The Flash Report, May 10, 2007

Throughout his career as a bodybuilder, actor, and governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has consistently focused on children’s fitness.  For instance, last year he significantly increased funding for physical education.  Yet, when it comes to bang for the buck, the governor might want take a look at a public-private physical education program in Southern California that emphasizes accountability and results.

There is no question that there is a children’s fitness crisis in California. Only 27.4 percent of ninth graders in California meet all six criteria for physical fitness in the statewide Fitnessgram statistics.  California’s urban environment, with limited recreational space and unsafe neighborhoods, exacerbates children’s fitness deficiencies.  In the Los Angeles Unified School District, only 17.7 percent of ninth graders passed all six tests.  Poor physical fitness not only contributes to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, but studies also suggest that fitter students tend to be more attentive and more responsive to learning in the classroom, which increases their chance of academic success.

Confronted by this fitness crisis, in the 2006-07 state budget, Gov. Schwarzenegger succeeded in adding $40 million annually to increase the number of K-8 physical-education teachers and $500 million in one-time funds to purchase arts, music, and physical education supplies.  Though these funds will plug holes in schools’ physical education programs, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) notes that the new funding contains virtually no reporting, evaluation, or accountability provisions.  The result, says the LAO, will be that the state “would have virtually no data or assessment information to determine if the specified investments were worthwhile.”   In contrast, the Sound Body Sound Mind program emphasizes the use of data to determine whether students are improving their fitness performance.  

Sound Body Sound Mind (SBSM) is a comprehensive physical fitness program established to promote self-confidence and healthy lifestyle choices among high school students in the greater Los Angeles area. Founded in 1999 by the Cynthia L. and William E. Simon, Jr. Foundation, SBSM is geared toward teens that do not regularly participate in organized activities, and strives to address the scarcity of physical activity in high schools today. In partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, SBSM provides each participating high school with $50,000 of state of the art exercise equipment, funding for professional development, and the necessary tools to monitor student progress at each facility. SBSM has been successfully integrated into 36 Los Angeles high schools, with funding for 14 additional schools by the end of the year.

Students at schools that have received a fitness center are performing better compared to other schools in the district.  Data collected by SBSM show that the number of students in schools with the fitness centers passing all six parts of the state’s physical education assessment increased by more than 64 percent over the year before the center was installed.  In contrast, a statistical analysis showed a lesser 50 percent increase in the number of students passing all six parts at Los Angeles Unified schools not participating in the program.  Also even more convincing, there was a greater reduction in the number of students failing all six parts at Sound Body Sound Mind schools.

P.E. teachers at Sound Body Sound Mind schools say that the new fitness centers have made a real difference in how students view fitness education.  Christine Berni-Ramos, a P.E. teacher at the Elizabeth Learning Center near Long Beach, says that when her students enter the fitness center, “They’re focused, they have a workout pad, they have cards [to record their results], they understand how to assess their own fitness because we teach them that.” 

The contracts signed between schools and Sound Body Sound Mind require the schools to provide annual progress on students using the fitness centers.  The program is considering creating a standard reporting form to make collection of the data easier for schools.

Too many California children are leading unhealthy lives that make them very unhealthy adults.  Physical education is a necessary component of any strategy to turn around the lives of these children.  However, physical education programs must focus on results, not just on spending more tax dollars.  Policymakers should, therefore, examine outcomes-based programs like Sound Body Sound Mind when developing future strategies to improve the health of our kids.

Scott D. MacKenzie is executive director of Sound Body Sound Mind.

Lance T. Izumi is Senior Fellow in California Studies and Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI), California’s premier free-market public-policy think tank based in San Francisco.