Schools let phys ed slip off schedule

Most Massachusetts high schools are shrugging off a state law that requires students to take physical education each year.

Schools elbowing aside physical education to cram in more academics is a state and national problem, worrying fitness specialists who say the reduced exercise time is increasing the prevalence of childhood obesity. Many younger students now take less than an hour a week of physical education, teachers say, and even recess has been cut back so students can spend more time on math and English and ideally perform better on high-stakes state tests. In Massachusetts, as in many other states, the problem is the worst at high schools, where students must pass state exams to earn a diploma.

"It's an unintended consequence of education reform," said Kathy Pinkham, director of health and physical education for the Needham schools. "We've learned it's the reality that schools ignore the law."

Nationally, less than 6 percent of high schools now require physical education for juniors and seniors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Massachusetts, 57 percent of high school students last year took at least one physical education class a week, according to the CDC. In 1993, 80 percent did; that same year, the Legislature passed the Education Reform Act, which required higher academic standards in the years ahead.

Until 1996, Massachusetts students had to take at least 90 minutes of physical education each week; the current law requires students in all grades to take physical education annually but does not specify how often. Since the state changed its policy, many schools have progressively reduced or eliminated requirements, educators say. State education officials do not track whether districts are meeting their physical education requirements, but a look at high schools' graduation requirements show that most are defying the law.

Fitness advocates blame the state education department for diminishing physical education's importance by failing to enforce the law. Spokeswoman Heidi Perlman said it's unrealistic to expect the state to monitor districts' compliance.

"We can't be the phys ed police," Perlman said.

At Somerville High School, just one in eight students takes physical education all four years. Officially, Boston schools require students to take physical education each year, said Stacy Johnson, director of physical education for the Boston schools. But few juniors and seniors take physical education, and gym is not currently offered at Dorchester High, South Boston High, and Snowden International School, he said.

"There's definitely the policy, but the school day is only so long," Johnson said. "We're losing ground."

Alice MacInnis holds a big title in the state fitness community -- president of the Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. But she hasn't been able to convince administrators in Melrose, where she directs the physical education program, to require physical education for juniors and seniors.

"It's extremely frustrating," MacInnis said. "Our discipline needs a stronger voice."

In the Cambridge school system, the battle is ongoing.

Robert McGowan, the physical education director, brandishes the state regulation to keep gym intact.

"They've talked about cutting it," he said. "And I've been right there in the front, handing them the law."

But Dr. Thomas Fowler-Finn, superintendent of the Cambridge public schools, said he believes some students would be better off hitting the books than the weight machines. Cambridge, though, has not made any recent attempts to cut physical education, he said.

"It's important to be physically fit, but there are students who are struggling to pass MCAS," he said. "Part of the reason is that they're taking physical education classes or playing sports."

Christopher Martes, superintendent of Framingham schools, where physical education is elective after sophomore year, said there's little public pressure to bolster fitness offerings when state and federal education agencies are dissecting schools' academic performance.

"I think every district in the state has had a school committee meeting in the last month to discuss test scores," he said. "So we haven't really focused on the fitness side."

While Martes said his school system hasn't focused on fitness, Framingham High's freshmen might disagree. At Framingham High, 22 ninth-graders of all shapes and sizes gather three times a week for a required fitness class in a state-of-the-art wellness center than compares favorably to most private gyms.

They start off with light stretching, then do some stomach crunches before hitting the treadmills and stationary bikes. Within minutes, sweat pours off their brows, and students vie to see who can reach the highest speed or burn more calories in a minute.

Some students say the class isn't their favorite, but most say it's important to have some down time from lectures and books. The brain can handle only so much information at once, they say.

"It's good to take a break," said Elana Shoren, 14. "This gets you pumped, and then you're ready to work."

Ana Landaverde, 14, admits she's a bit overweight. She doesn't walk much or play sports, and she eats fattening foods, she said. She says the required fitness class is her primary exercise.

"I'm not used to working out," she said. "But I need to learn how, and I wouldn't do it on my own."

With childhood obesity rates rising steadily, cutbacks on physical education in schools couldn't come at a worse time, researchers say. In Massachusetts, 24 percent of high school students are overweight or at risk of becoming so, according to a 2003 CDC survey.

"Students are getting heavier and less fit," said Jerry Knight, physical education director for Somerville schools. "One of the things schools should be teaching them is how to be in shape."