Bobby Duke Middle
School of the Year
School of the Year
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Bobby Duke Middle School has had 100% of its students take and complete the Governor’s Challenge for two years in a row. In 2007-2008 Bobby Duke Middle students recorded 26,000 active days. This year, their students re-doubled their fitness efforts and recorded over 100,000 active days, but their commitment to fitness goes well beyond the Challenge. Bobby Duke’s innovative approach to physical education focuses on activities students can continue throughout their adult lives from non-traditional sports such as aerobics and golf to a student-run intramural sports program and a running club which trains students to compete in 5K races.. Bobby Duke also stresses the importance of diet along with exercise. Students conduct experiments to analyze the amount of fat in popular snack foods and learn about healthy alternatives. Bobby Duke Middle School is located in the heart of the Coachella Valley. Through the leadership of Principal Erasmo Garcia, the school’s success in fitness is spilling over into the rest of the Valley. Principal Garcia helped attract the attention of Coachella Mayor Eduardo Garcia, who in turn helped develop the first ever Desert Fitness Challenge between the cities and school districts of Palm Springs and Coachella.
Bobby Duke Middle submitted the following three essays for consideration of the Governor's Challenge Competition Grand Prize: Essay 1 - Commitment to Promoting Healthy Eating on Campus
At Bobby Duke, we understand that nutrition affects student health, behavior and performance, so we strive to educate students about the benefits of good nutrition. Our school meals surpass federal nutrition requirements limiting calories from fat and saturated fat. We serve fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein and grains in portion sizes needed to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. We offer breakfast and lunch, so the 90% of students who participate in our free/reduced lunch program are provided with two nutritious meals daily and all students participating in afterschool programs are served a nutritious snack. At the start of the school year, Bobby Duke implemented a salad bar program, providing students with several choices of fresh fruits and vegetables, exposing students to foods that might not otherwise be available to therm. We have adopted a “No Junk Food” policy, which bans the sale of soda and sugary snacks on campus. In addition, our student organizations do not sell candy, instead opting for alternative sources of funding. Our commitment to promoting healthy dietary habits carries into our classrooms, with teachers in PE and science working together to teach nutrition across the curriculum. Students conduct experiments to analyze the amount of fat in popular snack foods and then learn about healthy alternatives. They learn to recognize appropriate serving sizes and the importance of using the food pyramid as a guide to healthy eating. Students also learn the health risks of obesity and diabetes and the importance of diet and exercise in preventing these diseases. As a culmination of their nutrition education, students participate in a practical application of their knowledge with a smoothie making competition. This friendly competition gives students the skills necessary to change their own eating habits and bring nutrition education home to their families. Essay 2 - Support of Students’ Physical Activity and Fitness
Our innovative approach to teaching physical education, focusing on activities students can continue to participate in throughout their adult lives, as well as non-traditional sports such as aerobics, golf and lacrosse, has been successful in motivating students to enjoy daily physical activity regardless of their current fitness level. In rejecting the traditional physical education model emphasizing performance and competition, we have made physical activity accessible to all students, not just the athletic elite. This success in has prompted our entire community to become more involved in physical activity, with Bobby Duke leading the Coachella Valley in the first Desert Sierra city competition. Students learn responsibility for individual fitness by setting personal fitness goals and monitoring their progress. In doing so, students see improvement and make the connection between health and exercise. To further encourage student initiative in physical fitness, we implemented a student-run intramural sports program at lunch. Students assemble their teams and then student coordinators organize and run a tournament. We also offer after-school team sports such as football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball track and field and dance three days a week. In addition, we are the only middle school in the district to offer a student running club that trains and competes in 5K races across Southern California. In an effort to encourage physical activity outside school, we pay our students’ membership fees at the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella so they can access the facilities at no cost to themselves. We take an active role in promoting physical activity in the community, with the teachers starting an after school running club, and offering group exercise classes on campus five days a week. Getting families involved in physical activity has had a positive impact on our students and the addition of a fitness center would allow us to expand and improve these programs. Essay 3- Need For a New Fitness Center
Middle school is an age when students are looking for belonging, so with six active gangs in our city and several others in surrounding areas, we find ourselves competing against the daily reality of gang culture. The vulnerability of our students is also mirrored in the teenage pregnancy rate of our city, which is double the national average. At an age when students are seeking attention and acceptance amongst peers, it is crucial that we provide positive alternatives to self-destructive behaviors. Research shows that getting students involved in physical activity teaches them life skills and deters them from such deviant behaviors. However, 80% of our students live below the poverty line and do not have the financial resources to participate in organized sports leagues, private lessons, or attend sports camps. The programs provided by our school are our students’ only fitness opportunities. As our already meager funds for physical education and extra-curricular sports face severe budget cuts, we find ourselves challenged to maintain and expand our fitness programs. We do not have a gymnasium, so a fitness center would provide an indoor facility to our physical education classes, as well as afterschool and community programs, which is essential in the desert heat. A fitness center would allow us to create an environment where students are encouraged to be physically active and empowered to make healthy life decisions. We have shown our dedication to health and fitness and our commitment to motivating students and the surrounding community to live healthy lifestyles and believe that the addition of a fitness center to our school and to our community would boost pride in the community and within students themselves, further motivating them to remain physically active and to see that a little city can accomplish big things. |
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