Salem schools get $800,000 physical education grant

5:55 p.m.

By Aaron Martin, WSLS reporter

With school budgets tight nationwide physical education teachers like Salem’s Thomas Barber are becoming a thing of the past.

But thanks to an $800,000 federal grant physical education will be growing in Salem schools.

"It's like Christmas Day,” Barber said. “You get excited, all geared up, and now the hard work starts. Now you got to go out and implement the stuff, you got to get all the training, but this is awesome. It's a great opportunity for Salem and a great opportunity for kids, parents, and the teachers."

Salem is one of only 76 school districts across the county, and one of two in the Commonwealth to receive the physical education grant.

Barber said the money will be spent on improved nutrition, building a new fitness center at the high school, new equipment, and more training for teachers.

The grant money will come in over a three year period, allowing Salem to do something very few school districts can do. Expand its physical education and nutrition program.

West Salem Elementary Principal Trula Byington said even though the money's for physical education, it will help in more than just the gym.

"Crossing the midline, action based learning are new things that are out there but really impact our programs,” she said. “Getting physical education equipment means you are impacting programs all over the school."

Barber is excited about the possibilities but says the hard work is just beginning.

"Now we found money to keep it going,” he said. “$800,000 doesn't just fall into somebody's lap. So we got out there, we got this done, we worked hard at it. Now we've got to come back and say physical education is a value to (our) school."

Salem is still undecided on how exactly they will use all of the grant money.

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12:13 p.m.

Salem City Schools news release

The City of Salem School Division has received a prestigious Federal Grant that will allow its six schools to take their physical education and wellness programs to a completely new level in the near future. Over the next three years, Salem will receive a total of $801,091 to cover everything from equipment to supplies to personnel.

“This grant money was available, was going to go somewhere, and I am proud that our staff invested the time, energy, and expertise necessary to secure these dollars for Salem’s children,” says Salem Superintendent. Dr. Alan Seibert. “Our School Board has a longstanding priority on wellness and our health and physical education teachers have innovated in many areas. This grant provides the resources necessary to build on their previous work and to rapidly accelerate the timeline for implementing program goals consistent with our vision for the future of physical education in Salem City Schools.”

Salem and Fairfax County are the only two school divisions in the Commonwealth to receive these awards. The U.S. Department of Education bestowed a total of 76 grants to local education agencies across the United States that plan to implement comprehensive, integrated physical activity and nutrition programs for their students through what is known as the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP).

“We are very excited about this opportunity to improve our division’s capacity to enhance the quality of physical education and nutrition education to our students,” says Curtis Hicks, Director of Secondary Education in Salem. “This grant, along with the curriculum, equipment, and training that it provides will positively impact children's fitness levels as well as their ability to make better decisions regarding their nutrition.”

Sandy Hill, the Salem School Division’s coordinator for physical education, was instrumental in researching the grant and helping to secure the funds for Salem. West Salem Physical Education instructor, Thomas Barber, has been named the grant’s coordinator who will be responsible for overseeing the program during the three year term of the grant.
“You look at this and it is almost like opening a present on Christmas day when you think about all of the potential it has for us,” says Barber. “We know it can’t happen all at once, but it has the potential to change the way we do things in Salem.”

Once established, the new curriculum will not only help students increase their physical activity and raise their fitness levels, but it also will work to educate them about healthy nutritional habits and encourage them to formulate ways to implement these practices at home and at school.

“Nutrition is a huge part of this program,” Barber says. “With this grant we’ll be able to educate not only the kids, but also the parents to let them know that making the right food choices can have huge consequences.”

While the distribution of funds is still in the planning stages, some of the money will be set aside to develop a fitness center at Salem High School complete with state-of-the-art workout equipment that will be very user friendly, not just for an athlete, but for the average child.

“We have transitioned in physical education from trying to make an athlete to now trying to make someone healthy,” Barber says “It’s no longer about teaching them how to play basketball or jump rope, but rather about how to go to the gym, check their heart rate and eat well. We’re trying to teach life skills to keep these kids healthy when they get out of school.”