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Friday, May 14, 2010

To the Superintendent,

Throughout my recent readings and study I have notice a change in Physical Education. More and more schools are putting away the tradition games for more technology based activities. This technology has shown an improvement in motivation, accountability, and effort. I propose our school invest in a few improvements to increase our fitness quality of our program. Pedometers, heart rate monitors, and new laptop computers with programming will be needed to construct a long-term monitoring system of the health and fitness of our students. "Before heart-rate monitors became a staple of gym class at Melbourne High School, Sadowski said some students gave a half-hearted effort—sometimes even less—during running or jogging classes. But with the monitors’ hard numbers showing how hard they tried during each class, those students have begun to run stride for stride with their classmates. "The kids who were able to kind of cheat through P.E. before, it makes them more accountable," said Sadowski, who recently was named the Southern District Teacher of the Year by NASPE. These monitors come with programs to help track student progress with detailed graphs and charts. This will not only have lasting changes in student learning and fitness, but will add accountability and legitimacy to the class. EnergyNow! is run by Polar USA, a manufacturing company that makes heart-rate monitors reportedly used in 10,000 schools across the country.

With more than 5 million kids in the U.S., we need to empower a change within our school for a higher level of physical activity. These changes will come with costs. However, I have found many ways to almost get the equipment for free. This includes fundraising and grant programs. I’d like the opportunity to tell you more about my finding and proposal. Please allow me to meet with you to discuss this idea further.



Thank You for Your Time,

Jennifer Jones
Physical Education Department



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