Petaluma recognized for fitness

September 30th, 2009 07:00am

Petaluma City Schools has been awarded the North Coast School District of the Year by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Spotlight program.

District officials were honored on Sept. 16 in Sacramento.

 Petaluma was recognized for creating a physical education program that served 1,800 students and 90 teachers. Through the program, a credentialed PE teacher was hired and rotated between six campuses, teaching students and teachers xercise routines, games and other high-energy activities.

 State award winners were credited for their use of innovation, inspiration and initiative to raise fitness levels and track the correlation between better fitness and academic performance.

 Petaluma officials said they rely on SHAKE (Supporting Healthy, Active Kids in Education), a parent fundraising component of the program that is now six years old to raise funds for PE enrichment specialists who teach weekly activities to third through sixth graders.

 “We are working together to make a difference, to inspire long-term healthy lifestyle choices for our children, and support our local educational programs,” SHAKE chairwoman Debbie Prusinovski said in a statement.

 “SHAKE is an example of our community coming together to support the health and fitness of our students,” Superintendent Greta Viguie said in a statement.

 This year, the statewide competition pulled in double the number of competitors than the prior year: 339,000 students, teachers and parents participated in the Fitness Challenge.

This year’s fitness challenge began Sept. 17 and will run through May 31, 2010.