability through testing and reporting.
Seventh and eighth grade
One semester of P.E. each year is required.
One semester of health education in one of these years is required.
Ninth through twelfth grade
Three semesters of P.E. are required during these four years, including courses in sports skills and techniques, fitness for life and lifetime activities.
One semester of health education in 9th or 10th grade is required.
Activity recommendations for students from NASPE's 2006 Shape of the Nation Report
Elementary
150 minutes per week of physical education; 60 minute or more each day of moderate to vigorous physical activity (including after-school time).
Middle and high school
At least 225 minutes per week of physical education for the entire school year during each year.
The report further recommends that physical education at all levels be delivered by certified/licensed physical education teachers; that states set minimum standards for student achievement in physical education; and that meeting minimum standards in physical education become a requirement for high school graduation.
To Learn More:
Many Utah schools encourage individual fitness through the The President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program or FitnessGram. Learn more about these programs at: http://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.aspx and
http://www.fitnessgram.net/
See Utah's health and P.E. core curriculum at http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/pehealth/default.htm
A resource list about health issues in Utah schools is available at http://www.utahpta.org/health.htm
See recommendations for wellness policies in Utah schools at http://health.utah.gov/obesity/docs/AFHKWellnesspolicyrecommendations.pdf
