Wallingford Public Schools receive fitness grant
By Samaia Hernandez
Meriden Record-Journal (Connecticut)
December 9, 2008
Wallingford [Connecticut] Public Schools received a hefty federal grant that has revolutionized physical education from K-12.
Spearheaded by Patricia Pursell, a physical education teacher at Highland Elementary School, the district received $314,212 to initiate and expand physical education programs across schools.
The grant was originally awarded in 2007 and distributed within a two-year period. Before allocation of the grant, PE curriculum that was based primarily on competitive sports, now has an entirely new fitness component as 95 percent of funds were used to purchase equipment such as treadmills, bikes, cross-trainers, rock walls, trikkes, DDRs (Dance, Dance Revolution music video game consuls), and heart rate monitors. The additional funds went to teacher training and certification, with 1 percent awarded to the grant writer Roberta Colette.
As part of the upgrade, aerobic fitness centers were installed at Sheehan High School and Dag Hammarskjold Middle School. PE Teacher John Mullally says students "love it" and often opt to use the fitness center when offered the choice.
"Our overall program has shifted from more of traditional sports into fitness," Mullally said.
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$9,728,562,275,440.00
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$31,755.16 Per Citizen |
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