We have so many issues with kids these days - their weight, their health and their academic performance are some of the top concerns shared by almost everyone. That we need to do something - no one disagrees. What to do - well, that promotes a lot of discussion and disagreement.
One of the easiest ways to determine what to do is to look at what is working.
Students Run LA is a privately funded program in California that has helped over 23,000 middle and high schools students, many of whom come from the toughest neighborhoods in the city, to run the Los Angeles Marathon since 1990.
The program was designed to help kids to become fit and to learn the joy of setting and hitting a goal. The program's organizers consulted with experts at Cal State Northridge who assured them that teenagers could run the race as long as the goal was to finish, rather than to run fast. They then developed a training program that gradually increases mileage leading up to the marathon. Volunteers at 150 middle and high schools plan individual programs for their kids that involve a minimum of three practice sessions per week and several long runs throughout the year. The volunteers run with their kids at every practice.
97% of the kids who start the marathon complete it, and the determination they learn seems to carry over into the classroom.
71% of the runners are Latino, 12% are white, 9% are Asian, 4% are African American and 4% belong to other ethnic groups. These are the groups generally targeted by educational reform programs. The difference is that the running program works.
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, 68% of freshmen actually end up graduating from high school. 90% of the kids in the marathon program graduate, and more than 90% of those attend college.
The program has been so effective and gained so much notoriety that other cities have started similar programs, such as Philadelphia, Oakland, and Portland.
"Once I finished the marathon I realized nothing was impossible," says Adriana Garcia, a Banning High School runner.
For teachers, the program is equally impactful. Most teachers choose teaching as a profession because they want to make a difference in the lives of kids. This program does that, a feat often not possible through classroom experience alone.
One student stated, "Running helps me clear up my head. It gives me a lot of time to think about what I should and should not do in school. For instance, I wasn't doing so good in my pre-calculus class. Out on a run I would tell myself, 'You got to ask questions if you don't understand.' Then I would go and talk to my math teacher. Now I'm not doing great in pre-calculus, but I got a passing grade."
The program improves students' fitness, it costs very little money and the group has tracked improvements in academics resulting from participation. Every community should have a running program for kids!
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