For Immediate Release For more information: Donna L Wise (404) 805.9473 donnalwise@comcast.net Knollwood Elementary Assesses PE Curriculum with Heart Rate Monitors DECATUR, GA (November 16, 2009) – On Thursday, November 19, 2009, at 1:15pm, fifth graders at Knollwood Elementary School in the Belvedere area of DeKalb County will become one of 18 schools in the DeKalb County School System, one per cluster, to begin a series of tests that will help to assess the effectiveness of the school’s physical education (PE) curriculum. With permission from parents, students will strap a heart rate monitor to their chests during PE class for minute by minute readings to determine how much time the workout results in increased heart rates – from low to vigorous activity. Knollwood is the target elementary school of the Healthy Belvedere initiative sponsored by The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia and managed by The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. Healthy Belvedere, a neighborhood effort to reduce health disparities associated with chronic illnesses, supports the Knollwood PE assessment with equipment donations including new PE equipment for the gymnasium and a new heart rate monitor. The current physical education curriculum used at Knollwood and throughout the County was developed as part of the Georgia Performance Standards and is scheduled to change next year. According to Shannon Williams, Assistant Director of Health & Wellness for DeKalb County Schools, the baseline heart rate will first be taken this week. Student heart rates will be measured against these baseline rates again in February and in April of 2010 while PE curricula from other school systems are tested. Testing the current PE heart rate against the San Diego, CA SPARK curriculum, founded in 1989, and the Michigan Fitness Foundation program, founded in 1994, will help the County determine which curriculum would be best to implement in the next school year. School districts throughout the U.S. are challenged with giving their students appropriate levels of physical activity. Pressure to focus on standardized testing limits the time available for exercise. Kaiser Permanente and Healthy Belvedere are working with Shannon and her team at Knollwood Elementary to improve both the quantity and quality of physical education and recess. “Because the standards will be changing next year, this is a great time for us to asses what is best for our students and teachers,” said Shannon. “The goal is to get the students as active as possible during the short time they have physical education.” While changing school policy is a long and arduous task, Shannon is working to improve the quality of her school’s PE program by researching school districts across the country to find the best curriculum available to DeKalb County students. The Healthy Belvedere Community Health Initiative is a neighborhood effort to reduce health disparities associated with chronic illnesses through environmental and policy changes. Healthy Belvedere is based in southeast DeKalb County. The service area is formed on the north by Memorial Drive, Columbia Drive to the east, Glenwood Road to the south, and Candler Road to the west. The initiative is a partnership between Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and Belvedere community stakeholders. Kaiser is investing over $1 million in Belvedere over a five to seven year period and the Community Foundation manages the initiative. For more information about Healthy Belvedere, visit www.HealthyBelvedere.org. # # #