West Lauderdale Middle School becomes Project Fit America site

By Ida Brown

Getting in shape has never been easier or more fun for students at West Lauderdale Middle School.

Today, students, faculty and local officials will gather for the formal dedication of the school's Project Fit America fitness park. Outdoor exercise equipment was purchased through a $26,000 grant provided by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Mississippi Foundation.

Helping to motivate excitement at the event, which will get under way at 9 a.m., will be the West Lauderdale Middle School Cheerleaders, the West Lauderdale High School Band and the mascot Bully from Mississippi State University, Meridian campus. In addition to representatives of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi, special guest will include Shane McNeil, director of the Office of Healthy Schools for the Mississippi Department of Education, and Robbie McKee, director of sports medicine for Anderson Regional Medical Center, who serves as athletic trainer for West Lauderdale Schools.

Never before have there been so many out-of-shape, overweight and inactive American children. Since 1980, childhood obesity has tripled, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's Report.

"Since the start of the school year, we've been discussing with our students about Mississippi being one of the unhealthiest states in the nation," said Jody Hurst, PE coach for seventh and eighth grades at WLMS.

"We're trying to get them motivated to be healthy, to be fit and to be active, and we're trying to show them that it can be fun."

In response to the alarming nationwide trend of childhood obesity, PFA provides an action-based solution that has been successful.

Formed in 1990, Project Fit America is a nonprofit organization that donates fully funded fitness programs to schools. In addition to state-of-the-art fitness equipment specifically designed to address the deficit areas where children fail fitness tests, the PFA program provides indoor mobile fitness equipment, a dynamic curriculum with games and activities the kids play on the PFA outdoor and indoor equipment, and in-class instruction on subjects such as smoking intervention, nutrition and understanding your body. This is in addition to the two-year teacher support and training on site with the school.

In the 19 years since PFA’s inception, hospitals have been the primary sponsors of the program, contributing more than $9 million. Seventy-five cents of every dollar goes directly to the schools, so they can receive the program for free. Schools are selected via a local grant program in the sponsors’ service areas. PFA is now operating in more than 730 schools in 300 cities in 40 states.

Schools report proven results. Post-testing results reported by PFA schools across the country show an average increase of 44.9 percent in upper body strength, 14.7 percent in abdominal strength, 11.2 percent increase in cardiovascular endurance and a 24 percent increase in flexibility.

West Lauderdale Middle School's fitness park features eight sites that include a stepping station, parallel bars and climbing bar. Indoor equipment includes weighted hula hoops and aerobic bowling.

"There are exercises that will help improve their cardiovascular rate, work their upper and lower bodies – and the biggest thing about it is that the kids are having fun doing it, not realizing that they are really getting in shape and healthy," Hurst said.

The equipment is used by the school's fifth- eighth-graders at least twice a week, for 20-30 minutes each time. Brock Clay is PE coach for fifth and sixth grades.

Earlier in the school year, pre-tests for fitness were conducted on three classes in the school.

"We had to track their BMI (Body Mass Index), conduct pretests such as how many sit ups, pull ups and other exercises they could do," said Kevin Cheatham, WLMS principal.

"At the end of the year, we'll go back and do post tests to see how they've done. We'll also track them by their academic gain as far as how they performed on the MCT (Mississippi Curriculum Test). II test and their attendance rate."