Eldred Central students get buff with new weights

Grand opening of fitness center enhances education

By LISA CUTRONI

ELDRED, NY — With the nation focused on the rising cases of childhood obesity, Eldred Central School has devised a plan to combat the problem at home: a new fitness center, stocked with state-of-the-art weight training equipment.

“We are looking at ways of teaching students healthier lifestyle options to continue beyond the school gate,” Eldred Central School (ECS) Superintendent Dr. Ivan Katz explained during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 29.

The fitness center, located in the modular building adjacent to the school building, used to hold two classrooms. With added siding on the walls and re-routing of electrical wires during the summer, the 20-year-old building was set for the approximately $100,000 worth of weight and aerobic training equipment for the use of ECS students. The center will also be open to school district residents from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

In addition to the equipment, the center provides its users with polar heart rate equipment and computer software enabling body mass index (BMI) tracking.

The center is federally funded through the Carol M. White Physical Education Grant, which the district received in 2004.

The grant totals $300,000, which is to be used district-wide during a three-year time frame.

The physical education grant, which totaled 1.2 million dollars, was awarded to three area school districts: Eldred, Liberty and Monticello, and is to be used only for enhancing the district physical education programs.

In addition to the fitness center, ECS has also built a climbing wall in the gymnasium and has made improvements throughout the George Ross Mackenzie Elementary physical education program.

The center will be supervised during both school and community hours by a trained ECS faculty member. Residents over the age of 18 will be permitted to use the center once they have been trained on all machines. Students between the ages of 13 and 18 may use the center during community hours, provided a parent is present and supervising.

“We are reading a lot about how weight [in children] is going up. The center will enhance [our] physical education program,” Principal Scott Krebs said.

Kelly Doherty, a physical education and health instructor at ECS for the past four years, has recently returned from the Cooper Institute in Dallas, TX where she was certified as a fitness specialist and will, along with co-worker, Mike Bryant, train students and residents on the proper use of the machines.

“The kids are excited, most definitely. We took them to see the equipment and they all seemed excited about it,” Doherty said.

Increasing the options students have in healthier living is a priority for ECS.

“Traditional physical education doesn’t lend itself to continued use. To have the equipment so close and free is helpful,” Katz said. “I think it’s a real positive boon for the community.”

In order to graduate, ECS students have to complete two units of physical education. Gym class is considered half a credit; students, thus, are required to enroll in classes for all four years. The fitness center and climbing wall will be introduced into the established physical education program.